The ancients called this statue Yumala, Sorni Nay, Zlata Maya, the Golden Old Woman … Today she is better known as the Golden Woman. And as usually happens in such cases, some argue that this is nothing more than a legend passed down from generation to generation, while others stubbornly continue to believe in the existence of a precious statue safely hidden in a remote taiga, the exact location of which is kept in the strictest confidence by only a few people dedicated to it. …
The first descriptions of the Golden Woman were made by foreigners - adventurers and travelers who were attracted to Russia by the glory of its wealth or political interests. In the 16th century, the Englishman Jenkinson wrote: “The golden old woman is worshiped by the Obdors and Yugra (the ancestors of the modern Khanty and Mansi - author). The priest asks this idol what they should do, and he himself (amazingly!) Gives those who ask the correct answers, and his predictions come true. " The Italian Gvagnini also recorded in the 16th century that the priests during the sacrifices to the Golden Woman predicted the fate of people. However, these legends became most widely known thanks to the famous book of the personal friend of Peter I, the Dutchman Nikolaas Witsen, which, although called "Northern and Eastern Tataria", became the first detailed and almost reliable book about Russia and its eastern lands - the Urals and Siberia. Later, the story about the Golden Woman, having become a textbook, moved from book to book over the years.
Of course, none of the foreigners was able to visit the remote Permian forests, and even more so in Siberia, so they had to use the information received from "experienced people." They heard about the golden idol from others, and the end of the chain was lost in unknown distances. It is not surprising that the stories about the Golden Woman were overgrown with rumors and speculation, depending on the narrator's fantasy. Therefore, in different sources it is described differently: sizes vary from 30 cm to the size of a human being, depicted dressed in loose clothing or naked, sitting or standing, with or without a baby in her arms. The descriptions of the location of the idol also differ - from the Permian land to the Ural Mountains and the taiga of Western Siberia.
According to the most widespread version of the legend, the Golden Woman was one of the most revered deities among the ancestors of the modern Komi - the Perm and Zyryans. During the conversion of the latter to Christianity by the famous church leader of the XIV century Stephanie the Great, which was not always carried out by peaceful means, adherents of pagan beliefs, saving from destruction, transported the idol to the Urals, to the Voguls (modern Mansi), and then further to Siberia, to the Ostyaks (modern Khanty), where, according to legend, it was kept in remote taiga camps.
One way or another, the legends about the Golden Woman became widely known - adventurers were attracted by a solid amount of precious metal, scientists and local historians, just romantics were interested in a tempting opportunity to restore a very curious piece of history, since assumptions about the similarity of the idol with ancient sculptures were actively discussed. Already at the beginning of the twentieth century, the famous Siberian ethnographer Konstantin Dmitrievich Nosilov received from an elderly Vogul (Mansi) information that an exact copy of the Golden Woman, cast from silver, was kept on the Konda River in a remote camp in the swamps. Despite the fact that Nosilov was several kilometers from the camp, he could not get there and inspect the idol because of the flood. Another, seemingly real, opportunity was missed, as happened in all other similar cases:The golden woman always eluded uninvited guests.
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The search for her was carried out by representatives of many generations. It would seem that for four hundred years of these searches, the idea should have completely discredited itself, but this did not happen. Until now, from time to time, "absolutely reliable sources" of eyewitnesses appear in these parts of the world, who know exactly where the Golden Woman is kept; and some even saw it with their own eyes. Information varies - from quite serious stories of self-righteous people to anecdotal tales.
This belief is constantly fueled by traditional beliefs, which largely retained their pagan foundations, of the indigenous peoples of Western Siberia (Khanty, Mansi, Nenets), for whom the Golden Goddess continues to be one of the most revered creatures.
However, in this case, the presence of proper gold in the image of the goddess does not matter. The word "golden, golden" is an obligatory epithet for any high (heavenly) deity in the traditional pantheon. The idol itself can be made of any material - bronze, wood or fabric. Gold, of course, is also not excluded, but it is extremely rare - in the form of a few decorations on an idol. The Golden Goddess, called the Khanty and Mansi Kaltash, is revered as the patroness of women and motherhood, the keeper of people's destinies. Women turn to her during childbirth, asking for light relief from the burden. Under her care are small children in the first years of life, whom the goddess protects from evil spirits. This is consistent with the old descriptions of the Golden Woman.
Moreover, specialists studying the culture of the indigenous peoples of Western Siberia formed a fairly clear opinion that it was the idea of the life-giving goddess among the Finno-Ugric peoples and the myths associated with her that served as the basis for the appearance of legends about the Golden Woman. It is quite possible that the epithet “golden”, put for her high rank, passed from mouth to mouth, acquired the image of a golden idol the size of a man. Although it cannot be absolutely ruled out that the small golden idols depicting this goddess could actually have been made. But the small Siberian peoples, even on the land torn apart by drilling and bulldozers, know how to keep their secrets, hiding them from prying eyes. And the value of these secrets lies in the spiritual sense, and not in the scanty amount of precious metals that can adorn some idols.
There is such an opinion about the northern peoples that these children of nature are very trusting and do not know how to lie at all.
However, such conclusions are too naive. These people were not able to plant Islam, the Tatars who received tribute from them for several centuries, who from ancient times owned the territory of Western Siberia. The Russians who followed Ermak four hundred years ago could not force them to abandon paganism. The Ostyaks and Voguls, having adopted Christianity under pressure, also preserved paganism - even in the face of its harsh eradication, both first by the Church and then by the Bolshevik ideology. So the legends about the Golden Woman known in Russia for more than one century can have a real basis …