Mythological Characters Research Articles

АЗЫРЕН, КИЯМАТ, ДУШИ УСОПШИХ: ПЕРСОНИФИКАЦИЯ СМЕРТИ В МАРИЙСКОЙ МИФОЛОГИИ

The article, based on the author’s field materials and the analysis of ethnographic literature, describes the features of several Mari folklore characters, who are associated with plots about death and the “wires” of the deceased. This character category includes the “angel of death” Azyren (Azreni), the deity of the “afterlife” Kiyamat and the spirits of deceased people. These characters have the function of “guides” to the “afterlife” and harbingers of death. One of the hypostases of Kiyamata – the god Kiyamat-tyura, appears in folklore as the patron saint of the deads. Another hypostasis is Kiyamat-savush. He performs the role of seeing off to “the next world”. Some of these mythological characters are presented in narratives abstractly, the others are visualized more detailed. Azyren and the “deads”, as a rule, are heroes of non-fabulous prose (legends, epics and fairy tales), they are not considered to be the objects of worship. The image of Kiyamat, on the contrary, is sacred, and some traditions of the memorial ritual are associated with him. Kiyamat (kiyamats) is revered during the ceremonies devoted to a deceased person. The image of Azyren has demonic essence. He is believed to be the “evil spirits” and he scares alive people. Despite the semantic association between the spirits of death and the chthonic world, they do not perform the function of intimidation as other demons do. Their role in the folklore is to take away the soul of the deceased without violating the natural boundaries between the worlds. The article includes historiographical descriptions of these characters, etymological and comparative data, fragments of interviews

Sorbian-Eastern Slavic Parallels from the Field of Folk Demonology

This article examines the demonological beliefs of the Lusatians that correspond with beliefs among the Eastern Slavs. In the East Slavic region, there is a chain of related beliefs all the way to the Russian North-West. This is a chain of archaic areas: Carpathian, Polesie, and Belarusian-West Russian. One such Lusatian-North Russian parallel is demonstrated by the image of Lady Midday (Noonwraith, Noon Witch). Among the Lusatians and Russians, this female mythological character has a number of common features, and some of the similarities noted four hundred years ago by the Dutch scientist Marcus van Boxhorn have survived to our time in the North Russian tradition. The second parallel is connected with a fl ying fi ery serpent. The varying colour symbolism of the snake, dependent on the gifts (money, grain, milk) that it carries to its owner, is represented in the lower Lusatians, in Chernigov Polesie, some areas of Belarus, and neighbouring southern Russia. In the area of the Russian-Ukrainian borderland, the colour loses its signifi cance or loses its variability, becoming a characteristic of the objects that snakes scatter as bait for women, and only sometimes does the colour of the snake itself appear in these tales. In the West- and Northwest Russian tradition, the colour loses its variability and dependence on the gifts brought to the owner, and colour becomes a constant characteristic of the serpent (in one case, while maintaining a relict connection with grain as one of the types of gifts), or, while maintaining the same set and variability, is transferred from the snake to the hidden legs of the snake where it receives new symbolic meanings. The third parallel concerns some of the details related to the stealing of milk by witches in the fi eld: they collect grass for their cows from nine other people’s borders and collect dew using horse harnesses according to the Lusatians, as well as in western Ukraine, in western Polesie, in the Smolensk province, and further, in a modifi ed form, among the Russians of the Oryol and Kostroma provinces. Owing to its position on the outskirts of the Slavic world, the Lusatian folk tradition retains a number of features that are invaluable for historical, cultural, and ethnogenetic reconstructions.

Женские образы нижнего мира в традиционных мифологических представлениях удмуртов

The article is carried out within the framework of an anthropological and ethnographic study of the traditional Udmurt mythology. The article describes two categories of female mythological characters localized in the underground-underwater, forest world — the patron goddesses of the natural elements (Vumumy'and Muzemmumy) and forest spirits (kukri-baba, obyda, egypecha, telkusyos wife, kalmyk-kyshno, munchomurt-woman, vumurt-kyshno). The basis for the publication was field materials collected in 1997-2020 among the rural and urban Udmurts, as well as folklore texts and research works of XIX-XX centuries. Ideas about the appearance of female characters of the underworld in the Udmurt traditional worldview have been preserved in different ways. The appearance of the mumy is almost impossible to trace, which is due to the cultural archaic nature of the images. The degree of expression of these images in the modern verbal tradition is also quite low. Being the embodiment of the natural elements, they are maximally sacralized and move away from human everyday life. Forest spirits-kyshno, on the contrary, quickly adapt to modern social realities. They are more connected to the most important social function of initiation, which leaves them more intimate.

ACSI 모델을 융합한 애니메이션 영화 신화 캐릭터의 사용자 선호도 연구

Based on the ACSI model, according to the specific characteristics of the animation industry, this paper uses multicultural integration and multidisciplinary research to study the user preference of animated film mythological characters. Taking the Chinese fairy tale NeZha as an example, this study designs a customer satisfaction questionnaire using the Rickett scale, and obtains a customer satisfaction index model through exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, Structural Equation Modeling and ACSI formula. According to the customer satisfaction model analysis of customer needs, this study hopes to integrate the animation character design knowledge and economic customer satisfaction model to provide practical help for animation character design practice and the cultural heritage of fairy tales. Integrating multidisciplinary research content and customer satisfaction models to analyze user needs, master the user preferences of animated movie mythological characters, design mythical animated characters that meet customer satisfaction and provide practical help for the practice of animation character design creation and multicultural inheritance. In view of the integration of science and art development in the animation industry in the future, this study takes sample from mythical characters as a cognitive evaluation dimension. It aggregates various data of Customer’s satisfaction with animation characters, so as to provide logical help for animation creators and animation market, thus providing more efficient design help for peers.

ТРОПИ ОСІ ПСЕВДОТОТОЖНОСТІ В ПОЕТИЦІ І. КАЛИНЦЯ В АСПЕКТІ ОБ’ЄКТИВАЦІЇ ОБРЯДОВО-МІФОЛОГІЧНОГО ЕТНОКУЛЬТУРНОГО КОДУ

The article deals with the study of artistic texts of the poet of the sixties I. Kalynets. In particular, it is concentrated on the study of the models of linguistic objectification of the ritual and mythological ethnocultural code in the poems of the collections «Awakened Muse» and «Slave Muse» have been studied. The formalization of mythological images of pagan gods, demonological beings, characters of calendar holidays and seasonal rites, Christianized mythological figures in subjective and object positions has been described, their ethnosemantics has been established. The trope potential of nominations to denote a song as a symbolic rite in the Ukrainian culture has been clarified. The analysis has shown that in the tropes of the axis of pseudo-identity, which were based on the mythological ethnocode, background knowledge of mythological characters was often the basis for their understanding. It has been found that the meanings included in the intentionality of mythological images were often not expressed explicitly and could not be taken out of context. Thus the mythological ethnocode was implied or presented at the level of a motive. For the most part, the images through which the religious-mythological ethnocode is objectified are monosemantic. In the structure of metaphors, metaphorical epithets, comparisons, etc., mythological images have a clear emotional and expressive color and reflect the peculiarities of the worldview of the ethnos.

CREATIVITY OF SPIRIDON MIKHAILOV (YANDUSH) AND THE WORLDVIEW OF THE CHUVASH ETHNOS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE XIX CENTURY

The worldview of the Chuvash ethnos is a person’s idea of the world formed on the basis of ethnic constants and cultural-value dominants. Being specific to each culture, it created the illusion of objectivity in its bearers. The Chuvash worldview is different in different periods of the ethnos’ life, but thanks to ethnic constants, their structure remains the same at its base. In the Chuvash mythological pantheon of the XVIII century, the main images of the patronizing forces were the God who dwells in heaven and the king who dwells on earth, and the images of the opposing forces were earthly evil spirits and churchmen who moved to the Chuvash villages. In the XIX century, this image changes: a mythological character Pulekhse approached the God, who transformed into the image that has the ability to harm a person, and not bring God-appointed good to him. Such transformations in the mythological pantheon occurred due to a change in the image of the enemy in the socio-cultural space of the Chuvash world. All these processes are well reflected in the scientific works and works of Spiridon Mikhailov (Yandush).

CO-EVOLUTION OF HIGH TECHNOLOGIES AND ARCHITECTONICS OF SOCIETY: TO THE BACKGROUND OF THE PARADIGM

The article deals with a number of cultural and historical forms of implementation of the principle of coevolution of technologies and the semantic organization of society. Using Plato's cosmogony as an example, the use of numerical symbolism as a matrix of the divine creation of the world and the human soul is analyzed. The article analyzes the difference between technologies introduced by ancient Greek philosophers and the philosophy of Taoism in China, based on: 1) on the cultivation of natural processes, and 2) on giving the material substrate any arbitrary shapes. The role of this difference in the endowment of ethical characteristics and power functions of key mythological characters is shown. Using the example of the mythological symbolization of metallurgy and blacksmithing, the features of the archaic perception of complex technological processes are analyzed. On the example of the architectural design of the "Panopticon" by I. Bentham, one of the first social technologies and its role in the transformation of the concept of power and the ways of its implementation is considered. Various forms of realization of the idea of the panopticon with the help of digital information and communication technologies are analyzed.

Сихырсы ‘колдуны’ и колдовство в башкирской мифологии

Introduction. The article deals with the mythologized characters of the Bashkir mythology ― sikhyrsy (сихырсы, sorcerers). Its aim is to identify and to interpret the characters and their names, as well as other related vocabulary. Data and methods. The research materials include folklore texts and entries of dictionaries of the Bashkir and of other Turkic languages. The main methods employed for the analysis are descriptive and comparative. Results. The main, most common names of Bashkir sorcerers have been established. These are the terms сихырсы and боҙомсо, which come from lexemes sykhyr (сихыр: magic, witchcraft, sorcery) and bozom (боҙом: damage, witchcraft, harm effected with the help of mythologized objects and means). In addition, the article discusses the terms osokso (осоҡсо), arbausy (арбаусы), iamialliauise (әмәлләүсе), etc., characterizing the methods of Bashkir sorcerers’ malicious actions. There are parallels from other Turkic and non-Turkic languages to the terms associated with sorcerers and witchcraft, which indicate the origin of Bashkir terms. Hence, it has been established that some lexical items, as well as the characters they refer to have pan-Altai roots, some are Turkic, some are inter-Turkic, still others are of Bashkir origin; and a number of words are loans. In particular, the term sikhyrsy (сихырсы) itself goes back to Arabic, while the items bozomso (боҙомсо), arbausy (арбаусы), osokso (осоҡсо), and yelpeui (йелпеү) have parallels in many Turkic languages. Interestingly, йелпеү has phonetic variants not only in the Turkic, but also in the Mongolian languages; and боҙомсо and арбаусы have parallels in the Finno-Ugric languages. Also, the article discusses in some detail methods of Bashkir sorcerers’ malicious actions, illustrating them with examples. According to the author, the most common of these are the use of grave earth, “mortuary water”, needles to sew a shroud, raw eggs, dolls, blood of innocence, menstrual blood, as well as witchcraft based on the use of sweat, knots, and special incantations, which, according to the Bashkir ancestors, enhanced the harmfulness of techniques used. Finally, the article deals with cases of witchcraft of medicine men, positive characters of Bashkir mythology, who performed them to punish evil, namely, thieves of cattle and of goods, and rapists. Conclusions. The mythologized characters of sykhyrsy belong to negative characters and the Bashkir language has numerous items for their designation. The sykhyrsy had at their disposal a variety of means and methods to do harm, as well as antidotes to their harmful action. There is terminology for every magical action, the items often having Turkic or Altaic roots, and sometimes borrowed from other languages.

The specifics of Croatian folk mythology

The article is devoted to the areal distribution of Croatian mythological characters, taking into account the general picture of folk mythology in the space of Southern Slavia. The author regards demonological images specific to the Adriatic, southern and northern parts of Croatia (including the Istrian peninsula), northwestern Croatia (often representing a single whole with the neighboring Slovenian area), Slavonia and Croats living in the environment of a foreign-cultural and foreign-speaking majority (Drava’s Croats in Hungary and Burgenland’s Croats in Austria and Hungary). The need to analyze character types considering the neighboring South Slavic regions (Bosnian, Serbian, Slovenian) is caused by the common system of distribution of cultural dialects and the corresponding terminology of folk culture in the whole South Slavic territory. As far as the geolinguistic study of folk mythology is concerned, and more broadly – cultural dialects, the ethnolinguist’s attention naturally falls on borrowings in the names of demonological characters: Italian, German, Hungarian, etc.

The reception of French symbolism in Georgian Literature

The comparative study of Georgian modernist poetry in the context of French poetry reveals that Georgian poetry of the early XXth ventury is not an epigenetic appendage or periphery of European poetry. It creates its original invariant, which in a way expands and expands the mythohraphic discourse and mythological character of French poetry, chronotopes, cultural and landscape spaces.At the beginning of the XXth century the blueroks could not hide their amdiration for the work of French Symbolists, which they considered to be evidence that the path of Georgian literature was directed towards Europe. They had adored poets: Edgar Allan Poe, Baudelaire,Rimbaud, Verlaine… However, I think the announcement of the Blue roks as Georgian symbolists is very controversial… Therefore, I consider it important to establish the basic principles of French symbolism and, consequently, to connect it with the Georgian poets of the XX century, ib paerticular with the poetry of Galaktioni.

По следам потомков небесной матери: от мифа к семантике сакрального ландшафта

The article contains a cultural research and is reconstructive by nature. It offers the author’s interpretation of the sanctuary of the early Turkic era (7th—9th centuries), which is part of the archaeological site, the Bozok Medieval Settlement. The Bozok settlement is located on the territory of Kazakhstan’s capital city of Nur-Sultan, on the shores of the Buzykty Lake. The sanctuary is the key asset of the site, which was later on surrounded by the residential and industrial structures of the Bozok settlement (10th—13th centuries) and then, the elite necropolis of the 14th—16th centuries. The author’s interpretation of the sanctuary is centered around the factors of choosing the lake landscape, caused by the cosmological concept of water purity and the connection between the water and the feminine principle. Water as a source of life, resonates with the nature of motherhood, with the image of a swan and refers us to the cult of Umai, the Great Mother Goddess of ancient Turks, the patroness saint of warriors. The name of the BuzyktyLake also has a profound sacred meaning in the Turkic culture. The etymological study of the toponym “Buzykty” reveals its historical depth known from the ancient Turkic era and the complex semantics of meaning that traces its origin to the mythological characters of the Oguz Kagan and the Heavenly Maiden Umai. The uniqueness of the site (planigraphy, human sacrifice), its geocultural landscape, along with the analysis of the limnonym and the swan mythologeme, make it possible to create a hypothetical model of the rituals, which can explain the sanctuary as a site for secret warriors’ rites.

Мифологический персонаж (з)мора / мара в традиции Южного Подлясья в польской и общеславянской перспективе

The author analyzes the field materials collected during her expedition to the Southern Podlasie (Łuków-Siedlce-Garwolin region in Poland) in 2017 and sheds light on the local version of the supernatural being under the name “zmora”. In this territory zmora is endowed with a function (not typical in other Polish local traditions) to tangle and braid the horses’ manes. Meanwhile the informants put aside zmora’s traditional function (that is to suffocate a sleeping person) or do not mention it at all. Zmora from Southern Podlasie is regarded in a wider Polish and all-Slavic perspective. Such parameters as the supernatural being’s name, its origin, appearance, behavior, time of the activity, its functions as well as the amulets and preventive measures used against this evil spirit are examined. The author concludes that in the studied Slavic archaic area zmora has partially taken over the functions of the house spirits, that is reflected in the entire fragment of the mythological characters’ system associated linked to the domestic and economic (cattle-breeding) sphere.

Народная демонология Полесья в контексте восточнославянских традиционных верований

This article studies folk demonological beliefs that are widespread on the territory of Polesye, located on the border of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia. The traditional culture of this region is of great interest for ethnologists of the broadest profile, since it preserves many archaic elements of all-Slavic significance. In the first part of the study, two blocks of the regional mythological system were considered: spirits of domestic and natural loci, and a group of characters originated from the souls of deceased. The second part of the work considers two groups of mythological characters: spirits not assigned to a specific locus (the devil, spirits of diseases, personification of death, characters for intimidation of children) and different categories of living people endowed with supernatural knowledge (witches, sorcerers, healers, werewolves). The study is based on data from the East-Slavic demonology.

Feminist Literary Criticism Meets Feminist Theology: Yashodhara and the Rise of Hagiographical Fiction in Modern Feminist Re-visioning

Feminist re-visioning has led to heterogenous retellings of mythological heroines in fiction. Sita and Draupadi, two of the well-known Indian mythological characters, have been explored in various capacities in mythological fiction. Yashodhara, Buddha’s wife, is a recent addition to this re-visioning project. This article seeks to engage with three retellings of Yashodhara’s story—each of which is radically different from the others. The result is the rise of hagiographical fiction around the character—responsive to the Buddhist ethos of love and spirituality. This article argues that the most intriguing representations of Yashodhara found in this fiction are rooted in the nonoppositional agency given to her character.

Репрезентация эталонов красоты человека в сравнительных оборотах русского языка

The article deals with the problems of representation of the standards of human beauty in the comparative turns of the Russian language [beautiful, as...]. When choosing beauty standards, a person is guided by cultural norms and stereotypes that exist in the socio-cultural space. Native speakers of the language and culture most often choose religious and mythological characters (god, angel, madonna, witch, devil) as standards. They belong not only to Slavic mythology, but also to ancient, Eastern, and Scandinavian (nymph, Apollo, Aphrodite, peri, guria, valkyrie). The standards of beauty also include the precedent proper names of literary heroes, actors, singers, historical figures (Agamemnon, Eugene Onegin, Brad Pitt, Lyubov Orlova, Liudmila Zykina, Chapaev, Cleopatra). Beauty standards are gender-oriented: there are separate standards of male beauty and standards of female beauty. When choosing standards, the principle of gender correspondence of the standard and the object of comparison is observed.

Image of Giant in Mythology of Ob Ugrians and Zabolotny Tatars

The results of a comparative analysis of the images of giants in the mythological traditions of geographically close unrelated peoples — the Ob Ugrians (Khanty and Mansi) and the Zabolotny Tatars are presented in the article. It is noted that the assimilation and leveling of the features of the giants images in original cultures did not occur, despite the fact that the myths of the West Siberian peoples were subjected to processes of mutual influence. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between the external features and the origin of mythological characters (giants) with the specifics of the geoclimatic landscapes inhabited by the peoples that form the epic. The novelty of the research is seen in the fact that for the first time the genesis, attributes and functions of the mythological heroes of unrelated peoples living in adjacent territories — the Ob Ugrians and the Zabolotny Tatars — are compared. The relevance of the study is due to the fact that the image of a giant has significant prospects in the reconstruction of an ethnic cultural space, since, being one of the most archaic characters in myths, at the same time it remains a part of modern cultural consciousness. The author’s vision of the common and unique features of giants as distinctive characters of the Ob-Ugric and Siberian Tatar mythological systems is presented in the article. The research materials were myths and legends of the peoples of Western Siberia, records of oral stories of the indigenous inhabitants of the region, collected by the authors during field expeditions.

Gesamtkuntwerk Kavramına Göre Müzik ve Resim İlişkisi

Austrian painter Gustav Klimt is one of the founders of Art Nouveau. Many works by Gustav Klimt include patterns, sculptures, mythological characters, and female portraits. Gustav Klimt said the following about his art: “When I need to say something about myself or about my art, I am neither able to speak in writing nor verbally. Whoever wants to learn about my artistic personality, the only thing worthwhile is to look carefully at my paintings and try to see what I am and what I want to do.’’ Austrian Separation master Klimt is best known for his decorative paintings. The Beethoven Frieze, created in 1902 in honor of the great musician Beethoven, is rich in content. This work, including the composer Beethoven's connection with Symphony No. 9 and his interpretation of his own mythological elements, is an important example of the concept of Gesamtkunstwerk. There is an art isomorphism between cultures. The Beethoven Frieze, an important work of the creative awakening at the dawn of the twentieth century, reveals a narrative that spans three walls moving with human longing for happiness. It is a magnificent realization of Gesamtkunstwerk, where different arts such as painting, sculpture and music are combined under a common theme. The purpose of this article is; To discuss the concept of Gesamtkunstwerk (complete work of art, ideal work of art) on the aesthetics of painting.

Acre and Alphito: to the question of Greek scary stories for children

This article is describes the Ancient Greek mythological characters Acre (Ἀκκώ) and Alphito (Ἀλφιτώ). Both of them are commonly attributed to surly persons who frighten and posed treat to the little ones, by analogy with Lamia, Mormo and Gello, who murdered children. The goal of this research is to determine the differences between the tales about Acre and Alphiro and the tales about demons who murdered children. The object of this work is the mythological representations of Ancient Greeks, while the subject is the Greek scary stories for children. The author analyzes the testimonies of ancient authors about Acre and Alphito. The conclusion is made that these characters differed from the typical children's monsters. Special attention is given to the tale of Acre due to better preservation of its history in the sources. She was a stupid woman, known for her absurd actions. Her name was associated with the origin of the words denoting stupidity; it also became a common name and was of proverbial nature. The foolish acts of Acre made her a fitting example of the wrong pastime. The tales of Acre and Alphito were not typical scary stories for children; their motif was not to frighten the little ones with their terrible doings as Lamia, Mormo and Gello, but to demonstrate not to waste their time in a foolish way.

“Concepts of Konstantine Gamsakhurdia`s “Moon`s Abduction”

“Moon`s Abduction” by Konstantine Gamsakhurdia is a very important text written in the Soviet Georgia. The writer created monumental literary landscape in the period of so called “socialist realism” literary style. The novel makes a great demand on the reader`s erudition, on his capacity to understand the complex allusions, literary, philosophical and mythological, that characterize Gamsakhurdia`s prose. The present article deals with the world-outlook of Soviet and Post-Soviet literary critique – on the background of the publicistic letters of the outstanding critics Beso Zhghenti and Soso Sigua. The novel clears up the writer`s attitude to the revolution, socialism, collectivization of agriculture, person`s role as a member of society. The Soviet and Post-Soviet critics world-outlooks are absolutely different. By the Soviet critic (Beso Zhghenti) the novel is an excessive apologia of Soviet system, of Soviet state-building, a positive character (hero) is Arzakan Zvambaia, the security officer, the ossicial of Cheka, Bolshevism is better than traditional life of Georgia, civilization is better than culture. By the Post-Soviet world-outlook (Soso Sigua) the novel is a reflection of tragedy of the Georgian nation (because of negation of Georgian traditions, unique Georgian culture), a positive character is a prince Tarash Emkhvari, cultural and well-educated person; Bolshevizm is tragedy. Literary, philosophical and mythological allusions characterize Gamsakhurdias literary heritage (verses, short-stories, novels). The article deals with the world-outlook of the author. The official of Cheka Arzakan is a patricide, another official Arlan cut the centuries-old sacral tree - Bolhevizm hates roots and traditions. There are a lot of mythological characters reflected in the novel (Aramkhutu-Amirani, Sacral-tree, Mezir – Sacral serpant…). A reader feels the influence of Nitcze and Bergson world-outlook, passages from Hesiod`s “Theogony” and Appolonios from Rodoss “Argonautica.”The novel of Konstantine Gamsakhurdia is one of the best reflections and the best samples of Georgian novel of the 30s of the 20th century epoch.

Mythologizing History in Buryat Shamanic Rites

This study explores the regional specificity of Buryat rites with regard to the variable manifestation of mythological and historical components, and late innovations. The first attempt is made to reconstruct the mythological component of spoken texts accompanying these rites in the historical and ethno-cultural context. On the basis of field and archival data, contamination and transformation of myth and history in ritual is demonstrated. The principal characters such as deities, shamans, tribal and clan chiefs are described, and the semantics and pragmatics of ancestor and master- spirits in the historical context are discussed. The mythological status of supernatural characters of the rite is assessed. Specific ethnic criteria of turning real personalities into mythological characters in the historic context are listed. Universal features traceable in the process of turning history into myth include a regular mixture of mythological motifs with historical facts, interchange of temporal planes, and especially the reincarnation theme. The conclusion is made that pragmatic rites are the most stable, whereas the general tendency is that rites become less and less connected with mythology and progressively less hyperbolic.