Study of the pantheon of deities in Sakha folklore

Abstract

This article touches on the issues of the study of the Sakha pantheon of Aiyy deities. The goal of this article is to examine the work and research dedicated to studying the upper Aiyy deities. This research utilizes comparative and descriptive methods to reveal the similarities and differences in representations of Aiyy deities in the Sakha epic olonkho. A lexico-semantic method was used in the analysis of the names of the upper deities. An analytic survey of the work of researchers of Sakha folklore, including the work N. P. Prizupov, I. A. Khudyakov, V. M. Ionov, N. A. Alekseev, and others. These scholars often included representations of the deity Iuriung Aar Toion. The deity Iuriung Aiyy Toion is mentioned in the works of N. F. Ostolopov, R. K. Maak, E. K. Pekarskii, and others. Several researchers include representation of both deitys, for example Ia. I. Lindenau. It was the opinion of A. E. Kulakovskii that Iuriung Aar Toion and Iuriung Aiyy Toion were representations of a single deity. A. I. Gogolev asserted that the image of the sun deity Iuriung Aar Toion merged with the functions of Aar Aiyy Toion in the 20 th century. Researchers also mentioned two more representations of chief deities in the Upper World: Aar Aiyy Toion and Aiyy Tangara. The figure of Aar Aiyy Toion is often presented as the "Holy, Godly Lord" in the works of R. K. Maak, E. K. Pekarskii, and V. F. Troshchanskii. The authors of this article analyzed olonkho texts from three different regional traditions: the central tradition, the viliusk tradition, and the northeastern tradition. The figure of the deity Iuriung Aiyy Toion is mentioned primarily in olonkho in the viliusk and northeastern epic traditions. In contrast, olonkho in the central epic tradition include representations of the deity Iuriung Aar Toion. The images of both Iuriung Aar Toion and Iuriung Aiyy Toion have been studied in the northeastern epic tradition. As a result of this analysis of the works of researchers of Sakha folklore, ethnography, and history, we can conclude that the figure of the primary Sakha deity has been represent in four different ways: Iuriun Aar Toion, Iuriung Aiyy Toion, Aar Aiyy Toion, and Aiyy Tangara. The name of the chief deity in folkloric texts is represented in several ways, thus leading to different interpretations of his image.