The veneration of mountains is a very ancient and widespread phenomenon. The veneration of sacred mountains has become part of some religions. Let us at least recall the role of the cult of mountains in the religions of the ancient world, for example, the cult of Mount Olympus in Greece, Sinai among the Palestinian Jews, and the Himalayas in India.
The worship of sacred mountains has been known since ancient times among the peoples of the eastern part of Central Asia.
The ancient Turks of Altai, according to the Chinese chronicle, worshiped the Bodyn-inli mountain. You can also point to the veneration of the famous mountain Burkhan-khaldun, located at the source of the river. Onona in Mongolia, repeatedly mentioned in the "Secret Legend" of the Mongols. According to legend, Genghis Khan's ancestors once roamed here. This mountain saved Genghis Khan himself from enemies.
The cult of the mountains should also include the custom, widespread in Mongolia, Tibet, among the Buryats in Altai, to build heaps of stones on the tops of mountains, on mountain passes and passages in honor of the mountain or its "owner", i.e. mountain spirit, by throwing a stone to every passer-by. Such heaps of stones are known as obo. Among Buddhists, “oo” are decorated with “hadaks” (elongated silk scarves), “dartsaks” (pieces of fabric with Buddhist prayers and images of an air horse imprinted on them, etc.), ribbons on high poles, etc.
Among the Altai, everyone passing or passing by the "oo" necessarily threw a stone into a common heap or pulled a bundle of hair out of the horse's mane and tied it to a bush, tree or twig, located near the "obo", in honor of the mountain spirit. In this case, the hunters usually threw a bullet at the "o".
Promotional video:
Southern Altaians in the first half of the 18th century. performed prayers on the sacred mountains. Russian historical documents of that time say that the Altai climbed Mount Khairkhan "to pray upward in their faith" - the mountain was on the river. Ine, a three-day drive from the Kolyvano-Voskresensky plant. In the same materials, it is said about the veneration of the sacred mountains of Boborgan and Kyzyldar by the Altai who lived along the river. Biye.
In Altai, as in Khakassia, the cult of the mountains has survived to our time. There are repeated references to this in the literature.
For the Northern Altaians, Falk has such an indication. The latter calls the revered mountain Ulenny-son on the way from Askyz to Balyksa and Tom "Poklonnaya mountain". Such instructions are found in Bunge, Radlov, the missionaries Landyshev and Verbitsky.
G. N. Potanin wrote that “both the Altai and the Ulukhemsk Uryankhais mark the sacred mountains with a device on their top with an“ob”made of stones or brushwood, on which“yalama”(ie sacrificial ribbons) is hung; to such mountains they pray for an animal catch. Such mountains in Altai are called "jaik-tu".
In Russian Altai, according to Yadrintsev, the following mountains are considered sacred:
- three mountains Kespa or Tespa on the river. Bie (they pray to them when there is a fever);
- Mount Ova, 15 versts from the Eleysky ulus;
- Mount Bobyrgan on the river. Bie;
- Mount Abakan at the tops of the river. Abakan, according to the natives, about six humps;
- Mount Altyn-tau with rocks bearing the name of a son and daughter-in-law;
- Mount Belukha, in Altai Uch-shuri;
- Mount Yaik-tu, in Chuiskiye squirrels.
To this list of the sacred mountains of the Altai, borrowed from Yadrintsev, G. N. Potanin adds “Yal-menka protein, or the so-called Seminsky protein in Russian. Sacrifices are offered to him. In invocations it is called Bai-Tere."
However, it should be noted that all these indications about the revered mountains are reduced only to a brief mention of the existence of sacred revered mountains, to a list of their names, but the description of the cult itself, and even more so its analysis and explanations in the literature about Altai do not exist. Even the most thorough researcher of shamanism among the Altai people A. V. Anokhin limited himself to this only with the following brief remark:
“Each clan (seok) among the Altaians has one or another mountain, river, rock, lake, which it venerates as a patron saint and calls it a pure toss (aru tos). The total number of generic Tosi of all seoks is quite large, and their area extends beyond Altai to Mongolia (Sumer-Ulan) on the r. Kemchik (Alash, Sut-keol) and other more northern areas of the river. Yenisei (Kanym). The custom of honoring mountain tossa dates back to ancient times”.