The swan and its image in the traditional Khakass culture (late 19th - mid 20th century)

In the worldview and rituals of the Khakass, great importance was attached to the swan and its image. The swan was perceived as a cult bird. The mytho-ritual functions of this prominent representative of the avifauna are multifaceted. Their origins go back to the deep archaic and number more than one century. At the same time, the complex perception of this bird is still studied insufficiently in the Khakass ethnography. This circumstance indicates the novelty of the presented work. In this connection, the purpose of this article is to characterize the image of the swan in the traditional perception of the Khakass people. The chronological framework of the work covers the late 19th - mid 20th century. This chronological range has been chosen due to availability of the database of sources on the subject of the study. The main sources are ethnographic, linguistic and folklore materials, including excerpts from heroic tales (alyptyg nymakhtar) in the author ’s translation into Russian. The work is based on the methodological principle of historicism. Historical and ethnographic methods are used - relict and semantic analysis. In the course of the study, it was determined that the swan and its image played an important role in the mytho-ritual complex of the Khakass. It is revealed that ornithochromatic symbolism, in particular, the white color of the operculum served as the basis for the name of the swan. It is shown that its individual zoological features characterizing it as a waterfowl, along with the white color caused the classification of swan as a sacred bird. In the religious and mythological consciousness, this representative of the avifauna was perceived as a celestial being with great mystical power and carrying grace in itself. It is proved that the image of the swan was associated with the feminine principle and the idea of motherhood. A semiotic connection with the celestial goddess Umai has been revealed. The role of this bird in the gift-exchange rituals of wedding ceremony is shown.