Master of trent or aged woman of tent

Nenets

Tobolsk Guberniya, Berezovsky Uyezd, Tundra near Obdorsk (Salekhard)

late 19th - early 20th century

Wood; leather: natural leather: hide (reindeer); metal; cloth: cotton; cloth: cloth; cloth: braid (wool)

height 41.0; width 24.0

РЭМ 1712-244

Myad puhutsya - the image of the "aged woman of tent" or "mistress of tent" was the material embodiment of the Ya Nebya ("mother Earth") - the wife of the supreme deity, who sent the soul of the child. She was in charge of the fate of a person until his death and was considered the patroness of women, children, family. They turned to her to facilitate childbirth, during which the woman pressed Myad puhutsya to her stomach and, if the birth went well, sewed new clothes for her, gave her a new belt. How many children were in the house, so many clothes were puffy on Myad. Each married woman had a similar image, who kept it in a fur purse in the women's part of the dwelling.