HORSE AND HORSE HARNESS IN THE RITUAL OF THE KHAKASS CHILDREN'S CYCLE (LATE XIX — MID XX CENTURY)

The purpose of the article is to determine the function of the horse and horse harness in the representations and rituals of the Khakas associated with the children’s cycle. The chronological framework of the work covers the late XIX — mid XX centuries . The choice of such time limits is determined by the state of the source base on the research topic. Ethnographic and folklore materials collected by both pre-revolutionary and modern researchers: I. G. Gmelin, N. F. Katanov, V. Ya. Butanaev, N. S. Teneshev, etc. served as a source base. Folklore materials — excerpts from heroic tales (alyptyg nymakhtar) used in this work presented for the first time in the author's translation in Russian. In the article under consideration, archival ethnographic materials on the indicated problems are also introduced into scientific circulation. Leading in the research is the principle of historicism, when any cultural phenomenon is considered in development and taking into account a specific situation. The research methodology is based on historical and ethnographic methods: remnants (relic) and semantic analysis.As a result of the analysis, the following conclusions can be drawn: 1) in the traditional culture of the Khakass, the horse and its image occupied an important place. This pet was included in the ritual associated with the children's cycle; 2) In the religious and mythological consciousness of the people, the image of a horse was steadily associated with the idea of vitality and fertility; 3) Not only the image of this ungulate and some parts of its body were endowed with magical protective properties; 4) The sacralization of the horse contributed to the fact that its image in its various manifestations was widely represented in the rituals associated with prenatal, birth and postnatal childhood cycles. An important place in this process was given to individual elements of horse equipment; 5) The horse performed a significant function in the socialization of the child, including in such stages as naming and mastering riding skills.

Khakas, traditional culture, folklore, worldview, ritual, horse, harness, the world of childhood, naming