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| 1 | The article describes the results of three folklore-ethnographic expeditions to the Tuvinians of China in 2016 year. Analyzed the degree of ownership of folklore and ethnographic tradition of the young generation of the Chinese Tuvinians. Recorded materials from Tuvinian students testify to the continuity of knowledge on traditional folklore and rituals. It is noted that young people in the rituals adheres to the сanon of tradition, knows the semantics and pragmatics of rituals. At the same time, in the recorded works of oral prose from a young generation it can be noted not rich repertoire and poor knowledge of the foundations of traditional mythology. It is established that the folklore and ritual in the life of Tuvinians of China is a lively and dynamic traditional culture. During three expeditions were recorded samples of many folklore genres and also the different stages of the wedding rituals. Keywords: Tuvinians of China, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous region, non-folktale prose, ritual folklore | 1898 | ||||
| 2 | The article describes the ritual contests and games conducted at present in the wedding rituals of Chinese Tuvinians. These competitions, as before, are mandatory components of the wedding ritual and are held in two places: at the wedding feast of the bride's parents – the wrestle for the sheep's head, the competition in ignition the fire; as well as at the groom's parents – the scattering of flour, the wrestle for the sheep's skin, the competition in ignition the fire in the home of the newlyweds. It is revealed that these challenges are strongly pronounced the ritual-magic function, which should help to strengthen the marriage union, the welfare of the newlyweds, receiving the grace of cattle, and also establishing contact with the deities of the Upper world. At the same time, it is established that for the bearers of tradition, the semantics of the sacredness of the competition is no recognized. The work also presents a description of non-ritual games: hiding beads, beating by leather strap, which are arranged after the ritual part of the wedding. It is noted that, if to date, the wedding ritual competitions have not changed and are performed in full, in recent years during the wedding, the bearers of the tradition are less likely to play non-ritual games. In the comparative aspect, similar ritual competitions and games are considered, which in the past existed among the indigenous Siberian peoples: Russian Tuvinians, Altaians and Buryats. In the data on the Turkic and Mongolian peoples of Siberia nowadays only fragments of these traditions are found, in Chinese Tuvinians they are preserved in full, which indicates the preservation of many elements of traditional culture, and its authenticity of the existence of wedding ritual culture. Keywords: Tuvinians of China, wedding ceremony of Chinese Tuvinians, ritual competitions, nonritual games, identical wedding competitions at Buryats and Altaians, semantics and pragmatics of competitions | 1606 | ||||
| 3 | This article examines the Tuvan mythological representations of shamanic headdresses. It shows that the role and meaning of the ritual hats of magical specialists used in rituals were interpreted differently in the Tuvan environment. The popular interpretations of shamanic headdresses reflect the most important concepts of shamanism - the tripartition of the world, ideas about the shaman’s choice, his role as a mediator between the world of humans and spirits, the shaman’s guardian spirits and assistants, the meaning and symbolism of the shaman’s hat in the performance of rituals. The semantic and pragmatic aspects of images of the human face, often found on ritual headdresses, are analyzed. The ideas of the tradition bearers about the painted parts of the human face (eyes, nose, mouth, ears) on shaman hats, which were supposed to have a magical influence on the course of rituals, fulfill ritual functions – increase the ritual power of the shaman, support him in rituals and protect him from hostile forces. It has been proven that the Tuvan shamans used bird feathers for their ritual hats and bird heads and animal skins, which were regarded as protective spirits and helpers of the shaman. According to Tuvan belief, during the rituals, the shaman took on the form of the animals and birds that adorned his headdress and were his guardian spirits to achieve positive results from the ritual. The distinguishing features of the shaman’s hats within the ritual depended on its goals – for better or for worse, on the age of the magical specialist, often also on the nature of the healing ritual – for a seriously ill or dying person, because strong shamans leading the ritual practice could wear two headdresses depending on the semantic orientation of the ritual. According to the Tuvans, the headdress of a Tuvan shaman as part of his ritual clothing fulfilled ritual, magical, communicative, contacting, symbolic, differentiating, and protective functions. Keywords: Tuvan shamanism, shaman’s headdress, semantics and pragmatics, functions, images of a human face, manufacturing materials | 1506 | ||||
| 4 | This article examines a little-studied stratum of archaic beliefs held by Russian and Chinese Tuvans about deceased shamans, which contain the main tenets of shamanic mythology: the three-part division of the world, the existence of an afterlife, and ideas about the chosen and powerful shaman. The features of the Tuvan shamanic funeral rite, which persisted until the mid-20th century, are described, and the reasons for the customary damage to the tambourine of the deceased shaman are examined. The article discusses views on the deathbed orders of shamans, which include contradictory functions: protecting the well-being of their descendants and harming enemies and abusers. General ideas about tambourine sounds near shamanic graves, consistently preserved among the Russian and Chinese Tuvans, are analyzed. It is revealed that, despite changes in the funeral rites of Tuvans in Russia and abroad over the past century–when there is no longer a need for posthumous storage of a shaman’s cult attributes next to his grave–beliefs about the sounds of the tambourine remain stable. The specific features of the sounds produced by the shamanic tambourine, their location, and the times of their audibility during specific periods of the day are described, and the motif of a predetermined number of tambourines in the Tuvan shamanic cult practice is examined. Ideas about the actions of deceased shamans (the ability to rock, beat a tambourine, appear in former human form, or appear as helper spirits) were initially associated with the belief in the close connection between the shaman’s life force and the tambourine, and the observance of the tradition of the shaman’s aerial burial with cult attributes, since, according to the Tuvans, the shaman’s life force remained near the burial. Today, modern Tuvans still maintain a stable motif regarding the connection between the shaman’s life force and the tambourine. They also hold a belief in the power and chosen status of a magical specialist, as well as the notion that the sounds of the tambourine serve a predictive function. The sources for this research include published and new field materials. The chronological framework of the study is from the mid-20th century to the early 21st century. Keywords: Tuvans of Russia, Tuvans of China, Tuvan shamanism, mythological beliefs, death of a shaman, sounds of a shamanic tambourine | 172 | ||||