Wild Pig in the Traditional Worldview and Rituals of the Buryats

Abstract

Purpose. The purpose of the article is to find out the complex of traditional ideas about the wild pig and its symbolism among the Buryats. Results. In the first part of the work, a comparative characteristic of wild and domestic pigs in the Buryat culture is carried out. Lexical materials indicate the common Mongolian origin of the main terms denoting wild and domestic pig. Based on the fact that the population of the Baikal region knew about the domestic pig from the Hunnic time, the ancestors of the Buryats could get information about this animal at a fairly early period of their history. It is indicated that the Buryats reflected the biological characteristics and behavior of wild and domestic pigs in the works of small genres of folklore. The negative characteristic of the domestic pig in the traditional worldview of the Buryats is emphasized in general. In the second part of the study, mythological views about the wild pig are isolated. It is noted that in the traditional representations of the Buryats, this animal appears as a totem or nurse of the progenitors. The symbolism and semantics of the boar are revealed, the connotation of this artiodactyl among the Buryats is determined. The third part of the article is devoted to identifying the image of a wild pig in the traditional ritual of the Buryats. The manifestations of the image of the boar in the traditional ritual of the Buryats are being clarified. The sacredness of his image is associated, in particular, with the apotropaic function of the animal’s head, especially its tusks. The main motives associated with the wild pig are determined. Conclusion. The study shows that in the traditional worldview of the Buryats, the image of a wild pig is polysemantic and has ambivalent connotations. Comparative characteristics of images of domestic and wild pigs in the culture of the Buryats revealed a different attitude towards them. Based on the analysis of Buryat vocabulary and small genres of folklore, it can be argued that the domestic pig symbolized sensuality, poverty and, conversely, material well-being. Many negative qualities of a person were associated with it. Meanwhile, the boar personified bravery, and at the same time thoughtlessness. Of the biological signs of a wild pig, the Buryats especially distinguished its hearing and sense of smell. Despite some fragmentation of the image of the boar in the traditional worldview of the Buryats, a complex of judgments about it is revealed. In them, the animal acts as a totem, and as the nurse of the first ancestors. He is perceived as a symbol of strength, masculinity. In addition, he is endowed with the symbolism of fertility and heavenly water. In the epic of the Buryats, his image received an unambiguously negative connotation, and was linked to the motive of the soul of a demonic being. In the shamanic ritual, the tusks and, in general, the boar’s head, played the role of the apotropee. In it, the image of the animal was associated with the “game” spirit of Gakhai ongon. In shamanic poetry, the boar appears as an anthroponym (Gakhai bagsha). The materials on shamanic rituals highlight the positive connotation of this animal, due to such important meanings as earth, sky. The wild pig is a symbol of fertility. Probably, she was also perceived as a transport for the deity. However, there is also a negative connotation associated with the perception of the boar as a messenger of death.