“Sang” ritual in the Altai culture

This article, based on the author's field materials, describes in detail and comprehensively analyses the «sang» rite in the Altay culture. In Altai culture, ‘sang’ can be defined as a rite of offering aimed at honoring the spirits of Altai, which play an important role in the spiritual life of the Altai people. This ritual is performed to express gratitude, treat the spirits and ask for their blessings and protection. Territorially the name of the rite differs, for example, among the Altai-Kizhi it is known as shyten, while among the Telengit it is sang. However, the aim and purpose of the ritual is the same -to express gratitude and ask for goodness and protection for one's people, family and for oneself. The author makes an attempt to classify this rite by levels and purposes of its performance, which makes a significant contribution to the understanding and systematization of cultural traditions of the Altay people. According to the level of rite sang can be conditionally divided into three: 1) personal, 2) family; 3) clan (seok - the Altai genus seok is a secondary formation, which had as its prototype the model of patrilineal exogamous kin) and 4) universal. The rite of sang can be categorised by the purpose for which it is performed. It is usually customary to perform sang when visiting healing springs, before an important event (hunting, matchmaking, wedding), during calendar rites - Jazhyl-Byr (Green Leaves), Sary-Byr (Yellow Leaves) and when celebrating important holidays such as Chagaa-Bairam or El-Oyin. Based on this, we can say that the rite of sang is multifaceted and can be performed with different purposes. However, regardless of the purpose, the main objective of the rite is to ensure the well-being and prosperity of the Altai people. The study revealed that the sang rite remains a relevant and lively tradition practiced by the Altai people both at the general level, during national holidays, and at the clan (seok) and personal level. In spite of possible local differences in carrying out the rite, its purpose remains unchanged - to express gratitude and ask for good and protection for their people and for themselves. The diversity of forms of the rite testifies to the richness and dynamism of the Altai culture, which allows preserving traditions, adapting them to modern conditions. The author declares no conflicts of interests.

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