Signs and beliefs of the Buryats of Irkutsk governorate based on M. N. Khangalov’s field diaries

The article describes the signs and beliefs of the Buryats of Irkutsk Governorate based on Matvey Nikolaevich Khangalov’s diaries of the late 19th - early 20th centuries. Based on their own view of the world, the Buryats believed that they could predict future events. They could see signs from above almost everywhere. In the article we have analyzed the main signs and beliefs of the Buryats. Some signs have an accompanying legend to strengthen faith in the sign. The study is based on scientific works on this topic and private archives, namely M. N. Khangalov’s field diaries, which are stored in the collection of the National Museum of the Republic of Buryatia.