The relationship between the plots of the Nart epic about Batraz and Ossetian rituality in retrospective

The problem of the relationship between myth and ritual is the vector of research which this article follows. The purpose of the article is to show the isomorphism and invariance of the basic ideological scheme of the relations “sky – man – earth” realized in them through the analysis of the Nart legends of the Ossetians and the death of the hero Batraz, and the structure and analysis of the Ossetian rite “Tsoppai” (its variety associated with a lightning strike on a person/tree). The methods used in the article are structural-semantic and comparativehistorical. A comparison of specific texts of the Nart epic of the Ossetians and the Ossetian rite “Tsoppai” of the above-mentioned variety in the aspect we have chosen is carried out for the first time. The results of the study can be applied in the analysis of both the Nart epic of the Ossetians and Ossetian rituals, and more broadly the epic creativity and rituals of the peoples of the Indo-European circle and in the typological or other plans of the epic creativity and rituals of the peoples of the world. The comparative study was successfully carried out due to the fact that we turned to some of the first records of the Nart epic of the Ossetians by the students and followers of V.F. Miller, the brothers Dzhantemir and Gatsyr Shanaev. In the future, it is advisable to consider the ritual context more broadly, in particular to consider the “Tsoppai” ritual regarding the lightning strike on a tree, which will give a complete picture of the functioning of the Nart legends of the Ossetians in the field of the entire spiritual culture of the Ossetians. The observed similarity in the structure of the “Tsoppai” rite and the plot of the legend about the death of Batraz, expressed in the use of the number 4 and its multiples (numerical symbolism), as well as the connection of the “Tsoppai” rite with the Thunderer Elijah/Uatsilla, in combination with the “thunderous” nature of Batraz (according to J. Dumézil) and his likeness to lightning, allow us to put forward the following hypothesis: Tsoppai, Elijah and Uatsilla are different names of the same Thunderer, revered by the ancestors of the Ossetians (Scythian-Sarmatian-Alans) and modern Ossetians in different historical periods.

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