Magic attributes in the art and perceptions of the peoples of Central Asia and Siberia

Abstract

The article touches upon some controversial issues related to the definition and meaning of the attributes of the goddess of Destiny in the art and ritual sphere of the peoples of Central Asia and Siberia. The main subject that unites this image in different traditions is the

spindle. The cult of the goddess is known in different cultures — from the Sumerians to the ethnographic time. Referring to the origins of the cult helps to define individual concepts and meanings. The image of the goddess with a spindle is considered on the example of the monuments of art of the Kushan era of Central Asian antiquity (I century BC-IV century AD) and the early Middle Ages (V-VI centuries). Terracotta figurines were found on the territory of Margiana, Northern Bactria, Sogd, Khorezm. Findings of parts from spindles and weaving looms in temples and funerary complexes correlate with the ideas about the goddess. The goddesses spinning the thread of life in different cultures have a connection with the Tree, the World Axis, the Moon, Water (sources, wells), fire (hearth), birth, life and death. Spinning craft selection among other women's crafts is probably related to the concept of the «silver» thread connecting the physical and astral bodies of man. The veneration of the goddess, ascending to a single source, demonstrates the factor of the convergence of cultures.