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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