The cult of birds in the religious and mythological system of the Bashkirs

Abstract

The image of a bird is of great importance in the traditional worldview of the Bashkirs. The most revered Bashkirs in their mythological and ritual traditions are the crow, the magpie, the eagle, the cuckoo, the dove, the crane, the duck, and the swan. In the cult of birds among the Bashkirs, one can find various stages in the development of social consciousness. The earliest period includes mythological and ritual plots reflecting the survivals of totemic representations. Their remnants appear in the identification of man and bird, in endowing birds with human qualities. In the tribal nomenclature of the Bashkirs, relics of faith in the origin of their individual tribal groups from birds have been preserved. In folklore, rituals and customs of the Bashkirs, revered birds act as totemic ancestors, patrons and helpers of people, family and marriage relations, women in labor and children. In the religious and magical practice of the Bashkirs, totem birds and their individual parts have miraculous, healing powers. In everyday rituals, folklore and ethnographic sources, there are arguments proving that the Bashkirs used to have holidays in honor of certain totem birds in the past. The remnants of religious and mythological beliefs about birds today form an organic part of the national tradition of the Bashkirs.