“Diviners” of Scythia (literary image and cultural phenomenon)

Ancient written sources contain references to Scythian “diviners”. These specialists in the mystical sphere were divided into two groups, differing in their methods of fortune telling. The first group (traditional) used willow twigs. The second group, consisting of Enarees — effeminate men, divined using strips of lime bark. Most information has been preserved about the Enarees. The reports of Herodotus and Pseudo-Hippocrates stand out with special details. Among the evidence of ancient authors and ethnographic materials, many analogies to divination with rods are found, but there are no parallels to divination with lime bark. When analyzing mythological data, the assumption arises that the Еnarees’ divination method actually is an artistic invention. It can be suggested that the Enarei, like traditional «seers,» divined using rods, but not willow, but linden trees. The choice of the tree was associated with a certain supernatural patron. The patron of the first group of diviners was Aphrodite Urania, the Scythian Argimpasa, and of the second was probably Gaia, the Scythian Api. Usually, researchers identify the Enarei with transvestite shamans or castrated priests. However, it is more likely that the Enarei represented an intermediate form between them. Basically shamans fixed the initial stage of ritual feminization of men. In their case, the «transformation» had not only an imaginary violent but also a distinctly sexual character. The final phase of the tradition was demonstrated by castrated priests. A large part of them voluntarily (in ecstasy or under psychological pressure from their comrades) renounced any sexual contacts and dedicated their lives to communicating with the supernatural world. Some sources allow us to talk about the different social status and occupations of traditional «diviners» and Enarees. The former could belong to a non–Scythian tribe and was not a part of the higher layers of society. The latter formed a sort of corporation and came from the Scythian aristocracy. Both groups played an important role in Scythian society. They served as a guarantee of stability by exposing the perjurers who were allegedly responsible for the illnesses of the «kings» as well as the «false prophets.» Enarees probably also acted as organizers of «royal» funerals.

Divination · Ecstasy · Ethnography · Feminization (sociology) · Mythology · Parallels · Shamanism · Subconscious · Classical Antiquity Studies · Eurasian Exchange Networks · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies