For the indigenous peoples of Siberia, hunting is a traditional trade. From the age of five, boys begin to get acquainted with the household and hunting grounds. At first, they observe the actions of their father, listen to his explanations, and are later given feasible tasks.

Fathers teach their sons to respect nature, show them how to behave oneself in the forest and the norms of interaction between hunters. Before their first independent hunt, teenage boys have to pass a test — they must demonstrate their marksmanship skills. If they fail, they can’t go hunting.

Equipped with knowledge of animals’ behaviors and their habitats, the Khanty choose a method of hunting and an appropriate weapon.

The crossbow (also referred to as “bow trap”) is one of the traditional hunting weapons of the indigenous population of Western Siberia. Such a crossbow is a weapon used for passive hunting.

From the book “The Complex Bow of the Ob Ugrians” by Yakov Arkadyevich Yakovlev: 

The Yugan Khanty made bows from cedar, arrows from pine and did not use fletchings.

The Soviet archaeologist and Siberia researcher Alexey Pavlovich Okladnikov remarked: 

Elk season began in autumn, and hunters often put fences up to 250 meters long on narrow forest hills. When passing along the fence, the prey went out through carefully placed openings which led it to the horizontally-positioned crossbow.

The bow had to be placed so that the arrow hit the shoulder blade of the beast. To prevent hitting people, the hunters stuck a pole with a mark near the bow, which served as a warning that the arrow was designed to fly a short distance.

Today, crossbows are no longer used for hunting and they can be seen only in the museums, including the Ugut Museum of Local History named after Pyotr Semyonovich Bakhlykov.