Oronymy in the context of the sacred space of the Khakass people
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25178/nit.2026.1.11Keywords:
oronym, mountain, Khakass, Khakassia, cult of mountains, sacred space, Khakass languageAbstract
The article presents the specific features of oronymic naming of clan and particularly significant sacred mountains that constitute one of the foundations of the traditional culture of the Khakass people. The names of venerated mountains form an important section of knowledge about the religious culture of the indigenous population of the Khakass–Minusinsk Basin. The relevance of addressing this topic is determined by the preservation, in the contemporary ritual culture of the Khakass, of many elements of archaic ideas about the sacred status of mountain peaks, cliffs, and passes. The basic corpus of oronyms marking the sacred space of the Khakass has been preserved to the present day.
It has been revealed that the main reasons for distinguishing particular peaks, individual cliffs, and intermountain valleys as places of special veneration and of performing religious rites are the presence of archaeological sites, a special shape of the mountain that often contains anthropo-, zoo- or orthomorphic features, or color and other markers that distinguish the mountain from the surrounding elevations.
A structural classification and typology of the principal oronyms of the sacred mountains of the Khakass is proposed in accordance with the objective and subjective levels of motivational nomination. It has been established that a two-component model predominates. In this model, the first component marks the differentiation of the oronym object based on verbalization of its associative-sensory perception or offers an explicitly expressed correlation with historical or mythological names, places, and events. The second component is represented by the corresponding appellatives, with the dominance of the nomination “tağ” ‘mountain’.
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For citation:
Borgoyakova T. G. and Yeremin L. V. Oronymy in the context of the sacred space of the Khakass people. New Research of Tuva, 2026, no. 1, pp. 189-199 (In Russ.). DOI: https://doi.org/10.25178/nit.2026.1.11
Author Biographies
-
Tamara G. Borgoyakova Katanov Khakas State University
Doctor of Philology, Professor, Head, Research Institute of Humanities and Sayan-Altai Turkology, Professor, Department of foreign linguistics and theory of linguistics, Katanov Khakass State University.
Postal address: 92 Lenina St., 655017, Abakan, Russian Federation.
E-mail: tamarabee@mail.ru
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Leonid V. Yeremin Shushenskoye Museum-Reserve
Candidate of History, Deputy Director for Scientific Work, Museum-Reserve Shushenskoye.
Postal address: 1 Novaya St., Shushenskoye village, Krasnoyarsk region, 662713, Russia.
E-mail: leo_eremin@mail.ru
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