Entomological Images in the Worldview of the Buryats

Abstract

Purpose. The aim of this study is to identify a set of traditional views of the Buryats associated with insects. Results. In the popular zoological classification of the Buryats, the insects were distinguished as a separate class due to their small size. Another sign of this class was the characteristic of insects being nimble. Insects were divided into such groups as “winged insects”, “worms and beetles”, “social insects” and others. Images of insects that live in the sky, water and on earth were not always determined by their habitat. According to the Buryat views, there was a group of chthonic creatures, such as midges, flies, lice, fleas and beetles. At the same time, there existed a popular belief that insects appeared as falling from the sky. By contrast with other classes of animals, insects in Buryats beliefs were not personified in a single spirit as the patron of insects. Images of representatives of the order of Lepidoptera, such as butterflies and moths, are rarely present in the traditional worldview of the Buryats. According to their views, in addi-tion to the presence of wings, the most important feature of many Diptera insects is their ability to produce monoto-nous sounds while flying - buzz, and this quality is reflected in the Buryat vocabulary. The Buryats believed that cer-tain insects had unique features. For instance, the bee had a feminine essence. It is worth noting that the bee was included into a limited group of animals, together with a swallow and an ant, whose presence in the Buryat dwelling was considered favorable for the life of the family. According to the Buryats’ mythological views, only ants had a hi-erarchy in their groups. Conclusion. Our analysis has shown that insects were not very important creatures in the Buryats’ beliefs. However, some insects had distinct characteristics. The ant and the bee were considered to be positive, while the gadfly, mosqui-to, wasp, moth, bug, louse and flea negative. It should also be noted that the chthonic origin of the ant did not deter-mine its final connotation. The Buryats often compared insects to other animal species. The material considered shows that they associated a soul with opposite images of bees and wasps. Some insects were connected with the idea of ly-canthropy and the symbolism of fertility, such as the ant and the bee. Unlike other classes of animals, insects were vaguely represented in the myth-ritual practices of the Buryats. Some Buryat views on insects find parallels with the mythological judgments of other peoples, such as the Mongols, Slavic tribes, etc., which is explained by the universal character of the images, typological coincidences and intercultural contacts (primarily with the Mongols).