Geser. The Вuryat heroic epic

She is the Hostess of the water, she represents the souls of fish, bird, snake, all the beasts and animals. She is taken to be the Great Mother of the Beasts. The image of the Great Goddess in the Buryat epic “Geser” has its parallels in the world folklore. The most ancient image of the Mother – Earth was discovered in Ur, an ancient Sumerian city on the Euphrates. This is a mother holding the son in her hands, both depicted with the snake’s head. The snakes represent the eight kinds of the spirits of the Earth worshipped by the peoples including the Buryats who thought the snake-like sabdaks to be the hosts of the territory or locality.

InВ Sumer she is aВ dual divinity, inВ the morning she is the goddess ofВ the battles and heroes, whereas at night she is the goddess ofВ fertility. InВ aВ later time inВ Egypt she was understood as the virgin giving birth toВ all the worlds. InВ the Buryat uliger or epic she conceives from the rays ofВ the Sun and the Moon and gives birth toВ the daughters who continue the lineage ofВ the human beings.

Yenkhoboi sisters from the Geseriade like the Mother-Earth from Sumer also had the long breasts, they threw them back which symbolized death and forward which symbolized life. The bulls inВ the epic are understood as the totemic forefathers ofВ the Buryats. The grain is often mentioned inВ the Buryat uligers. They are ofВ the sacral meaning, Geser when praying throws them around as an offering toВ the hosts ofВ Nature.

Understanding ofВ the essence ofВ the physiological phenomena like pregnancy, birth, growing ofВ corn from grains, the appearance ofВ birds out ofВ eggs, the reproduction ofВ fish, insects, worms inВ the water led toВ the sacralization ofВ the biological vitality.

The water, grain, egg were attributed the magic vital potentiality. Their ritual part inВ the religious cults was enormous. Those natural elements have aВ deep symbolical meaning connected with the idea ofВ the vital energies. The larva reminding ofВ the worm is ofВ interest inВ understanding the phenomenon ofВ the sacralization ofВ Nature.

One ofВ the main attributes ofВ the shaman is the crown on his head which is connected with the idea ofВ the World Tree. On the crown there are the hangings. The semantics ofВ those objects was not quite clear. The hypothesis put forward byВ S. V. Alkin enables toВ solve the problem toВ some degree. He takes them toВ be the images ofВ the larvae ofВ the insects.