Home > Myths and Legends of the World > Siberian Mythology

Siberia is a vast region in northern Asia, stretching from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. To the north lies the Arctic Ocean; to the south lie Mongolia, China, and Central Asia. European Russians have been settling in Siberia for several centuries, but the region's original inhabitants were hunting, fishing, and herding peoples whose cultures were related to those of other northern groups, such as the Inuit of North America. Siberian mythology and religion reflected a world in which humans depended on and respected animals, believing that the animals had spirits and could change form.

Elements of Mythology. Traditionally, Siberians viewed the world as the middle realm—or region—in a series of three, five, or seven worlds that were stacked one on top of the other. As in many belief systems, the realms above belonged to good gods and spirits, those below to evil ones. A tree...