The Tree-Clan-Individual Concept in Traditional Khakas Culture (Late 19th to Mid-20th Century)

Abstract

On the basis of ethnographic, folk, and linguistic materials, most of them newly-introduced, the “tree-clan- individual” concept in the Khakas culture is reconstructed and analyzed. The status and image of the tree in their traditional mythological and ritualistic system is assessed. Notions of man and his environment were related to anthropomorphic reasoning, by which natural objects, such as trees, were endowed with human attributes. In their religious-mythological views the tree was identified with a person, with the crown of the tree being the head, the trunk being the body, branches as being arms, sap as being blood, etc. Trees were believed to be either male or female. In the traditional consciousness, human life scenarios were closely paralleled to those of trees. The vegetative code was used to refer to various psychophysical, mental, and other human phenomena. Social norms included special rules in dealing with trees, used in logging. In essence, a tree had to be dealt with like a humanlike being. In mythological thinking, felling a tree was to some degree tantamount to murder. Souls of specific individuals or groups were likewise associated with trees, so each Khakas seok (clan) had a sacred tree. It was an integral part of the burial rite. The tree, then, was a key element in the ideological structure, having a broad semiotic field.