Oriental Studies (Dec 2023)
Adornments to Traditional Sakha (Yakut) and Tuvan Costumes: Visualizing Ideas of Soul
Abstract
Introduction. The cultural heritages of the Sakha (Yakut) and the Tuvan are distinguished by a similarity of basic worldview ideas pertaining to the structure of the Universe, multi-storeyedness of each of the Three Worlds, the pantheon of deities, etc. Goals. The article aims to interpret semantics of ethnic jewelry as a visual narrative articulating the ideas of individual soul in traditional Sakha and Tuvan cultures. To facilitate this, the paper shall summarize the available descriptions of these ideas from ethnographic material, identify some facts confirming jewelry used to serve as markers of soul, consider semantics of traditional jewelry signs. The study hypothesizes as follows: when it comes to soul visualizations, folklore sources manifest repeated indications localizing one of the three souls (aorta, blood, belt, etc.) ― hence, the other two must also have some certain locations and related beliefs, too. Methods. With due regard of the dynamics in religious and aesthetic preferences, the employed interdisciplinary and comparative historical approaches comprise the structural/functional, interpretative, and axiological methods. The method of mosaic reconstruction proves as instrumental in revealing jewelry symbolism. Results. The paper confirms adornments (jewelry pieces) act as means to visualize some valuable worldviews, ideas of human soul and its whereabouts, prestige and behavioral norms. The former are defined as utmost identity signs for an inhabitant of the Middle World that serve as markers and protective amulets for each of the three human souls, also viewed as mediators between the sacred and profane worlds, triggers in ritual communication, and social status indicators. Conclusions. Being a universal form, circle (silver disk, bead, infinity knot, and button) denotes the place and function of each soul. For instance, the air one of the Sakha and the middle one of the Tuvan are placed in the head and identified with head adornments (jewelry pieces). According to Sakha beliefs, the maternal soul is localized in the mediastinum (pulse and blood ― heart and liver), while Tuvans place soul one into the navel. Yakut women of fertile age tend to mark this soul with solar breast jewelry, with no identified symbolic parallels in the Tuvan costume. Yakuts believe the third earthly soul be indicated with a belt buckle and dwell in the navel, while the Tuvan tradition says the good soul dwells in the belt. So, the Yakut have retained somewhat more archaic version of the symbolic corpus. And the differences are largely determined by the late influence of Manchu-Chinese culture and Buddhism on worldviews of southern Tuvans.
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