The Dwelling in Traditional Khakas Culture: A Structural-Semiotic Aspect

Abstract

   Using historical, ethnographic, and semiotic approaches, this study analyzes the dwelling (primarily the yurt—ib) as a central element in Khakas cultural space. In the traditional worldview, the house is not merely a physical shelter but a complex sociocultural and sacred construct, a microcosm that models the universe. The key binary opposition between the two worlds—“our own (safe, predictable, cultural) versus alien (dangerous, wild)”—is analyzed in detail. The boundary between them is the threshold and the door of the house, facing eastwards. The interior of the yurt has undergone a strict semiotic structuring. The existence of sex (male versus female halves) and status dichotomy (honorary tör zone versus non-privileged one at the entrance) is confirmed, regulating not just the placement of people and objects but also behavioral norms and ritual practices, such as the burial of the afterbirth. The sacred hierarchy of the dwelling’s loci is demonstrated: places with a special status were the hearth (symbolic center of the house and family), the smoke hole (tünük—a channel of communication with the celestial world), and the threshold (the boundary between the domestic and the alien space, the abode of the patron spirit). The semantic significance of all elements of the dwelling is demonstrated, as evidenced by numerous prohibitions, prescriptions, and rituals (domestic, wedding, funerary) associated with the door, the threshold, and the hearth. The house was conceived as the source and repository of the clan’s vital force (khuyakh), and its well-being directly depended on maintaining intra-family harmony and observing ritual norms. Thus, using Khakas cultural material, this study reveals an intrinsic connection between the architectonics of the dwelling, social organization, mythological worldview, and the system of subsistence strategies, wherein the house served as the primary instrument for “mastering” and “humanizing” the space.