On the Reflection of Mythological Beliefs in the Anthroponymic System of Bashkirs (Based on Service records of the officers and clerks of the 9th Bashkir Canton as of 1837)

Abstract

The article focuses the mythological beliefs of Bashkirs as reflected in historical anthroponymy using as its main source the document entitled Service records of the officers and clerks of the 9th Bashkir Canton as of 1837. The author considers more than 40 000 personal names and surnames of the 18th–19th centuries paying particular attention to those that contain mythologically marked items reflecting the remotest religious beliefs of Bashkirs. The analysis of anthroponymic data reveals the ancient Bashkirs’ views about gods and divine beings of both the pre-Islamic era and the period that followed the adoption of Islam. Specifically, the author investigates into the ancient Bashkirs’ concept of the presiding deity Tengri and provides a comparative analysis of the beliefs relating to the gods Khuday, Allah, kun / koyash ‘sun’, ay ‘moon’, and others. The names retrieved from the studied document enable to reveal the culturally induced connotations of the colour terms ak ‘white’ and kara ‘black’ as parts of anthroponyms. They were associated with the concepts of purity, holiness, strength and courage and sometimes served as a kind of protective charm. The Bashkir anthroponymy reflects some ancient beliefs related to metals. For example, the word altyn ‘gold’ is closely associated with the upper world, that of the sky and the sun. The 18th–19th centuries Bashkir stock of personal names contains a wide range of names associated with totem animals, birds, trees and other plants that were given to children to protect them from sinister forces. It also contains names that reflect the ancient Bashkirs’ beliefs about time and space.

Keywords

• Bashkir language
• historical anthroponymy
• mythology of the ancient Bashkirs
• service records
• mythological vocabulary