Water in the traditional worldview of the khakases: image and symbol (late XIX — mid XX century)

Abstract

The aim of the article is to characterize the image of water in the traditional worldview of the khakas. The chronological framework of the work is limited to the end of the XIX — the middle of the XX century. The choice of the specified time limits is due to the capabilities of the source base. The main sources are folklore and ethnographic materials, as well as data from the khakas language. Separate archival ethnographic information is introduced into scientific circulation. Leading in the study is the principle of historicism. The work uses historical and ethnographic methods: remnants (relic) and semantic analysis.

The article reconstructed and analyzed the ideological complex of khakases associated with water — Su^. It is proved that in the religious and mythological representations of the people water was given one of the main places. Her image was endowed with diverse symbolism and high semiotic status. In the traditional consciousness, it was perceived as the fundamental element that laid the foundation for life on earth. Water / river conceptualized as a world axis permeating all spheres of the universe. Acting as a road-way to other worlds, water simultaneously embodied the idea of the border between being and other being. At the same time, the image of water was steadily identified with the female fertile principle. In this connection, water semantically converges with another analogue of the mother's womb and womb — the earth. In the khakas worldview, the image of the earth-water served not only as an expression of the idea of their sacred-functional unity — the symbol of motherhood, but also became the personification of their homeland.