Article

Name: Demonym «aza» in the language and folklore of the Turkic peoples

Authors: N. R. Oynotkinova

Institute of Philology of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences Novosibirsk, Russian Federation

In the section Study of folklore

Abstract: guages of Southern Siberia: Kumandy, Tuvan – aza, Chalkandu – aza/aze with the meanings ‘devil, demon, evil spirit, living in or under ground’. In Turkic studies, there are various points of view on the origin of the demonym aza in Turkic languages. Some scientists consider this word as originally Turkic, others – borrowed from other languages, in particular, Indo-Iranian. According to etymological data existing in linguistics, the South Siberian demonym aza ‘evil spirit, demon’ and demonym azhi-dahaka (ashdag) ‘demon, snake, dragon’, widespread in the folklore of other Turkic and Iranian peoples have common Indo-Iranian roots. In Avesta, azhish (azhi) is a ‘serpent’, a ‘dragon’. It is also associated with the Vedic Sanskrit word áhi, ‘serpent, the serpent of the sky, the demon Vṛitra’. The demonym *aži-dahāka- consists of two bases: *aži ‘snake’ + *dahāka- ‘burning, burning’, that is ‘a serpent burning, burning’. The image of the serpent of Azhi-Dahak in different interpretations is believed to pass later into the beliefs of many Turkic and Mongolian peoples who had cultural and historical ties with the Iranian world. It is known that the content of the Avesta was the result of adaptation to the people’s beliefs and religions of different tribes and peoples living in the territories of the Iranian states. Therefore, it is possible that azhdarha/azdag is a Turkic word. To confirm this point of view, a more detailed study of the lexicon of languages in which this demon is present. In the South Siberian Turkic languages, aza is most likely the borrowing from the folklore of other Turkic peoples which appeared as a result of cultural and historical contacts (compare aza – bashk. azda). The image of the southern Siberian daemon aza is associated with a serpent seldom. Perhaps, these differences are associated with the non-recurring nature of borrowing, or with the loss of the relevance of one of the cultural meanings. The demonym aza is typical for the folklore of the Tuvinians, as well as for the northern ethnic groups of the Altaians: the Kumandy, the Chalkan, and the Tuba. The main function of this evil spirit is to lead the souls of people into the other world, to bring diseases, to get people off the right track, to mislead. South Siberian demon aza/aze steadily retains its lexical meaning ‘evil spirit, demon’, which is quite understandable thanks to shamanic, pagan beliefs of Siberian peoples. In the shamanic incantations of the Tuvinians, the name aza is given to the spirit-helper of a shaman who got his initiation from the lower world. In Tuvan myths, aza, the evil spirit of a disease or a place, appears in various forms: in the guise of a shaggy old woman, in the guise of a bony man with large teeth and a long tail. In one of the texts, the Tuvan shaman appeals to his spirits, snake Syrah Chylan and dragon Chulbyga Moos, so that they drive the grey Azu (Az- Kuu). Images of the serpent Sary Chylan or dragon Chylbyga Moos stand in line with the evil spirit aza. These examples suggest that the figurative, metaphorical identification of the evil spirit aza with the serpent or dragon, who are the personifications of the devil, is an archaic metaphor inherent in the mythopoetics of religious, mythological texts, including Tuvan ones.

Keywords: mythology of the Turkic peoples of Southern Siberia, demonology, demonym, etymology

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