The shamanistic universe of Central Asian nomads: wolves and she-wolves

Abstract

The article deals with the semantic nature of the images of a wolf and a she-wolf in the shamanistic natural philosophy of the nomadic Turkic-speaking population of Central Asia. The focus here is an archetypal image of a wolf and a she-wolf as ancestors, defenders and guardians of the Turks' cultural code -one of the most powerful, large-scale and sustainable Eurasia cultures, united by common linguistic roots and mentality. The majority of studies of the semantics of zoomorphic characters in Central Asian cultures focus on a wolf, while a she-wolf 's image at most is in the sidelines, although it appears in almost all Turkic genealogical legends as one of the central characters. The authors are of the opinion that the study of natural philosophical underpinnings of images of a wolf and a she-wolf from the point of view of traditional shamanistic ritualism can expand the long-held beliefs about transformation and specificity of functioning of mental values in the cultural sphere of modern society.