!!!Manpupuner Rock Formations

Photos Stanislav Sedov and
Sergey Rumyantsev,
members of the [AirPano Team|Geography/About/Consortium/AirPano,_Team] that is a member of the [global-geography Consortium|Geography/About/Consortium]. \\

22 April 2022

with kind permission of [AirPano|http://www.AirPano.com]

Russia offers a variety of natural, cultural and historical sites. Some
of them are well known, others remain in the background. An AirPano
virtual tour will tell you about a magnificent natural landmark worthy
of global recognition: the Manpupuner rock formations, the stone idols
in the Troitsko-Pechorsky district of the Republic of Komi. In the local
Mansi language “Man-Pupu-nyor” means a “small idol mountain”, in the
Komi language they call it “bolvano-iz”, so the stone pillars are
colloquially known as the “Mansi blockheads”.

[{Image src='01_Manpupur.jpg' caption='Manpupuner\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='382'}]

Far back in the past, there was a mountain range here, but the rain,
snow, wind and sudden changes in the temperature gradually eroded the
soft rocks. The remains that survive today are composed of hard shale
rock; the oddly-shaped pillars are a result of the centuries-long
influence of the forces of nature. This process is known as “selective
weathering”. Those lumps of rock that were capable of standing against
wind and weather became true guards: they are protecting those rocks
that lie below from destruction and erosion.

[{Image src='02_Manpupur.jpg' caption='Manpupuner at night\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='422'}]

The height of the Manpupuner pillars varies between 30 and 42 meters.
All in all, there are 14 pillars: six in one group, and eight in the
other one. Each pillar has its unique shape, resembling a man, an animal
head, a bottle, and other objects - a variety of shapes depending on the
imagination of the person looking at them. Two of the eight pillars are
so close to one another that they look like a single monolith.

[{Image src='03_Manpupur.jpg' caption='The Shaman Rock\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='527'}]

Sometimes, the stone giants make heavy sounds as if talking to one
another. Given the abnormal shape of these natural wonders, it is not
surprising that there is a host of legends about them. The most
frequently told one is about ancient Samoyed giants who were on a march
through the mountains, heading to destroy the Voguls (as the Mansi were
formerly called). On the way, the shaman who led the host, saw
Yalping-Ner, a sacred mountain. Sensing the powers stronger than his, he
dropped his drum. The drum started rolling and turned into a conical
mountain, which was later called Koyp (“a drum”), and the fighters were
terrified and turned to stone. Standing apart is the Shaman rock: this
is what became of the leader of the giants.

[{Image src='04_Manpupur.jpg' caption='Manpupuner at starry night\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='417'}]

A romantic legend about the Manpupuner stone idols traces their history
to a battle between the locals and the giants who wanted to steal away
the beautiful Ayum. The girl turned for help to the spirits of the
sacred mountain of Yalping-Ner, and they gifted her brother a magic
shield. The sunlight, reflecting from it, turned the enemies into stone.
According to another version of the same legend, a powerful shaman was
wooing Ayum. Being rejected and feeling desperate, the shaman threw down
his shield and magic started happening. The girl’s brothers and the
shaman got petrified turning into the first group of the stone idols;
the girl and her family form the second group of the stone pillars, and
the shield, having rolled up to the mountain, gave birth to that very
conical summit called Koyp.

[{Image src='05_Manpupur.jpg' caption='Manpupuner at sunrise\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='599'}]

As we see, the legends get intertwined and transformed; yet, they surely
only add to the mystery surrounding the Manpupuner pillars.

The group of “blockheads” is in a hard-to-reach spot, the first
explorers came to the area only in the 1930s. Before that, the area was
believed to be sacral and was visited by shamans only who went there for
spiritual practices. Today, Manpupuner makes part of the
Pechoro-Ilychsky Reserve; in 2008, the formations were recognized as one
of the Seven Wonders of Russia.

[{Image src='06_Manpupur.jpg' caption='The second group of stones\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='599'}]

Yet, the place has never become a mass tourism destination - it is not
easy to get there. Manpupuner can be accessed either from the European
part, the Komi Republic, or from Asia. The AirPano team started off in
Komsomolsk on Pechora (Komi), and travelled 227 kilometres using a
snowmobile. When making such a trip, it is advised to stay overnight at
the Shezhim-Pechorsky cordon. You can enjoy the spectacular scenery of
the place from our panoramas. If one is lucky to get a special permit in
the reserve, it is possible to spend the night close to the Manpupuner
stone idols. Perhaps, a mere video of this sacred place is not enough to
make one experience all the emotions, but its beauty and grandeur are
sure to strike a chord with everyone.

[{Image src='07_Manpupur.jpg' caption='Kordon\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='506'}]

We express our gratitude to the staff of the Pechora-Ilych Nature
Reserve and personally to the director Leonid Simakin for the help in
organizing the filming as well as our guide Alexey Larionov for the
amazing snowmobile adventure.

\\ \\
[17 panoramas of Manpupuner Rock Formations|Geography/Asia/Russia/Pictures/Manpupuner]

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