The water world in the beliefs and rituals of the Kabansk Buryats

Beliefs concerning the water world constitute a specific realm in the traditional worldview of the Buryats. A related system of rituals has emerged and still operates on the basis of these beliefs. Their study makes it possible to deepen the knowledge about the spirituality in the culture of the Buryats. The research is based on field materials collected in 2017 in Kabansk District of the Republic of Buryatia. Beliefs associated with the water world and corresponding rituals among the Kabansk Buryats have local specificity resulting from the intensive contacts between the Baikal Buryats, Khori-Buryats, as well as the Evenk and Mongolian clans, in this ethnic and territorial group. Another factor which contributed to this process was the development of fishing on Lake Baikal among the Kabansk Buryats.