Natural hierophanii in the implementation of the burial rite of the early nomados ofthe mountain Altai

The term was first introduced in hierophany scientific terminology Romanian scholar Mircea Eliade. The history of religions, from the most primitive to the most sophisticated, is nothing like the description of hierophany, manifestations of sacred realities. In this paper, we focus on the elements of the funerary practices of drawing up a rite of passage: the mountain, stone, fire, water (river), wood, birch bark, Kuril tea plants for fumigation space - Juniper, hemp seeds, coriander, zizifory. These elements allow the right to issue and implement a funeral, a memorial ceremony. Each of them participated in the ceremony as a building material, implementation of cosmogonic ideas and purification ritual space. The most common material element of the cemeteries and the classic hierophany a stone. It is part of the design, construction material. According to the ancient, stone served as a protection against animals, robbers, and from death. The idea of mountains as hierophany acts as a liaison between the living world and the world of the dead, is seen as a way into the underworld. In fact, the mountain is a large stone. It is no coincidence funerary monuments of the early nomads are mostly on the kind of average height, that the representations of the Altai mountain top, the top of the world, the foot - the middle world, gorge or cave, the underworld. The most important element is the wood used in the design of the burial chamber, the sarcophagus manufacture and construction of rolling logs. In addition to purely technological, utilitarian function tree has deep semantic load associated with the idea of the global axis. Semantic load is carried, and elm. In the myths as the boundary between the worlds is mentioned elm. In the Siberian ethnographic tradition coffin burial necessarily wrapped strips of birch bark. River or water as an essential element hierophany making out funeral-memorial act. As we have noted in previous publications, the vast majority of early nomads cemeteries are located in close proximity to the water source. The burial chamber is often positioned so that the deceased was kicked down the river. Fire is also an essential element hierophany. Traces of fire in some way recorded in almost all the ancient tombs, but the extent of his participation in the funeral rites, funeral was different. Fire has played primarily a cleansing and protective function during the actual funeral ceremony, funeral rites and implementation. It was believed that imparting fire guarantee of certain items bring them to the underworld. A special place in the implementation of the rite is the space fumigation. To do this, except the juniper has been used hemp seeds, coriander and zizifora. A wide range of hierophany (manifestations of the sacred) is inherent, and other rites of passage such as birth, initiation, marriage.

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