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DOI: 10.46698/VNC.2022.16.9.001
ECHOES OF PAGAN CULTS IN KARACHAY-BALKARIAN NART EPOS
Gulieva (Zanukoeva), Farizat H.
Kavkaz Forum. 2022. Issue 9.
Abstract:
The article is devoted to the study of the features of reflection of the premonotheistic
religious views of the karachay-balkarian ethnic group in this
national version of the Nartiada. The work was written using an interdisciplinary
approach and the method of linguoculturological analysis. As is known, the nart
epos is a unique monument of spiritual culture, combining elements of mythology
and folklore. It contains significant information in terms of volume and importance
on various spheres of life of the people-creator from the most ancient times to
the era of early feudalism. The subject of the research in this article is the pagan
cults of the Karachays and Balkarians. It is noted, that the designated people did
not retain a clearly structured mythological picture of the world, information
about the pantheon of pagan gods. Nevertheless, some details on this issue can
be gleaned from ritual and mythological poetry and prose, fairy-tales, nart epos,
superstitions, signs, etc. Thus, in the «Narts», in various plot situations, the names
of the pagan deities of the ancestors of the Karachay-Balkarians Teyri, Kek teyri,
Zher teyri, Suu teyri, Zhel teyri, Umay, Apsati, Eliya, etc. are mentioned. The cycles,
dedicated to the main characters, contain echoes of the ancient cults (fire, water,
earth, iron / metal, astral bodies, stone, wolf, horse, etc.). In addition, in epos the
influence of the cult of the dead is clearly traced. In the end it is concluded, that,
despite some transformation in accordance with the laws of artistic poetics,
the nart epos can serve as an auxiliary source in reconstruction of the pagan
picture of the world of the karachays and balkarians, and its in-depth study will
contribute to the formation of a clearer understanding of the national specifics of
the considered version of Nartiada.
Keywords: Karachay-Balkarian nart epos, mythological representations, pagan cults, animism, totemism, fetishism, national specificity
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