A horse in the traditional funeral rites of the Khakas (late 19th - mid-20th centuries)

The aim of this article is to characterize the horse, and its image, as an animal included in the ideological and ritual system of the Khakas associated with funerals. The chronological framework of the work covers the late 19th - mid-20th centuries. The choice of such time limits is determined by the state of the source base on the research topic. Leading in the study is the principle of historicism, when any cultural phenomenon is considered in development and taking into account a specific situation. Historical, ethnographic, folklore and linguistic materials are used as sources, some of which are published for the first time. The research methodology is based on historical and ethnographic methods: remnants (relic), semantic and comparative historical analysis. As a result of the analysis, the following conclusions can be drawn: in the traditional culture of the Khakas, in particular in funeral rites, the horse and its image were important because of their utilitarian and sacred functions. The hoylaga horse served as a riding animal that accompanied the owner when moving to another world. The rite of burial with a horse is determined by the ideas of the posthumous existence of its owner. The conditions for a safe transfer of a deceased person to the afterlife depended on compliance with the rules of funeral rites, which included providing the person with everything necessary, including horse equipment, following body transportation rules, etc. In the worldview of the Khakas, the image of a horse had a close connection with the image of a male warrior, which is reflected in the funeral ritual. Only men were buried with horses. The ceremony of burial with a horse was distinguished by complexity and large financial costs. The inclusion of the horse in the funeral process had pragmatic goals. Horse meat was a product preferred from a ritual point of view, belonged to the category of “prestigious food” and was widely used in the funeral feast. The act of eating horse meat by the participants of the funeral rite carried a religious and symbolic function of sending the horse to another world. The funeral and memorial rituals of the Khakas were characterized by variability due to the ethnolocal traditions of the people, which was expressed in the timing of the killing of the horse of the deceased. Over time, due to historical reasons, the burial rite with the hoylaga horse transformed. People began to practice only the symbolic sending of the horse to the deceased, without interrupting the animal's life. The ritual function of sending a horse with its owner in funeral rites was reflected in folklore that contains archaic sacred representations and rituals of the people in relic form.

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