Arzhaans as part of the cultural and religious landscape of the Republic of Tuva

Abstract

Tuvinian healing springs, Arzhaans, are examined in this article as an important part of the cultural and religious landscape of the republic. Their importance and the interest in them, displayed by both the local population, primarily Tuvans, and visitors to the region, have been reinforced in the process of contemporary cultural revival. Our study is based on the theoretical and methodological approach of anthropology, which studies the cultural landscape as a space which includes natural objects endowed by man with a certain cultural meaning, changing due to the anthropogenic impact. Methodologically, we rely on the works on the role and place of water sources in cultures, and specifically of arzhaans in Tuva culture. Other sources include the results of the author's field studies in Tuva in 2017–2018 (most importantly, ofs interview with Tuvans). Arzhaans represent a part of the cultural and religious landscape of Tuva, which has its own center, a special shrine - a healing spring. Around this center rise a number of traditional rituals, connecting man with nature, generations of the present with the past, focusing on healing of the body and soul. The cult of arzhaans also performs an identification function, allowing Tuvans to realize their tribal, ethnocultural identity. Scientific studies made by chemists and hydrologists prove the healing properties of arzhaans. This reinforces the faith of the population and visitors in the usefulness of arzhaan tours, which helps advance a suggestion that arzhaans can act as centers of tourist interest.

Keywords

• аржаан
• лечебные источники
• Тува
• тувинцы
• идентичность
• культурный ландшафт
• культурно-религиозный ландшафт
• экологическая культура