The forest giant <i>Menkw </i>as a character of Mansi folklore
Introduction: the character system of Mansi folklore has not yet come into the focus of scientists' attention. However, understanding of it opens new frontiers for study of mythological representations, culture, and worldview of the Northern ethnos. Characters of folklore are people, animals, elements, fantastic (mythical) creatures. Sometimes a character is fixed with some attribute (a wonderful thing), which helps him. In the article, we will focus on one character - Menkw. In Mansi folklore it is presented as a forest giant, and its main function is to be the owner of the forest. Rich information about it is contained in fairy tales and bailichkas.Objective: a systematic analysis of the image of Menkw on the material of folklore texts and folk performances.Research materials: the texts of Mansi fairy tales published in various folklore collections, in periodicals; annalistic sources, as well as field material of the author. For details, we attract taboos occurring in Mansi culture.Results and novelty of the research: the research adds scientific knowledge about the folklore of the Mansi. The article reveals the image of Menkw on the materials of folklore, linguistics, literary and historical data. Thefolklore texts fix characteristics of Menkw and give its description. Anthropomorphism of the image, its tendency to socialization distinguishes the folklore image from the mythological one. Binarity of representation of Menkw in folklore texts is probably due to different time of plots’ development.The complex of taboos, ritual acts, system of amulets of the Mansi people defines the boundaries and a degree of interaction of the people and Menkw. The material opens up prospects for further research of the character and plot structure of Mansi folklore.