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Norbu A. Shagaa Traditions and Rites of Tuvans of Russia and Mongolia

Airana Norbu
Kongar-ool Ondar Center for the Development of Tuvan Traditional Culture and Crafts
Kyzyl, Russian Federation
ORCID: 0000-0002-9649-0483
E-mail: fabox@list.ru

 

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ABSTRACT. The article examines the rituals and traditions of celebrating Shagaa (New Year) by Tuvans living in Russia (in the Republic of Tyva) and Mongolia (in the sumon (village) of Tsengel of the Bayan-Ulgii aimag), and also considers some aspects of the rituals of the Tuvans of China. The author describes the traditions of celebrating the New Year according to the lunar calendar by the Tuvans of Mongolia and the transformation of rituals among the Tuvans of Russia. The revival of traditional holidays and ritual culture in the post-Soviet period requires careful re- search from the point of view of the authenticity of the ritual and ceremonial practice, the high-quality involvement of participants in them. This study is based on theoretical and methodological approaches presented in the works  of domestic and foreign scholars, including historians, ethnographers, ethnologists, cultural anthropologists, religious scholars who studied and classified early beliefs in traditional culture. The materials for the study were the data of the ethnographic expedition to the Tsengel sumon of the Bayan-Ulgii aimag of Mongolia. The purpose of the article is to study and compare the rituals and traditions of Tuvans living in Russia and Mongolia (using the example of residents of the Republic of Tyva and Tuvans of Tsengel). In the course of the work, religious traditions related to the Buddhist and Tengrian-shamanistic worldview were analyzed. As a result of the research, some features of the Shagaa rituals characteristic of the Tuvans of Mongolia and Russia, the transformation of traditions and rituals performed during Shagaa by the Tuvans of Russia and Mongolia are revealed.

 

KEYWORDS: Shagaa, rituals, traditions, Tuvans, Lunar New Year, Buddhism, Shamanism, Tengrism

 

FOR CITATION: Norbu A. Shagaa Traditions and Rites of  Tuvans  of  Russia  and  Mongolia.  Kunstkamera. 2025. 3 (29): 167–180. (In Russian). DOI: 10.31250/2618-8619-2025-3(29)-168-180

 

DOI 10.31250/2618-8619-2025-3(29)-167-180
UDC 398.332.42(=512.156)

 

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