The Concept of ‘Horse and Human’ in the Traditional Worldview of the Khakas (end of the XIX–XX century)
DOI: 10.23951/2307-6119-2024-2-84-93
The Khakas’ traditional way of life and economic activity was connected with horse breeding, which was given an important place. The daily life of the Khakas, the cattle breeders, was inextricably linked to the horse, on which practically their entire life depended – from daily housework to eating. This has contributed to the development of a whole complex of ideas about this domestic animal as the closest living creature to man in the traditional consciousness of the people. In the world view of the Khakas, the horse is not only perceived as an indispensable companion and faithful helper to humans but also as an equal partner in the ‘horse and human’ tandem. This article aims to characterize the concept of ‘horse and human’ in the traditional worldview of the Khakas. The time frame of the work is limited to the late XIX–XX century. The available sources on the research topic determine the choice of this time frame. Ethnographic and folkloristic materials served as the source basis. The study follows the principle of historicism, in which each cultural phenomenon is considered in its development and in the light of a specific historical situation. The research methodology uses historical and ethnographic methods: Remains (relics) and semantic analysis. According to the study results, the author concludes that the positive ideological concept of ‘horse and human’ was among the most important in the Khakas’ traditional culture. This, of course, testifies to the extremely important role that the horse played in the material and spiritual spheres of the life of these people. In the traditional consciousness of the Khakas, the image of this animal is very close to that of man; it is not only understood as a faithful friend and helper of its master but is also endowed with human qualities. The concept of ‘horse and human’ was elaborated in epic works and folk proverbs, sayings, and riddles. In the oral folk art of the Khakas, the images of ‘horse and human’ are inextricably linked. They complement each other and form a whole. In folklore, the ideas about a horse and its owner are manifested through a pictorial parallel. An associative-symbolic comparison is drawn between the behavior of humans and horses. It is noted that the image of this animal is strongly anthropomorphized and is often symbolically identified with humans.
Keywords: Khakas, traditional culture, worldview, the concept of ‘horse and human,’ image, symbol, folklore, socio-normative attitudes
References:
1. Katanov N. F. Narechiya uryankhaitsev (soiotov), abakanskikh tatar i karagasov (Obraztsy narodnoi literatury tyrkskikh plemen, izdannye V. V. Radlovym) [Adverbs Uryankhays (Soyots), Abakan Tatars and Karagases: (Samples folk literature of Turkic tribes issued V. V. Radloff)]. S-Peterburg, 1907. Vol. 9. 640 p. (in Russian).
2. Potapov L. P. Kon’ v verovaniyakh i epose narodov Saiano-Altaia [The horse in the beliefs and epic of the peoples of the Sayano-Altai]. Fol’klor i etnografiya. Svyazi fol’klora s drevnimi predaniyami i obryadami [Folklore and ethnography. Connections of folklore with ancient traditions and rituals]. Leningrad: Nauka Publ., 1977. P. 164–178 (in Russian).
3. Potapov L. P. Altaiskii shamanism [Altai Shamanism]. Leningrad, Nauka Publ., 1991. 320 p. (in Russian).
4. Dyrenkova N. P. Tyurki Sayano-Altaya. Stat’i i etnograficheskie materialy [The Turks of Sayano-Altai. Articles and ethnographic materials]. S-Peterburg: MAE Publ. 2012. 408 p. (in Russian).
5. Butanaev V. Ya. Burkhanizm tyurkov Sayano-Altaya [Burkhanism Turks Sayano-Altai]. Abakan: Publishing House of KhSU, 2003. 260 p. (in Russian).
6. Butanaev V. Ya. Traditsionnyi shamanism Hongoraya [Traditional shamanism of Hongorai]. Abakan: Publishing House of KhSU, 2006. 253 p. (in Russian).
7. Ungvitskaya M. A., Mainogasheva V. E. Khakasskoe narodnoe poeticheskoe tvorchestvo [Khakas folk poetry]. Abakan, Khakass office Krasnoyarsk Book Publ., 1972. 312 p. (in Russian).
8. Sunchugashev Ya. I. O dvuglavykh konyakh v khakasskom geroicheskom skazanii [About two-headed horses in the Khakass heroic legend]. Voprosy arkheologii Khakasii [Problems of archeology of Khakassia]. Abakan, 1980. P. 115–120 (in Russian).
9. Subrakova O. V. Yazyk khakasskogo geroicheskogo eposa [The language of the Khakass heroic epic]. Abakan: Khakas. book Publ., 2007, 164 p. (in Russian).
10. Chistobaeva N. S. Geroichekii epos khakasov: Tematika i poetika [The heroic epic of the Khakas: Theme and Poetics]. Abakan: Brigantina Book. Publ., 2015, 170 p. (in Russian, in Khakas.).
11. Burnakov V. A. Traditsionnye predstavleniya khakasov o yzykhakh [Traditional views of the Khakas about the Yzykhs] // Arkheologiya, etnografiya i antropologiya Evrazii [Archeology, ethnography and anthropology of Eurasia]. 2010. Vol. 2 (42). P. 111–121 (in Russian).
12. Burnakov V. A. Obraz konya v shamanskoy atributike khakasov (konec XIX – seredina XX veka) [The image of a horse in the shamanic attributes of the Khakass (late XIX – mid XX century)]. Problemy arheologii, jetnografii, antropologii Sibiri i sopredel’nyh territoriy: materialy godovoy nauchnoy sessii instituta arheologii i jetnografii SO RAN. T. XXVI [Problems of archeology, ethnography, anthropology of Siberia and adjacent territories: materials of the annual scientific session of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography SB RAS. Vol. XXVI]. Novosibirsk: IAET SB RAS Publ., 2021. P. 775–780 (in Russian).
13. Burnakov V. A. Kon’ i konskaya upryazh’ v obryadnosti detskogo tsikla khakasov (konets XIX – seredina XX veka) [Horse and horse harness in the rituals of the Khakass children's cycle (late XIX – mid XX century)] // Tomskij zhurnal lingvisticheskih i antropologicheskih issledovaniy [Tomsk Journal of Linguistic and Anthropological Research]. 2022. Vol. 1 (35). P. 115–123 (in Russian).
14. Burnakov V. A. Kon’ kak nebesnoe sushhestvo v religiozno-mifologicheskih predstavleniyah khakasov (konets XIX – XX vek) [The horse as a celestial being in the religious and mythological representations of the Khakas (late XIX – XX century)] // Tomskiy zhurnal lingvisticheskikh i antropologicheskikh issledovaniy [Tomsk Journal of Linguistic and Anthropological Research]. 2022. Vol. 2 (36). P. 105–117 (in Russian).
15. Burnakov V. A. Kon’ v traditsionnoy pohoronnoy obryadnosti khakasov (konets XIX – seredina XX v.) [The horse in the traditional funeral rites of the Khakass (late XIX – mid XX century)] // Vestnik Tomskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta [Bulletin of the Tomsk State University]. 2022. Vol. 479. P. 89–99 (in Russian).
16. Burnakov V. A. Kon’ v svadebnoy obryadnosti khakasov (konets XIX – seredina XX veka) [The horse in the wedding ceremony of the Khakass (late XIX – mid XX century)] // Vestnik Novosibirskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya: Istoriya, filologiya [Bulletin of the Novosibirsk State University. Series: History, Philology]. 2023. Vol. 22. No. 3. P. 140–154 (in Russian).
17. Burnakov V. A. Kon’ kak khtonicheskoe sushhestvo v verovaniyah i fol’klore khakasov (konets XIX – seredina XX veka) [The horse as a chthonic being in the beliefs and folklore of the Khakass (late XIX – mid XX century)] // Tomskiy zhurnal lingvisticheskikh i antropologicheskikh issledovaniy [Tomsk Journal of Linguistic and Anthropological Research]. 2023. Vol. 1 (39). P. 102–117 (in Russian).
18. Shchukin N. S. Narody turskogo yazyka, obitayushcie v Sibiri [Peoples of the Turk language living in Siberia] // Zhurnal Ministerstva vnutrennih del [Journal of the Ministry of Internal Affairs]. 1847. Vol. 18. P. 255–284 (in Russian).
19. Nesterov S. P. Kon’ v kul’tah tyurkoyazychnykh plemen Central’noiy Azii v epokhu Srednevekov’ya [Horse in the cults of the Turkic-speaking tribes of Central Asia in the Middle Ages]. Novosibirsk: Nauka Publ., 1990. 143 p. (in Russian).
20. Kul’t (religioznyi) [Cult (religious)]. Religioznye verovaniya: Svod etnograficheskikh ponyatiy i terminov. Vyp. 5 [Religious beliefs: A set of ethnographic concepts and terms. Vol. 5]. Moscow: Nauka Publ., 1993. 240 p. (in Russian).
21. Mudroe slovo. Sbornik khakasskikh narodnykh poslovits, pogovorok i zagadok [Wise Word. Collection of Khakass folk proverbs, sayings and riddles]. Abakan, 1976, Khakass office Krasnoyarsk. Book. Publ., 128 p. (in Russian and in Khakas.).
22. Narylkova O. V. Loshad’ i ee naimenovaniya v khakasskom yazyke [Horse and its names in the Khakass language]. Ezhegodnik Instituta Sayano-altaiskoiy tyurkologii. Vyp. XI [Yearbook of the Institute of Sayan-Altai Archeology. Vol. 11]. Abakan: KhSU Publ., 2007. P. 29–31 (in Russian).
23. Borgoyakova T. G. Kratkiy khakassko-russkiy frazeologicheskiy slovar’: uchebnoe posobie [Brief Khakass-Russian phraseological dictionary. Tutorial]. Abakan: KhSU Publ., 1996. 144 p. (in Khakas., in Russian).
24. Burnakov V. A. Dukhi Srednego mira v traditsionnom mirovozzrenii khakasov [The spirits of the Middle world in the traditional worldview of the Khakas people]. Novosibirsk, 2006, IAET SO RAN Publ. 197 p. (in Russian).
25. Stepanov A. P. Eniseyskaya guberniya. Chast’ II [Yenisei province. Part II]. St.-Petersburg, Konrad Vingeber Publ., 1835. 139 p. (in Russian).
26. Khakasskie narodnye takhpakhi [Khakass folk takhpakhas]. Abakan: Khakass office Krasnoyarsk. book Publ., 1980. 132 p. (in Russian).
27. Chertykova M. D. Poslovichnaya konceptualizaciya obshcetyurkskoiy zooleksemy at “loshad’” (na materiale khakasskogo yazyka) [Proverbial conceptualization of the common Turkic zoolexeme at ‘horse’ (based on the material of the Khakass language)] // Jazyki i fol’klor korennyh narodov Sibiri [Languages and folklore of the indigenous peoples of Siberia]. 2019. Vol. 2 (38). P. 78–84 (in Russian).
28. Katanov N. F. Skazaniya i legendy Minusinskikh tatar [Tales and legends of the Minusinsk Tatars] // Sibirskij sbornik [Siberian collection]. 1887. Vol. 25. P. 218–234 (in Russian).
29. Yakovlev E. K. Jetnograficheskiy obzor inorodcheskogo naseleniya doliny Yuzhnogo Eniseya i Ob’yasnitel’nyi katalog Etnograficheskogo otdela muzeya. Opisanie Minusinskogo muzeya. Vyp. 4 [Ethnographic overview of the foreign population of the Southern Yenisei valley and Explanatory catalog of the Ethnographic Department of the museum. Description of the Minusinsk Museum. Vol. 4]. Minusinsk: V. I. Kornakov Publ., 1900. 212 p. (in Russian).
30. Chudnovskiy S. L. Eniseyskaya guberniya: K trekhsotletnemu yubileyu Sibiri (Statistiko-publicisticheskie etyudy) [Yenisei province: To the three hundredth anniversary of Siberia (Statistical and journalistic studies)]. Tomsk: «Sibirskaya gazeta» Publ., 1885. 198 p. (in Russian).
31. Kastren M. A. Puteshestvie v Sibir’ (1845–1849) [Travel to Siberia (1845–1849)]. Tyumen’: Ju. Mandriki Publ., 1999. 352 p. (in Russian).
32. Ostrovskikh P. E. Etnograficheskie zametki o tyurkakh Minusinskogo kraya [Ethnographic Notes about the Turks Minusinsk Territory] // Zhivaya starina [Living antiquity]. 1895. Vol. 3–4. P. 297–348 (in Russian).
33. Kropotkin A. A. Sayanskii khrebet i Minusinskii okrug [Sayan Range and Minusinsk District]. Zhivopisnaia Rossiya [Picturesque Russia]. S-Peterburg-Moskow: M. O. Vol’f Publ., 1895. Vol. 12, iss. 1. Eastern outskirts of Russia. Eastern Siberia. P. 19–50 (in Russian).
34. Bytotova L. I. Otrazhenie koncepta «loshad’» v yazykovom soznanii russkih i khakasov (na materiale poslovits i pogovorok) [Reflection of the concept “horse” in the linguistic consciousness of Russians and Khakassians (based on proverbs and sayings)]. Filologicheskie nauki v Rossii i za rubezhom [Philological sciences in Russia and abroad]. St. Petersburg: Renome Publ., 2013. P. 40–44 (in Russian).
( 414.93 kB ) 
( 397 kB )
Issue: 2, 2024
Series of issue: Issue 2
Rubric: ANTHROPOLOGY
Pages: 84 — 93
Downloads: 150