Sikhyrsy Sorcerers and Witchcraft in Bashkir Mythology

Introduction. The article deals with the mythologized characters of the Bashkir mythology ― sikhyrsy (сихырсы, sorcerers). Its aim is to identify and to interpret the characters and their names, as well as other related vocabulary. Data and methods. The research materials include folklore texts and entries of dictionaries of the Bashkir and of other Turkic languages. The main methods employed for the analysis are descriptive and comparative. Results. The main, most common names of Bashkir sorcerers have been established. These are the terms сихырсы and боҙомсо, which come from lexemes sykhyr (сихыр: magic, witchcraft, sorcery) and bozom (боҙом: damage, witchcraft, harm effected with the help of mythologized objects and means). In addition, the article discusses the terms osokso (осоҡсо), arbausy (арбаусы), iamialliauise (әмәлләүсе), etc., characterizing the methods of Bashkir sorcerers’ malicious actions. There are parallels from other Turkic and non-Turkic languages to the terms associated with sorcerers and witchcraft, which indicate the origin of Bashkir terms. Hence, it has been established that some lexical items, as well as the characters they refer to have pan-Altai roots, some are Turkic, some are inter-Turkic, still others are of Bashkir origin; and a number of words are loans. In particular, the term sikhyrsy (сихырсы) itself goes back to Arabic, while the items bozomso (боҙомсо), arbausy (арбаусы), osokso (осоҡсо), and yelpeui (йелпеү) have parallels in many Turkic languages. Interestingly, йелпеү has phonetic variants not only in the Turkic, but also in the Mongolian languages; and боҙомсо and арбаусы have parallels in the Finno-Ugric languages. Also, the article discusses in some detail methods of Bashkir sorcerers’ malicious actions, illustrating them with examples. According to the author, the most common of these are the use of grave earth, “mortuary water”, needles to sew a shroud, raw eggs, dolls, blood of innocence, menstrual blood, as well as witchcraft based on the use of sweat, knots, and special incantations, which, according to the Bashkir ancestors, enhanced the harmfulness of techniques used. Finally, the article deals with cases of witchcraft of medicine men, positive characters of Bashkir mythology, who performed them to punish evil, namely, thieves of cattle and of goods, and rapists. Conclusions. The mythologized characters of sykhyrsy belong to negative characters and the Bashkir language has numerous items for their designation. The sykhyrsy had at their disposal a variety of means and methods to do harm, as well as antidotes to their harmful action. There is terminology for every magical action, the items often having Turkic or Altaic roots, and sometimes borrowed from other languages.

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