The Snake and the Serpent Dragon in the Religious and Mythological Representations and Folklore of the Khakas (Late 19th - Mid-20th Centuries)

The aim of the work is to characterize the image of the syr chylan, a serpent dragon, in the oral folk art of the Khakas. Proceeding from the aim, the objectives of the study are to analyse the folklore and ethnographic information of this people and to reveal the key constituent elements of this mythological being, to discover the semantic links of its image with natural objects and elements, as well as with military themes. The chronological scope of the work covers the late 19th to mid-20th centuries. The choice of such time limits is caused, first of all, by the state of the source database on the research topic. The work is based on an integrated system-historical approach to the study of the past. The research methodology includes historical and ethnographic methods: scientific description, concrete historical analysis, structural-semantic and relict methods. As a result of the analysis, the following conclusions can be drawn. (1) The image of the snake/serpent was widespread in the Khakas culture. Moreover, the Khakas folklore developed this image as the syr chylan, a serpent dragon. In mythological thinking, this fantastic creature is endowed with a vast and diverse symbolism. (2) The creature's main characteristic is a pronounced syncretic nature, combining the images of a reptile and a bird. The corresponding symbolic meaning was largely determined by its morphological features, ways of moving in space, etc. In the archaic consciousness, the dragon as a dynamic and, at the same time, sacred creature embodied the image of the soul of mythical characters. (3) In oral folklore, the habitat itself, the way of life and the essential characteristics of the serpent dragon testify to its close connection with such natural objects and elements as mountain/rock, water and fire. (4) In mythological thinking, because of its specific features, the serpent dragon is identified with people's sworn enemy that has the image of a warrior with his paraphernalia: armor and weapons. The Khakas centuries-old observation of the snake-the real prototype of the dragon-helped to form a huge fund of folk knowledge about this reptile, including its morphological features, habitats, lifestyle, habits, etc. All this contributed to a deep penetration of the image of the snake/serpent into people's religious-mythological consciousness and ritual practice, including shamanism. In turn, this led to the fact that, through this symbolization, people with an archaic type of thinking tried to explain and order the world around them, make it intelligible and accessible, and thus comfortable and safe.

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