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BASHKIR PROVERBS AS A SOURCE OF STUDING TRADITIONAL ECONOMY AND FOOD CULTURE OF THE PEOPLE // Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2021. Issue 4 (34). P. 136-147

The purpose of this article is to consider the reflection in the paremic heritage of the Bashkir people of such an important component of the life support system as traditional food culture, as well as the past economic activities of the people. Many Bashkir proverbs originated come down to us from ancient times, some appeared a little later, others-even closer to our time. As the main source, we used Bashkir proverbs translated into Russian from volume 7 of the series “Bashkir folk Art” (Ufa, 1993); The originals of proverbs in the Bashkir language are contained in the publication “Bashkort Halyk Izhady” (Ufa, 1980). A significant contribution to the collection and study of the Bashkir paremic heritage was made by pre-revolutionary and Soviet researchers of the Bashkir territory, as well as modern folklore scientists. Among them, it is particularly necessary to highlight F. A. Nadrshina, whose sphere of scientific interests, among other issues, concerned the study of the paremic heritage of the Bashkir people. The food products mentioned in Bashkir proverbs can be divided into several categories: animal products (meat, milk, eggs); vegetable food (cereals, vegetables, wild roots and herbs); fish, honey, spices, as well as dishes prepared from them. Much attention was paid to the quality of products in the paremias; they also reflect the order of eating; the hospitality of the people, traditional Bashkir holidays and rituals, as well as food prepared for them; food taboos, the observance of which was mandatory in Bashkir society, etc. For example, drunkenness was condemned; vodka was considered the cause of many diseases and even death. Among the people, a careful, prudent attitude to food was promoted, which was also reflected in proverbs and sayings. In the distant past, the Bashkirs, like many other pagans, had certain cults and beliefs associated with food. In addition, the echoes of the lean famine years preserved in the people's memory also provided significant material for the appearance of proverbs about the need to appreciate food. Based on the analysis of the available materials, we can conclude that proverbs are a valuable source for studying the ethnography of Bashkirs, its spiritual and material culture.

Keywords: Bashkirs, nutrition system, food culture, proverbs, holidays, rituals, paremias, folklore, folk art

ABOUT THE CHARACTER OF THE BASHKIR MYTHOLOGY AZHDAHA // Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2022. Issue 4 (38). P. 84-94

In order to reveal the image of the Bashkir mythological figure Azhdaha, we compare him with similar figuresin neighboring and other peoples and try to identify the roots of his appearance in the region. We show and describetwo images of the Bashkir Azhdaha – a fairy-tale, dragon-like appearance and a mythological, serpent-likeappearance. The study is based on the authors’ field material, information from Bashkir folklore, and comparativematerial on Turkic-speaking and Iranian peoples. Azhdaha is known among the Bashkirs in two images: in the epicsand fairy tales, he is represented as a multi-headed dragon, and in various religious beliefs, he is a mythologizedserpent that has reached enormous proportions after a hundred-year life. The presence of many similar featuresamong other peoples of Eurasia suggests that his image evolved in the general Eurasian channel. The dragonitself is a later mythological figure, which is a further development of the image of the serpent, which had an ambivalentcharacter in the representations. Among the Bashkirs, both images – the serpent and the dragon – werecalled by the same name – azhdaha, which has an Iranian etymology and goes back to the Avestic mythology.At the same time, both are negative figures associated with the element of water. Azhdaha, from different beliefs,represents a long-lived serpent, in our opinion, reflecting the transformation of a serpent, which originally hadno clear negative character, into a negative character that harms people. The development of the fabulous and epicazhdaha took place separately, and its image is generally closely associated with the literary tradition of the East.His image is less uniform – he may be many-headed and have the ability to fly, breathe fire, and guard a watersource, or a treasure, mountains appear in the place of his slain body. Close to the first serpent/dragon from thelegends, which are preserved only in records from the XIX – early XX centuries. He was a huge serpent whoserestlessness forced the local population to change their residence.

Keywords: azhdaha, dragon, serpent, mythological character, Bashkirs