The Mouse in the Traditional Worldview of the Buryats

Abstract

Purpose. The aim of the study is to isolate the image of a mouse in the traditional worldview of the buryats.Results. In the first part of the study, the mouse is characterized on the basis of data from ethnography, vocabulary, small genres of folklore and anthroponymy of the buryats, with the involvement of information from zoology, botany and medicine. It has been established that in buryat folklore, a mouse meant a house mouse and a field mouse. The field mouse had a utilitarian meaning: its storerooms served as a source of food for the buryats, hence its image in the riddle as a rich man, owner of cattle and horses. It was found out that the buryats associated with the mouse some character traits and physical characteristics of a person (roguishness, thievery, sweating, etc.). The mouse was synonymous with everything insignificant. It was determined that the mouse image was included in the buryats' ideas about time, associated with some diseases. In the second part of the work, the image of a mouse in the mythological views of the buryats is reconstructed. It was revealed that the field mouse was a symbol of material prosperity. It was believed that she predicted winter. The idea of a magic stone bringing happiness was associated with her. The house mouse, unlike the field mouse, was associated with demonological characters, was a harbinger of trouble and death. At the same time, the white house mouse carried the symbolism of happiness and healing.Conclusion. The study shows that in the traditional worldview of the buryats, the image of a mouse is characterized by ambiguity and ambivalence of connotation.