The article is devoted to the mythological image of Chinanai – the hero of the epic cycle of the Vitim-Olyokminsk Evenkis ethnolocal group, which has its own characteristics and typologically differs from most of the legends in the Evenki folklore. On the basis of theoretical works of Russian folklorists, Tungus Studies devoted to the image of an epic hero, as well as folklore texts about the hero of local Evenki folklore, an attempt is made to reveal the image of Chinanai through the prism of his functions. A small volume of texts, where there are practically no artistic descriptions of events, the structural part is also not traditional, motifs have an etiological function, etc. Time coincides with the period of creation, arrangement and improvement of the world. The dual nature of the mythological image of Chinanai is genetically based on mythology and evolves into an epic hero of the Evenkis in the image of a cultural hero, an ancestor; at the same time, the image of Chinanai is characterized by very impartial actions, but at the same time, the hero retains the features of a cultural hero. Probably, having arisen in the era of the primitive myth, the cultural hero becomes the center of cyclization and such epic forms as the animal fairy tale, anecdote of everyday life, a genealogical legend and, finally, a heroic legend. There is not only the attachment of new motifs to the plot of the popular hero, but also new plots about the cultural hero are formed through transformation and rethinking (up to parodic) plots of primitive myths. As a result of the analysis, the author comes to the conclusion about the complex genesis of the image, which embodies the features of the ancestor, demiurge and trickster.