IMAGE AND SYMBOLISM OF THE WOLF IN THE WORLDVIEW AND RITUAL OF THE BURYATS
DOI: 10.23951/2307-6119-2021-2-93-101
In modern times, the spiritual heritage of the peoples of Russia, including their traditional picture of the world, is an object of public and scientific interest. In this context, it is important to reconstruct popular views about the animal world. The purpose of the work is to identify the meaning of the wolf in the mythological judgments of the Buryats and the inclusion of this wild animal in their rituals. Various ethnographic, folklore, and linguistic materials were used as sources for the research. The paper uses the structural-semiotic method as the main one. The analysis shows that the Buryats have formed an ambiguous image of the wolf, characterized by ambivalent connotations. The special role of color symbolism is revealed in the ideas about this animal. The wolf had a heavenly (white wolf) and male symbolism. A positive connotation was also expressed in the recognition of the apotropaic function of his skin. The sacredness of his image is indicated by the custom observed by hunters of removing the skin from the killed predator with the head and some internal organs. The negative characteristic of the wolf was associated with the fact that this beast was perceived as a mediator between worlds. He was identified with trouble. It was believed that it has a demonic nature, serves as a transport for evil spirits. The chthonic origin of the predator was indicated by its relationship with the raven. The wolf also carried the symbolism of aggression and was associated with a military cult. In this context, we should consider its association with weapons and the idea of werewolves. It was found out that in the shamanic rites of the Buryats, the wolf had a sacred status, which was manifested in the poetry and attributes of the shaman (in ritual clothing, in the use of a wolf fetish). It is determined that the Buryat folk beliefs about the wolf find parallels in the traditional worldview of other peoples, which indicates universal and typological phenomena in the Buryat mythological fauna.
Keywords: the Buryats, the traditional world, the wild fauna, the image of the wolf, folklore, and ritual
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Issue: 2, 2021
Series of issue: Выпуск № 2
Rubric: ANTHROPOLOGY
Pages: 93 — 101
Downloads: 762