Some Modern Magical Rites of the Kyrgyz People: a Shamanistic Perspective
https://doi.org/10.22162/2075-7794-2017-29-1-48-57
Abstract
The article deals with traditional Kyrgyz magical rites practiced till nowadays. It shows shamanistic origins of ritual ablution (‘rukh tazaloo’), fi re purifi cation (‘sham zhaguu, alastoo’), contacts to the spiritual world (‘zhar saluu’), sacrifi ces (‘kurmandyk, sadaga, tülöö’), invocations and spells (‘dem saluu’). The magical tradition of the Kyrgyz people is considered in the context of Turkic shamanism which is characterized by beliefs in spirits, power of the elements and sacred places. Spirits of ancestors and other magic beings are acting through their elects, i.e. shamans and healers. According to folk views, water and fi re also have healing powers. The folk tradition ‘kyrgyzchylyk’ is examined as a cultural and historical phenomenon resulting from combinations of shamanistic and Islamic elements. The article demonstrates structural relationships between the Kyrgyz magical rites. Same rites can be applied in different situations, following one another and interrupting each other during the whole ceremony. The information from ethnologists and folklorists is illustrated by a number of evidences received from informants residing in Northern Kyrgyzstan and interviewed by the author from 2011 to 2016. The paper traces some parallels between the Kyrgyz magic rites and shamanistic practices of the Turkic and Mongolic peoples who have cultural and genetic relationships with the Kyrgyz population. The article also pays signifi cant attention to the important role of the altered states of consciousness (ASC) in the rites of the Kyrgyz shamans and healers. ASCs are very important for ‘zhar saluu’ practices standing for mediumistic contacts to spirits. Describing sacrifi ces and highlighting the functional difference between the diverse sacrifi cial rites the paper hypothesizes that the ritual formula ‘aylanayyn’ is related to the archaic sacrifi ces which created a basis for the proto-religious cults. The article uses the data of ethnologists, cultural scientists including the poorly studied manuscript ‘Songs and Words of Bakshy’ by Togolok Moldo and the author’s field data.
About the Author
N. A. Manichkin
N. N. Miklukho-Maklai Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the RAS
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
References
1. Averyanov Yu. A. Khadzhi Bektash Veli i sufi yskoe bratstvo bektashiya [Haji Bektash Veli and the Bektashi Order]. Moscow, Mardzhani Publ. House, 2011, 648 p. (In Russ.).
2. Alekseev N. A. Shamanizm tyurkoyazychnykh narodov Sibiri [Shamanism of Siberian Turkic peoples]. Novosibirsk, Nauka Publ., 1984, 233 p. (In Russ.).
3. Basilov V. N. Shamanstvo u narodov Sredney Azii i Kazakhstana [Shamanism in central Asia and Kazakhstan]. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1992, 328 p. (In Russ.).
4. Bayalieva T. D. Doislamskie verovaniya i ikh perezhitki u kirgizov [Pre-Islamic beliefs and their vestiges among the Kyrgyz people]. Frunze, Ilim Pibl., 1972, 168 p. (In Russ.).
5. Bordzhanova T. G. Magicheskaya poeziya kalmykov: Issledovanie i materialy [Kalmyk magic poetry: a case study and materials]. Elista, Kalm. Book Publ., 1999, 182 p. (In Russ.).
6. Dyrenkova N. P. Poluchenie shamanskogo dara po vozzreniyam turetskikh plemen [Receiving a shamanistic gift: beliefs of Turkic tribes]. Sbornik Muzeya antropologii i etnografi i (Proceedings of the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography), vol. IX, Leningrad, Publ. House of the USSR Acad. of Sc., 1930, pp. 267–291 (In Russ.).
7. Girard R. Veshchi, sokrytye ot sozdaniya mira [Things hidden since the foundation of the world]. Moscow, St. Andrew’s Biblical Theological Institute Press, 2016, 518 p. (In Russ.).
8. Kirgizsko-russkiy slovar’: v 2 kn. Okolo 40 000 slov. Kn. 1: A–K / sost. K. K. Yudakhin [Kyrgyz– Russian dictionary. Approx. 40 000 words. Book 1: A–K. Comp. by K. Yudakhin]. Frunze, Kyrgyz Soviet Encyclopedia Publ., 1985, 504 p. (In Kyrg. and Russ.).
9. Kirgizsko-russkiy slovar’: v 2 kn. Okolo 40 000 slov. Kn. 2: L–Ya / sost. K. K. Yudakhin [Kyrgyz–Russian dictionary. Approx. 40 000 words. Book 2: L–Ya. Comp. by K. Yudakhin]. Frunze, Kyrgyz Soviet Encyclopedia Publ., 1985, 480 p. (In Kyrg. and Russ.).
10. Kyrgyzstandagy mazar basuu: Talas tazhryybasynyn negizinde [Kyrgyzstan’s places of worship: Talas …]. Bishkek, Aygine Publ., 2010, 399 p. (In Kyrg.).
11. Manichkin N. A. Sakral’nye perezhivaniya: novye materialy k kharakteristike tipov izmenennykh sostoyaniy soznaniya i differentsiatsii kirgizskogo shamanstva [Sacral experiences: new evidence on the characteristics of types of altered states of consciousness and the differentiation of Kyrgyz shamanism]. Sibirskie istoricheskie issledovaniya (Siberian Historical Research journal), 2016, No. 4, pp. 216–235 (In Russ.).
12. Manichkin N. A. Vzaimodeystvie sufi zma i doislamskikh verovaniy v narodnom zikre [The interaction between Sufi sm and pre-Islamic beliefs in the folk dhikr]. Izvestiya NAN KR (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic), 2015, No. 4, pp. 99–106 (In Russ.).
13. Radlov V. V. Opyt slovarya tyurkskikh narechiy [Dictionary of Turkic dialects: a compilation effort]. St. Petersburg, Imperial Acad. of Sc. Press, 1893, vol. 1, 967 p. (In Russ.).
14. Sapalova D. U. Paralleli v religioznykh verovaniyakh kyrgyzov i yakutov [Parallels in religious beliefs of the Kyrgyz and Kazakh peoples]. Analitika kul’turologii (Analytics of Culturology), 2007, No. 9, pp. 99–104 (In Russ.).
15. Snesarev G. P. Relikty domusul’manskikh verovaniy i obryadov u uzbekov Khorezma [Relicts of pre-Islamic beliefs and customs among the Khorezm Uzbeks]. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1969, 336 p. (In Russ.).
16. Sukhareva O. A. Perezhitki demonologii i shamanstva u ravninnykh tadzhikov [Demonological and shamanistic vestiges of the lowland Tajiks]. Domusul’manskie verovaniya i obryady v Sredney Azii [Pre-Islamic beliefs and customs in Central Asia]. Moscow, Nauka — Vost. Lit. Publ., 1975, pp. 5–93 (In Russ.).
17. Kharitonova V. I. Traditsionnaya magikomeditsinskaya praktika i sovremennoe narodnoe tselitel’stvo: stat’i i materialy [The traditional magic medical practice and modern folk healing: articles and materials]. Moscow, Institute of Anthropology and Ethnography (RAS) Press, 1995, 204 p. (In Russ.).
Review
For citations:
Manichkin N.A. Some Modern Magical Rites of the Kyrgyz People: a Shamanistic Perspective. Oriental Studies. 2017;10(1):48-57. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.22162/2075-7794-2017-29-1-48-57
Views:
976
Email this article 