In ancient Nenets legend tells that once a year, when the Great Sun is setting in the sky, beneath the frozen and lifeless land rises Solar Woman, who is in her womb the baby, which was destined to become the spirit of fertility.

Solar Baba dazzling light illuminates the surroundings where to worship her flock herders, hunters, warriors and tribal leaders. One day, the God of sun emits a loud noise, like the sound of a thousand chimneys, and spewing from its womb the spirit of fertility.

And in the same instant green earth, give the offspring of wild animals and home-made creatures, and have a happy mothers of children born welcome!

In another tradition, the perceived of the Mansi people, tells of how the Golden idol moved through the Ural stone belt, but was stopped by the old shaman, who considered himself to his master. Angry Golden idol roared thunderous voice that killed all life in the district, and the daring shaman turned into stone.

Another story related to the Yakut heroic epos, tells of a copper statue, standing in the midst of impassable swamps, which when approaching enemies began to make a sound like the chirping of many of the crickets, and radiate in the sky is blue glow.
These stories, like dozens of other similar legends of Northern and Siberian peoples, are associated with one of the most mysterious phenomena pagan culture of the Eurasian continent - the Golden Woman.
Detachment never returned...

The first officially extant reference to it dates back to the Sofia chronicle 1398. In annals it is told about the death of the monk Stephen of Perm, who brought the light of Orthodoxy to the people living in the North woods and worshiped fire, stone and Golden Woman. Next time this name appears two hundred years later. In 1595 was published one of the cards medieval cartographer, Mercatura where near the mouth of the Ob river there is the inscription, sounding translated as "Golden Woman".

In the XV century Novgorod-ushkuiniki, actively engaged in trade, brought to Russia the information about the "good will among unknown people in the Eastern country, the growth of small, each other udachej and praying to Golden idol".

In the XVI century Muscovy were well known legends about mysterious Golden idol. This is evidenced by the memories of the Austrian Ambassador S. Herberstein, dated 1520, which described the rumors that Ural stone sanctuary is a large Golden idol in the form of a pregnant woman, issuing a deafening roar. In 1578, Italian writer A. Hvanyini mentions heard by him stories about the statue, standing "behind cold and gloomy country Muscovy", the roar of which, like the tube, it is heard among the mountains.

Because of that, the first Cossack detachments of Ermak, the ones from over in 1582, the Stone belt, which moved and ineradicable desire for wealth, in addition to mastering the mysterious land beyond the Urals cherished dream to find the famous Golden Woman. This indirectly confirms exiled to Siberia writer and historian of the XVII century Yu Krizanic in his Manuscript about Siberia and its peoples". Thus, in particular, Yu Krizanic writes that, having reached to the Irtysh, Ermak Timofeevich sent a squad of twenty Cossacks, who were ordered to move to the North-East for the "Golden image". This detachment never returned to their ataman, who after three months, the stories of the local population, learned that his messengers had disappeared in Shaim swamps.

Hypotheses, assumptions, hypotheses

History of origin of the Golden Baba centuries excited the minds of historians, geographers and travelers. In his multi-volume academic work "History of Siberia" historian of the XVIII century, Miller suggests that gold pagan idols were made of various materials (gold, bronze, bone, stone) many peoples of Siberia, as mention of them are present in Khanty, Evenks, Yakuts, Buryats and Khakases.

Already in the XX century the study of "Siberia in news foreign travelers and writers M. Alexeev made the assumption, that the Golden Woman is a statue of bodhisattva of mercy Avalokiteshvara, received in Chinese Buddhism female image of the goddess Guanyin. In confirmation of his hypothesis, he mentions Guanyin statues in Tibet, which has a white sink, under the influence of wind emits unusual sounds.
Novosibirsk historian N. The assumption is not without reason believes that the pagan Golden idol moved to Siberia from Italy. When in 410 ad in Rome was attacked by the barbarian tribes, they made plundered and burnt the city with a gold statue of the goddess Juno, which returned to their homeland, to the Arctic ocean. Since ancient times the statue has become an idol of the Northern peoples.

A number of other researchers have proposed the hypothesis that the Golden Woman is none other than the giant Golden pagan idol that before the baptism of Kyivan Rus was built on the high Bank of the Dnieper river, and then in the X century, had vanished without trace. According to one legend, the thrust of the Gentiles, saving their sanctuary from the Great Prince Vladimir, who said, let the Golden statue for the decoration of temples built, managed to smuggle his Stone belt and to hide the sacred idol for future posterity.

Some of the researchers tend to believe that under the Gold Woman should be understood not the statue of a woman, made of precious metal, and the most common bell, only the huge sizes.

Alien robot

But perhaps the most unusual is the hypothesis put forward by a number of ufologists and claiming that the Golden Woman is actually the object of extraterrestrial origin, the robot is made of unknown metal that looks like gold, able to move and make a sound. According to ufologists, this object could be left by the representatives of extraterrestrial intellect as an information machine, which passed the "sacred" knowledge of indigenous peoples of Siberia, moving on its vast territory. Not casually mention of the Golden Woman meet in legends practical of all indigenous peoples of the North and Ural from the upper reaches of the rivers Kama, Vjatka and the Northern Dvina river to lake Baikal. In confirmation of its fantastic hypotheses ufologists refer to the legends associated with the heavenly chariot and descended on it the Sun God, who left his wise daughter. When in the Holy land came enemies, the daughter of the Sun-God become formidable statue that scared her a terrible voice intruders.

Over time, according to ufologists, the mechanism alien robot out of order and the object disappeared under centuries-old layers of soil. However, in our days there is a chance to discover this mysterious object, which, quite possibly, sends out of the ground to the surface some signals. One of the mysterious radio signals were recorded in the mid 70-ies of the last century during the prospecting works conducted using ultra-sensitive equipment installed in a helicopter near the town Salekhard. However, the signal was so weak that set the location of its source, then it was not possible.

In the mid 80-ies a group of Tomsk scientists traveled to the deaf Northern places and has conducted research with the help of echo - location equipment. In the two-month work they had established the presence of a massive object, resting in the swamps at the confluence of the Ob and Poluy. However, due to lack of funding had been discontinued.

Up to our days the mystery of the Golden Baba never solved. It is possible that it never existed in the form in which it appears in numerous legends and tales. However, I would like to believe that the day will come, and this pagan idol shines before us in all its original greatness and original beauty.

Sergey KOZHUSHKO