Linguistic explication of religious beliefs in the Karachay-Balkarian Nart epic

The relevance of the research topic is determined by the relevance of a multi-vector systematic study of the archaic religious beliefs of the Karachays and Balkarians, which is reflected in the texts of the Nart epic. For the first time, the article analyzes the pre-Islamic components of the beliefs of the Karachay-Balkarian people, which primarily include Tengrianism, and subsequently Christianity. The purpose of the article is to examine the specifics of reflecting the religious beliefs of the Karachay-Balkarian ethnic group in the Nart epic through various linguistic means. To achieve this goal, tasks were set aimed at identifying archaic Tengrian deities, artifacts associated with shamanism, as well as identifying and describing their functional features. The research was conducted mainly using the descriptive method, as well as using methods of comparison, component and lexico-semantic analysis, and various procedures for the linguistic interpretation of linguistic facts.

As a result of the conducted research, we come to the conclusion that the core of the religious beliefs of the ethnic group reflected in the epic is Tengrianism, which is supported by the presence of a system of celestial deities in it, the main of which are patrons of such significant elements as heaven, earth, water and fire. In addition, a number of stable descriptions containing the name of the supreme deity Teiri were identified, which still serve the field of speech etiquette, reflecting the belief of native speakers in the possibility of obtaining various benefits from it under certain conditions. In the texts of the epic, Teiri is anthropomorphized, his cult is included in the cycle of human life, he is an omnipotent and omnipresent God, who is found in everything, being the creator of the cosmos, living beings and supporting their vital activity. Along with Tengrianism, shamanism also contributed to the formation of the spiritual culture, religious and mythological views of the Karachays and Balkars, the elements of which in the epic texts are represented by the names of various characters and the tools of their activities.

The texts of the epic also reflect the time when the form of religious beliefs among the ancestors of the Karachays and Balkars was a complex interweaving of paganism with elements of Orthodox Christianity. This is mainly due to the figure of Elijah (aka the Old Testament prophet Elijah), who acts as the patron saint of the Narts in all their affairs. This study has prospects for subsequent scientific and theoretical research aimed at interdisciplinary analysis of epic discourse, which will allow us to fully present a holistic picture of the world of the Karachay-Balkarian people at the early stages of its formation.

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