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THEONYMS YEZIM AND YAZHYLKHAN IN THE SHAMAN MYTHOLOGY OF THE ALTAIANS // Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2019. Issue 2 (24). P. 158-168

The article is the first to give an ethno-linguistic analysis of the theonyms Yezim and Yazhylkan) in the shamanic mythology of the Altaians, taking into account their origin, historical and ethnographic context and cultural semantics. The research material is shamanic texts, written at the beginning of the twentieth century in various dialectal groups of Altaians. In the internal form of these theonyms lies the motivating word jеs / jas ‘copper, copper’ (Yezim – lit. ‘My copper’; Jazhylkan – lit. ‘Copper Khan’). This suggests that the origin of these theonyms is associated with the mythologization of copper and the deification of the mountains. The mythologization of metals and the appearance on the basis of this folklore images is characteristic of archaic cultures. The Altai shamans called Yezim a mountain, as well as the host spirit of this mountain, which they considered their patron saint (aru töc). Altai shamans believed that this copper mountain is located in the very center of the earth, where there is a copper poplar connecting all three worlds – upper, middle and lower. The shaman reaches the mountain peak of Yezim, overcoming seven obstacles. From the deity of Yezim, the shamans received a shamanic gift, spirit helpers, and attributes. The motivating word jеs / jas ‘copper, copper’, which lies in the inner form of the theonym Yazhylkan (Chalkan variant – Tjazhyn), makes it possible to compare this deity with the thunder-god, the patron of blacksmithing in Buryat mythology, Yashil-Sagaan-Tengri. Both Buryats and Chalkans attributed these deities to the category of gods (tengri, tegriler). Altaians was made for this deity an image of a white hare's skin and put it in a yurt.

Keywords: ethnolinguistics, mythology, shamanism among the Altaians, shamanic text, theonym, mythonim, mythotoponim, personification, copper in the mythology of the Turks

COLOR IDENTIFICATIONS OF THE ALTAYS MYTHOLOGICAL DISCOURSE // Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2021. Issue 1 (31). P. 47-63

The paper first considers the specifics of color designations in the Altai mythological discourse. The factual material of the research was published and unpublished folklore texts, in particular, myths, legends, tales, shamanistic campaigns in the Altai language. The color code is important in the conceptualization of the mythological picture of Altaians. The national-cultural specificity of color designations in the mythological discourse is due to their compatibility with concepts-nominations, designating various objects and phenomena of the invisible world. Color designations can be the first component of naming the various names of supernatural beings, deities, spirits, or their clothes. The basic colors revealed in the traditional mythological picture of Altaians — ak “white”, kara “black”, kyzyl “red”, sary “yellow”, kÿreң “brown”, kök “blue” and jazhyl “green” — in the conceptualization of mythological, mythical images, objects of the unreal (invisible) world on the basis of their deepest archetypal signs that arose as a result of associative-metaphorical transfer. In combination with mythological concepts related to the Upper World, white is a sign of divine purity, holiness, blue is a sign of heaven, green is a sign of greenery and lighted sky, red and yellow are a sign of the shining sun. In combination with the mythological images of the Lower World, black as the antipode of white symbolizes darkness, death, red symbolizes blood, hellish hell, yellow means withering, disease, evil, blue means cold, ice, water, green — dim light in darkness. When mythological archetypes were refracted into the system of folk ethics, the transformation of the signs “light — dark” into the signs “good — evil” occurred. In addition to the color code, the zoomorphic code of the Altai culture is used in the conceptualization and structuring of the mythological other world, in the modeling of its geographical landscape and the conceptualization of the world.

Keywords: ethnolinguistics, Altai language, color code, color designation, conceptualization, conceptual sign, myth, mythological picture of the world, mythological concept, mythonym

CULTURAL UNIVERSALS IN THE RITUAL TRADITION OF THE TURKIC-MONGOLIAN PEOPLES: VOCABULARY AND CONTEXT // Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2021. Issue 2 (32). P. 114-123

The authors consider the vocabulary of Siberian Turkic and Mongolian languages, related to the cult of mountains, land and water in a semantic context with the ritual action. The main languages of the study are Altai, Buryat and Yakut with the involvement of Mongolian, Khakas, and Tuvan parallels. In rites of Turkic-Mongolian people devoted to the host spirits of the area, the general principles of the organization of the sacred space, conceptually similar ritual actions are traced. There are universal attributes and symbols which are illustratory of shamanism and Buddhism. For the first time, a comparative analysis of lexemes, semantics and symbolism of words related to ritual actions and accompanying their verbal context was carried out. The purpose of the work is identifying the preservation, dissemination and transformation of cultural universals with verbal expression. A study of the oldest cultural codes preserved in the subject and actional spheres of rite seems relevant. The concept of a cultural code in the study of rite will provide a key to understanding the cultural picture of the world and allows deciphering the deep meaning of the components of the rite (meanings, signs, symbols, norms, etc.). As a result, we state that there was once a united Turkic-Mongolian tradition of shamanism, which had a common culturally significant system. It is confirmed by lexical material and their ritual context. The considered two main rituals of sacrifice (bloody and bloodless) prove both ancient ties and a stable universal sequence and the preservation of national codes in the ritual event of the Mongolian and Turkic peoples of Siberia. It is revealed that the key lexemes used in the subject code have a universal semantics in the ritual event. Lexical correspondences and similar ritual objects and actions most likely prove the ascension of the rite to single roots with subsequent regional and temporary transformations. It was established that the same attributes of the ritual with a similar or different lexical designation are archetypes reflecting the general cultural codes of the Turkic peoples of Siberia and Mongolian ethnic groups.

Keywords: Turkic-Mongolian people, cultural universals, cultural code, historical vocabulary, rite

About the Pragmatic Features of the Mythological Prose of Altai // Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2023. Issue 3 (41). P. 47-56

The article is devoted to the pragmatic features of the mythological texts of the Altai from the point of view of the harmonization strategy. This harmonization takes place in the following directions: thanks to the myth, man adapts to the surrounding reality; the myth coordinates the actions and attitudes of the individual towards the surrounding natural world; the perception of the external world through the myth helps the individual to make the surrounding reality understandable (“to humanize”); the mythological worldview functions as a system of basic guidelines necessary for the interpretation of natural factors, enabling members of a given society to know how to behave; myths regulate and legitimize the life of an individual and a society, as they contain explanations and indications of norms for the proper behavior and perception of environmental reality. The various tactics used in these texts are examined from the point of view of harmonizing strategy, especially the statement, praise, blame, directives used to express narrative imperatives, and tactics of presentation, advice, and warning.

Keywords: mythological prose of Altai, harmonization strategy, communicative tactics, mythmaking, mythological thinking

Morphological and Lexical-semantic Features of Butterfly Names in the Altai Language // Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2024. Issue 3 (45). P. 32-44

The article examines the names of butterflies in the Altai language from the point of view of their morphological and lexical-semantic features. The relevance of the study lies in the lack of knowledge of this lexicalsemantic group of words. The work uses descriptive, comparative methods as well as methods of morphological, lexical-semantic, and motivational analysis. The novelty of the study lies in the identification of the composition of the vocabulary denoted by butterflies, in the study of the internal form of these insectonyms, the main methods of naming and word formation models, in the determination of the national and cultural characteristics of this lexical-semantic group in the Altai language. The generic name kӧbӧlӧk ‘butterfly’ belongs to the general Turkic vocabulary, while the specific names are Altai. Certain stereotypes about butterflies have developed in the popular consciousness of Altai people: a negative attitude towards nocturnal butterfly species, which are ‘ugly in color,’ and daytime butterflies which ‘harm plants.’ Some names of butterflies reflect the mythological idea that butterflies are creatures created by the deity of the underworld. These insectonyms include various mythonyms associated with the shamanic and pagan beliefs of the Altai people. In the fiction of the Altai people, the butterfly is a symbol of beauty, lightness, and freedom. Various lexical-semantic features and word formation models characterize the names of the butterflies. Decisive for naming butterflies were the characteristics of color, habitat, action, their similarity to other representatives of the fauna, and some mythologies that connect these insects with the other world. When naming butterflies, a distinction is made between one-part and mostly two-part (compound) words, which are formed using suffixes and analytical methods. When forming insectonyms, the most productive suffixes are -chy/-che, -ak/-ek/-k, -gash. Between the components of the actual complex compound names of insects, the attributive or isafetic connection is the most characteristic. Lexicalization, conversion with affixation (konokchy, talbyŋduush), and calquing (kachangash ‘butterfly lands on cabbage’) can be observed in the word-formation of this entomological group of vocabulary. The material studied can be used in the compilation of translation, explanation, and terminology dictionaries of the Altai language, which constitutes the practical value of this article.

Keywords: Altai language, lexicology, word formation, lexical-semantic group, motivation, internal form of the word, insectonyms, insects, zoonyms, butterflies, fauna of the Altai Mountains