Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 47 (2) 2019   DOI: 10.17746/1563-0110.2019.47.2.122-130

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Remnants of the Snake Cult Among the Khakas
(Late 19th to Mid 20th Century)

V.A. Burnakov¹ and A.A. Burnakov²

¹Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia

²Khakas Research Institute of Language, Literature and History, Shchetinkina 23, Abakan, 655017, Russia

On the basis of folklore and ethnographic data, some of which are introduced in this article, the Khakas mytho-ritual complex relating to the snake is reconstructed. It is demonstrated that these beliefs were central to the traditional Khakas worldview, and that the snake was endowed with elaborate symbolic meanings. It was a sacred animal, associated with ideas of life and death. It played a key role in mystical initiation practices, including those related to shamanism, and it was perceived as a guardian spirit. Among the Khakas’ traditional beliefs was the idea that the elect could marry snakes, which turned into beautiful girls. Such a union, short-lived as it was, brought wealth and luck. The snake was also associated with elements and landscape features, such as water and mountains, linked to the ideas of a sacred center, fertility, and the ancestor cult, which were central to the Khakas worldview. This reptile was often believed to be a mountain spirit, a mystical patron, and a donator of magical capacities. Thus, beliefs about snakes were part of Khakas folk medicine and domestic magic.

Keywords: Khakas, folk culture, religion, folklore, mythology, ritual, symbolism, image, snake