Wild goose in the traditional worldview of the Buryats

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to identify the image of the wild goose in the traditional worldview of the Buryats. The timeframe of this research covers the end of the 19th — middle of the 20th c., the period when the Buryats overall retained their set of mythological views. Geographically, the survey is focused on south-eastern Siberia, which includes ethnic Buryatia. The research is based on a variety of sources, including folklore, linguistic and ethnographic information. The structural-semiotic method has been chosen as the main technique of study, which allows determination of the symbolism that conveys the ideas about wild goose. It has been revealed that in minor genres of the Buryat folklore, the feminine nature of the wild goose is emphasized, and their anthroponymy mani-fests its gender differences. It has been found that, for the Buryats, the individual biological and behavioral char-acteristics of the goose were of a particular importance. It has also been determined that natural rhythms (the start of spring and the middle of autumn) were associated with the wild goose, as well as the first snowfall. At the same time, significant importance was attributed to its cry. Its image symbolized long distances and time. The motive of shapeshifting was also linked to it. This bird, both in shamanic and Buddhist traditions, was considered to be an assistant to the deity (the supreme celestial being among shamanists, and the White Elder among Bud-dhists). In the Buryat epics, it was endowed with a negative connotation. According to the traditional perceptions of some of the Cis-Baikal Buryats, the wild goose had a sacred status, and the interchangeability of images of a goose and another sacred bird — a swan — has been noted. The goose (precisely, the female goose) acted as a totem for a number of Cis-Baikal kins.