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DOI: 10.46698/VNC.2024.27.20.003

DEDICATION OF A HORSE TO THE DECEASED: SPREAD OF THE RITUAL IN ALANIA AND IRAN

Kanukov, Zaurbek T.
Kavkaz Forum. 2024. Issue 20.
Abstract:
The article is devoted to the issue of the spread of the rite of dedication of a horse
to the deceased in the territory of ancient and medieval Alania and Iran. This practice is
reflected in archeology in the form of accompanying burials of horses. The dedication of a
horse to the deceased was not always accompanied by the actual burial of a horse. In some
cases, it could be a symbolic killing (for example, with an ear cut), which in archeology is
recorded only by finds of horse harness elements, or without it at all. The rite was directly
related to the religious and mythological beliefs of the peoples under consideration,
where the horse acted as a carrier of the soul of a deceased person to the afterlife, and
then accompanied it there. The horse has long occupied a significant place in the culture
of many peoples. Playing an important role in the economy, it became an integral part of
many cult practices and ceremonies. The most developed cult practices involving horses
were among the Indo-European peoples. Among them are the Iranian-speaking nomads
of the Eurasian steppes. It is with their migration to the Eastern region that the appearance
of accompanying burials of horses on the territory of modern Iran is associated. The spread
of Zoroastrianism, Christianity and Islam had a significant impact on the worldview of the
peoples of the Iranian group, including ideas about the afterlife. Nevertheless, echoes of old
religious ideas can still be traced in the culture of the aforementioned ethnic groups. Thus,
the ritual of dedicating a horse to the deceased still exists among modern Ossetians and
some Iranian ethnic groups.
Keywords: horse dedication, the Alans, Iran, accompanying burials.
Download the full text  
For citation: Kanukov, Z.T. Dedication of a horse to the deceased: spread of the ritual
in Alania and Iran. KAVKAZ-FORUM. 2024, iss. 20 (27), pp. 64-71 (In Russian).
DOI 10.46698/VNC.2024.27.20.003
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