In ancient times, in order to warm their dwelling, the Khanty built a fire on the floor, the smoke from which came out through a hole in the ceiling. Then they began using an oven called chuval made of hollow wood and plastered with clay. A chuval was installed in a corner near the door, and the pipe extended above the dwelling. The diameter of the stove pipe depended on the width of the shoulders of the hostess, who had to stand inside, when forming its internal walls using clay.
Fire was lit in the lower part of the chuval called zev; in winter, the stove burned all night, as it did not retain heat. A crossbar was fixed over the flame for hanging a pot. Over time, the chuval was replaced by iron potbelly stoves.
Fire as a source of life-giving heat was deified under the name Nay-anki (Mother Fire) and treated with care and respect: people never threw garbage or dirty firewood into the flame and presented it with gifts, like fat, oil, pieces of food, wine, and scraps of red cloth. In particular, it was forbidden to touch the fire with iron, therefore, in a traditional Khanty household, the oven fork could not be used. This item was adopted under the influence of the Russians.
The oven fork was an indispensable tool when using a Russian oven: cast iron and clay pots with food, milk and water were put in the oven, moved around there and taken out with the help of this two-pronged metal holder mounted on a long wooden shaft. The most massive oven forks for heavy vessels were fitted with a support bracket on wooden wheels.
Oven forks were made by local blacksmiths. The wedge-shaped piece of metal was cut along two-thirds of the length, the whole part was flattened and the edges were folded to form a sleeve. That is how the nozzle piece for the shaft was made. The arms were stretched to the sides, and then bent into an open ring, so that the fork could easily grab and hold a cast iron pot of a certain size. The ends of the arms were slightly bent outwards so that they did not scratch the surface of the vessels.
Oven tongs were considered by village people a classic “woman’s” tool, as well as a means of defense and an amulet. This is reflected in proverbs (“A woman with an oven fork can even kill a bear”) and beliefs. If there was a pregnant woman in the house, an oven fork was leaned up against the stove with the tongs up, and when going outside, the woman used it as a staff. In order not to accidentally release the household spirit, when leaving the house, the oven was closed with a flap or blocked with an oven fork.
