Kir palykh is a water monster and a shaman spirit in the religious and mythological representations of the khakas (late XIX - mid XX century)

He purpose of the study is to characterize the image of the clergy in the worldview and rituals of the Khakas. In order to achieve this goal, the following tasks were solved: 1) to conduct an etymological analysis of the term “Kir Palykh”; 2) to identify the significance and role of this being in the sacred practice of the Khakass people. The source base of the research includes folklore and ethnographic materials. Folklore works are epics and myths published in the Khakass language. The excerpts of some of them were first translated into Russian by the author. The chronological framework of the work covers the end of the XIX - middle of the XX centuries, which is determined by the state and possibilities of the source base on the research topic. Leading the study is the principle of historicism, when any cultural phenomenon is considered in the development and taking into account the specific situation. The research methodology is based on historical and ethnographic methods - relic and semantic analysis. As a result of the analysis, the following conclusions can be drawn: 1) in the traditional worldview and folklore of the Khakas, an important place was given to the mythical being kir palykh; 2) an analysis of the etymology of the name and a direct study of its image leads to the conclusion that in the religious and mythological consciousness, kir palykh is endowed with an ichthyomorphic image. She was characterized: a) as a monstrous fish of gigantic size and often identified with a whale; b) the color of the body was designated as “the bay”; c) described in the form of “old / ancient fish”, correlated with a certain entity that appeared in the mythical era of the first creation; 3) in the traditional notions of the Khakas and other Turkic peoples of the Sayan-Altai, kir palyh are often identified with the ker yutpa, a fantastic creature with zoomorphic features, and identified with a dragon serpent. The single chthonic nature of these creatures, the common habitat and similar ritual functions contributed to the syncretization of the image of fish and snake; 4) in the religious and mythological representations of the khakas, kir palykh acted as the embodiment of the spirit of the master of water - sug ezi. The designated deity performed one of the most important functions in the traditional ritual of the people; 5) The water lord was directly associated with the shamanic mysteries, including playing a key role in the process of initiation into shamans. Kir palykh herself was one of the strongest tos'es - the spirit helpers of the shaman. Her image was captured in their ritual paraphernalia - tambourines and costume; 6) she was included in the range of views associated with homemade spirits patrons. Her mystical power found its application in traditional medicine.

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