Dados Bibliográficos

Resumo

Written on the basis of field material, using general and special methods of historical science, the article is devoted to the description of the mythological characters of the former pantheon and pandemonium of the Gumbet Avars that have survived to the Soviet post-war and modern times – personified celestial bodies and atmospheric phenomena, mummers and dolls, cartridges of wild animals and hunting , supreme deities; 'House snakes', penetrating into the dwelling and strangling a person during sleep, evil demons, antagonists of pregnant women, shaitans. The sources of these representations are folklore (mythology, oaths, good wishes, sayings), vocabulary and phraseology, calendar, family and social rituals, customs and beliefs. With the adoption of the Muslim religion by the Gumbet Avars, most of the mythological characters of their pagan pantheon and pandemonium were consigned to oblivion, and some of the surviving ones, in view of the stability of traditional religious beliefs in the spiritual culture of the ethnic group, were Islamized and took the form of syncretic and 'domestic Islam'. Some of the Islamized mythological characters have become mediators between man and the Almighty, which is contrary to the doctrine of Islam. A significant role in the consolidation of pre-monotheistic beliefs in the spiritual culture of the Avars and other peoples of Dagestan in the Soviet and modern times was played by the healthy conservatism inherent in all Dagestanis and the peculiarities of their mentality – adherence to the traditional way of life. This circumstance inspires certain confidence in the preservation of their religious, cultural and ethnic identity in the era of globalization.

Obras Relacionadas