Ancient turkic goddess of fertility Umai: a mountain and a temple on the Yenisei

Abstract

In the culture and folklore of the Turkic-Mongolian ethnic groups, as well as the population of Tungus origin, despite the strong rooting of Christianity, Islam and Buddhism, elements of beliefs of their own origin are still clearly noted, including the tripartite structure of the supreme deities – Tengri (divine sky, the highest power in the universe ), Yer-sug (native earth and water) and Umai (providing fertility on earth). There is also a lot of archaeological evidence of the existence of the Umai cult. But at the same time, only in four cases on the planet there are direct indications of the exact place and natural objects where this goddess lives and from where she acts. One of them is Mount Umai and a nearby rock formation, called the “tower” of Umai, on the right bank of the Yenisei at its exit from the West Sayan Canyon. Despite the numerous mentions of the mountain in the folklore of the Khakasses, including in already published materials, it has not yet received a detailed description. The presence of a rock formation of an original form next to it was not mentioned at all in the scientific literature. Thus, an unusually shaped mountain (in the form of a female breast) and a rock formation (looking like a tower) on the Yenisei, in combination, have the characteristics of a sacred center for such a chthonic character as Umai. Both of these natural objects can confidently be included in the number of sacred places associated with it. Based on this evidence, a number of aspects of the history of migrations in Eurasia can be traced, in particular, the boundaries of settlement, the degree of mobility and interethnic contacts, mainly of Turkic-speaking, as well as the population of Tungus-Mongolian origin.