Sacred Texts of Tuva: Buddhist Rock Inscriptions as Manifested Spiritual Heritage (Barun-Khemchiksky District of the Tyva Republic)

Introduction. The article discusses sacred texts preserved in the form of rock inscriptions in Barun-Khemchiksky District of the Tyva Republic. Goals. The work aims to demonstrate how the religious renewal intersects with mechanisms of cultural memory, local identity policies, and reinterpretations of historical heritage. Materials and methods. The study focuses on original field data, museum collections, and archival materials. The work employs the chronological method to identify some cause-and-effect relations for Buddhist rock inscriptions, while the archaeological epigraphic one helps describe the forms, applied techniques and preservation conditions of the inscriptions. Results. The paper examines the typology of inscriptions (canonical formulas, memorial fixations), their locations within corresponding landscapes (passes, river mouths, routes to sacred mountains, ritual sites), and their ties with cult objects — stupas and stone slabs. It notes that the return to Buddhism is perceived as an appeal to the cultural and spiritual roots. This enhances interest to Buddhist epigraphic monuments located in sacred sites, since the former serve an important source for the study of religious beliefs, artistic traditions, and spiritual life across various historical periods. Buddhism has deep historical roots in the territory of present-day Tuva, and occupies a special place in the region’s spiritual culture. The Tuvan sacred space would take shape at the intersection of shamanic and Buddhist traditions, which is reflected in a multitude of material monuments — from temple complexes and stupas to stone slabs with epigraphic texts. The study shows certain forms of their interaction, transformations of ritual landscapes, restorations and creations of cult objects, paralleled by expanded research interest to epigraphy in the post-Soviet era. The Buddhist inscriptions on rocks, stones or steles serve not only written monuments but also unique markers of sacred space. They indicate places of worship, simultaneously act as objects of religious veneration and, thus, prove sufficient sources for the study of cultural processes. Conclusions. The attempted insights have shown that the territory of Barun-Khemchiksky District and adjacent municipalities of Tuva constitute a unique sacred space formed by centuries-long interactions of natural, cultural and religious factors. Buddhist inscriptions, petroglyphs, and religious images are by no means isolated from each other here, but rather form a unified epigraphic and iconographic landscape that reflects the continuity of the region’s spiritual traditions.

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