Home – Home – Jornals – Humanitarian sciences in Siberia 2020 number

The aim of the work is to characterize the images of the mouse and mole in the traditional worldview of the khakases. To achieve this goal, the following tasks were solved: identifying their image in folklore, determining their significance in the ritual practice of the people in question. The chronological framework of the work covers the end of the XIX - the middle of the XX centuries. The choice of such time limits is due to the state of the source database on the topic of the study. The main sources are folklore, linguistic and ethnographic materials. Archival materials are introduced into scientific circulation. The work is based on the methodological principles of historicism. Historical and ethnographic methods are used - relic and semantic analysis. The linguistic technique - etymology is applied. The study revealed that in the Khakas worldview, the mouse and mole were symbolically significant animals. They were given a special place in folklore and in the traditional beliefs of the people. It was revealed that in the culture of this people they belonged to the category of chthonic creatures. All the vital activity of the animals in question is closely connected with the earth and the underground space. Along with this, their mythological characteristics were greatly influenced by the morphology and volumes of their bodies, as well as the features of their zoological behavior. The negative perception of the mouse image in the khakas culture was due to its mythological connection with the underworld, as the abode of the dead, as well as its biological characteristics. According to the beliefs of the people, the animal in question was not only directly related to the evil spirits, but was often perceived as their embodiment. According to popular beliefs, the mouse’s malevolence manifested itself in real harm caused by its dwelling, household buildings, utensils, and clothing, as well as the destruction of food supplies and mystical desecration, which, according to popular belief, entailed illness and death of domestic animals and people themselves. The image of the mole in oral folklore and Khakas beliefs, contrary to its chthonic nature, had a positive connotation. They believed that the mole has access to secret knowledge and has mystical power; therefore this animal has a role in the system of shamanistic views.