Mythological cult of the celestial ancestors in Buryat literature

The article reviews main features of the cult of ancestors in Buryat literature on the material of images of Bukha-noёn baabay (the Bull) and the Swan. The poems by Buryat poets A. Angarhaev, J. Yubuhaev, L. Taphaev, B. Dugarov, and the authors' interpretation of Bukha-rn^n baabay image are analyzed. The article also detects relationship between these poems and shamanic songs. Spiritualization of landscape, sacred attitude to the nature is revealed in the analyzed texts. The image of the Swan as a celestial ancestor of the Buryats is revealed in the poem by G. Radnaeva "White Swan", in the historical novels by Ts. Galanov "The Mother Swan" and V. Garmaev's "The Tenth Rabdzhun." The author shows the great importance of the cult of ancestor for the Buryat writers.