Abstract
In the oral tradition and everyday rituals of the Bashkirs, the snake, as the first ancestor and patroness, acts as a healer of people. In Bashkir folklore, beneficent snakes resurrect heroes cut into pieces, restore their sight and give advice on how to revive a person. The Bashkirs believed that at home, yards where snakes live, diseases are bypassed. In the mystical views and magical practice of the Bashkirs, healing properties were attributed to individual parts of the snake body. So, the Bashkirs, when abscesses appeared under the nails, applied a snake crawl to the sore spot. Snake skin was also used for eye diseases, and also as a wet poultice for joint pain and swelling. Stewed meat of a black snake was used for damage to vision. In Bashkir folklore, plots of the use of the ashes of a burnt snake for medicinal purposes are recorded. Snakes resorted to help not only in case of illness of people, but also in case of illness of livestock. The snake, having the gift of healing ailments, can at the same time endow people with these abilities. According to the prejudices of the Bashkirs, the hands of a person who found a snake crawled out were recognized as healing. Similar ideas about the «healer snake» are in the religious and mythological beliefs of the most diverse peoples of the world
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.