Revisiting Traditional Travel and Road Culture of the Bashkirs

Introduction. The rules of road culture developed over centuries have always occupied an important place in the traditional worldview and everyday life of Bashkirs. The phenomenon of road culture and travel among Bashkirs has remained understudied, and this article serves to eliminate the existing gap to some extent and introduce new data into scientific discourse. Goals. The paper seeks to systematize materials dealing with the Bashkir traditional road culture and consider its functional / semiotic components believed instrumental in overcoming travel-related obstacles. Materials and Methods. The study focuses on reports and materials by participants of 18th-century academic expeditions (I. I. Lepekhin, P. S. Pallas, etc.), subsequent ethnographic works, Bashkir folklore narratives, and recent field materials collected in various regions of Bashkortostan. Chronologically, the study covers the period between the 18th and early 20th centuries. Results. The paper shows that movement through space — travel — among the Bashkirs had not only practical but also metaphysical properties, since the traveler is believed to be simultaneously advancing both across the real and the other worlds. So, security is suggested to depend on both physical and magical actions, as well as sympathies of spirits or ‘masters’ of various natural objects. The traditional Bashkir society has developed a specific road culture that aimed to resist, avert diverse threats. In olden days, travels were seen as a male domain (hunting, military service, fishing, study, trade trips, pilgrimages, etc.). The article discusses the traditional pre-travel and farewell practices, customs that were to be observed en route, rituals supposed to guarantee a traveler’s return, etc. Conclusions. The Bashkir road culture is a complex, open, and evolving system. ‘Path’ and ‘road’ in traditional representations of Bashkirs were essentially sacral symbols.

Bashkirs, road culture, travel, road, traveler, ceremonies, rituals

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