BELIEFS OF THE PEOPLES OF THE CAUCASUS AND THE HISTORICAL ANCESTORS OF THE CHUVASH

Abstract

The relevance of the publication is explained by the need to strengthen research on the ethnic history of the Chuvash people. The study of traditional beliefs is closely connected with the history of the ethnos. In other words, there is always a need to take into account the chronology, region and dynamics of the material under study. That is why the researcher cannot do without comparative passages with the sources of historical neighbors. Moreover, the analysis should be conducted in a unified bundle of “time–space”. Although there are studies in this direction, they are clearly not sufficient to make the arguments put forward more convincing. The purpose of the study is to identify and show the identity of the main components contained in the traditional rituals and beliefs of the peoples of the Caucasus and the historical ancestors of the Chuvash. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the primacy of formulating the topic under study. Materials and methods. The research methodology is based on the comparative historical approach. For this purpose, the materials of the traditional (= folk) beliefs of the peoples under study are used. The topic under discussion is studied taking into account new sources and the most notable publications that appeared in the XVIII–XXI centuries. Results. The analysis of materials and research on the topic under study is carried out in two sections – “The peoples of the Southern Caucasus” and “Proper Caucasian storylines”. The recorded and preserved traces of parallels between the historical ancestors of the Chuvash and the peoples of the Caucasus are analyzed. For example, the coincidence between the Armenian name of the deity Torg/Tork/Turk and the Chuvash Tor/Tur, the Elam-Assyrian spirit Lamassu/Lamastu and the Chuvash Alpasta, the Ararat deity Kuera and the Chuvash Kӑvar. The work also explores the ritual traditions of the Caucasian and Chuvash peoples that completely coincide in content. Conclusions. Similarities, parallels and even direct coincidences of traditional Chuvash beliefs with Transcaucasian and Caucasian storylines indicate that the historical ancestors of the Chuvash inhabited the territory within the limits of the Anterior Asia – the North Caucasus. The author sees the practical significance of the research in understanding the histories of the peoples of the Caucasus and the Volga region.