{"title":"Snakes in the Ritual Systems of Various Peoples","authors":"Nikolai P. Gordeev","doi":"10.1080/10611959.2017.1352330","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"The article deals with the place of ophiolatry (the cult of snakes) in zoolatry and early human (primordial) worldviews, as well as in myths and rituals. Themes include the relation between the snake as a symbolic caretaker of water sources and a symbol of fertility, the images and sacral character of snake-wrestlers, and the role of ophiolatry in rites of passage. Connections of the cult of snakes with the cult of ancestors are discussed. The social position of snake-wrestlers is assessed; their names, with traces of totemism and ancient linguistic substrates, are analyzed. The serpent as a domestic cult, an individual totem, and as a snake spirit are used to illustrate the transition from totemism to animism. On the basis of broad linguistic and anthropological comparisons, the author reconstructs the common origin of snake mythology in the East, Southeastern Europe, and the Caucasus.","PeriodicalId":35495,"journal":{"name":"Anthropology and Archeology of Eurasia","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2017-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10611959.2017.1352330","citationCount":"3","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Anthropology and Archeology of Eurasia","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10611959.2017.1352330","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"Arts and Humanities","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 3
Abstract
The article deals with the place of ophiolatry (the cult of snakes) in zoolatry and early human (primordial) worldviews, as well as in myths and rituals. Themes include the relation between the snake as a symbolic caretaker of water sources and a symbol of fertility, the images and sacral character of snake-wrestlers, and the role of ophiolatry in rites of passage. Connections of the cult of snakes with the cult of ancestors are discussed. The social position of snake-wrestlers is assessed; their names, with traces of totemism and ancient linguistic substrates, are analyzed. The serpent as a domestic cult, an individual totem, and as a snake spirit are used to illustrate the transition from totemism to animism. On the basis of broad linguistic and anthropological comparisons, the author reconstructs the common origin of snake mythology in the East, Southeastern Europe, and the Caucasus.
期刊介绍：
Anthropology and Archeology of Eurasia presents scholarship from Russia, Siberia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia, the vast region that stretches from the Baltic to the Black Sea and from Lake Baikal to the Bering Strait. Each thematic issue, with a substantive introduction to the topic by the editor, features expertly translated and annotated manuscripts, articles, and book excerpts reporting fieldwork from every part of the region and theoretical studies on topics of special interest.
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