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Genesis: Historical research
Reference:

Parallels in the astral myths of the Turks and Finno-Ugrians: on the example of the mythologies of the Milky Way and the Polar Star

Ilikaev Aleksandr

ORCID: 0009-0003-6773-9053

PhD in Politics

Associate Professor, Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, Ufa University of Science and Technology

Zaki Validi str., 32, Ufa, Republic of Bashkortostan, 450076, Russia

jumo@bk.ru
Other publications by this author
 

 
Sharipov Renart Glyusovich

ORCID: 0000-0001-9597-5617

PhD in Philosophy

Associate Professor; Institute of History, Language and Literature of the Ufa Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences

450054, Russia, Republic of Bashkortostan, Ufa, Prospekt Oktyabrya str., 71

externet@yandex.ru
Other publications by this author
 

 

DOI:

10.25136/2409-868X.2024.12.72533

EDN:

TVXQYW

Received:

02-12-2024


Published:

03-01-2025


Abstract: The subject of this article is a comparison of the astral mythology of the Turks and Finno-Ugrians using the example of key mythologems-astronomers of the Milky Way and the Polar Star. The main research method was the analysis of the available ethnographic literature on the astral mythology of the Turks and Finno-Ugric peoples. As we have found out, the eschatological myth of the dog stars (wolves), which are tied with ropes to the Pole Star, is very popular among the Turks. The comparison of the Milky Way with the "road of birds" was known to the Turks and Finno-Ugrians, but, according to experts, it arose mainly among the Uralic peoples. Nevertheless, we assumed that the basis of the myth of the emergence of the "bird's road" as a path of migratory birds most likely originated in the Ural-Volga region. The comparison of the Milky Way with a "ski trail" (or just a trail in the sky) was common among the Finno-Ugrians. It probably went back to the Siberian myth of the heavenly hunt. The likening of the Milky Way to snow, rather, as we see it, has a Turkic origin. In our opinion, the comparison of the Polar Star with the "nail" was preceded by the mythologeme of the "world pillar", celebrated by all Turks and Finno-Ugrians. The original mythologeme of the "world pillar" among the Turks was the idea of a Golden Pillar. In addition, the Turks, as specialized cattle breeders, were characterized by the idea of the Polar Star as a hitching post. The peculiarity of the Finno-Ugric names of the Polar Star is that they can directly relate to a bird sitting on top of a world pillar, or even a star goddess.


Keywords:

astral mythology, astronyms, stars, Milky Way, Polar Star (Polaris), world axis, world pillar, Turks, Finno-Ugric Peoples, Northern Eurasia

This article is automatically translated.

Theoretical and methodological foundations and novelty of the research. This work is a kind of continuation of the previously published series of articles on the lunar and solar myths of the Turks and eastern Finno-Ugrians [14; 15].

A combined method was used in the article, including historiographical analysis, comparative analysis of myths, and linguistic analysis. The comparative analysis, in turn, was carried out using the method of coincidences, when common features in the astral representations of Turks and Finno-Ugrians were revealed by similar images and plots that occur mainly only among them (or are most developed only among them). To clarify the specifics of astral myths in each and the two groups of ethnic groups, the method of oppositions was used, primarily emphasizing the linguistic and semantic difference in the understanding of astronomers.

To compare the main images and plots of the astral mythology of the Turks and Finno-Ugrians, the authors used mainly the myths of the Bashkirs and Mari, as well as those ethnic groups that primarily have different astronomical concepts from others. Based on this, a sample of specific peoples was carried out.

We decided to take the question of the influence of astral representations on everyday life and especially on productive forms of farming (cattle breeding, agriculture) beyond the scope of this article, limiting ourselves to some meteorological remarks, since, as Yu.E. Berezkin rightly pointed out in our opinion, the most archaic basis of astral myths did not depend much on a change in the material culture of an ethnic group. It continued to remain the same for a long time as it was many thousands of years ago [5, pp. 11-12]. The question of the reflection of astral myths in the pastoral and hunting habits of the Turks and Finno-Ugrians requires separate consideration.

The novelty of the study lies in the fact that the authors, based on a comparative analysis of the astral representations of Turks and Finno-Ugrians, hypothesized about a certain Ural-Altaic community in the field of astral mythology, which is still a fairly early stage in the development of mythological representations of Turks and Finno-Ugrians. At the same time, the Turks are already experiencing innovations related to a specific cattle-breeding form of economy, while the Finno-Ugrians continue to preserve traditions determined by a hunting matrix-centric society. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that the basic astronomical views of the Turks and Finno-Ugrians, contrary to some scientific points of view, are not fundamentally "poor" or mostly borrowed from the Abrahamic religions, as well as from neighboring peoples (mainly Indo-Europeans: Iranians, Slavs, etc.) or from each other.. These conclusions also, according to the authors, allow us to analyze astral mythologies from the perspective of the original typology, which includes such units of analysis as specific, general and borrowed ideas about stars, the proto-form for denoting the concept of "star", the reflection of astral motifs in the namesake, etc. In addition, it seems that the analysis of astral mythology is impossible without a detailed description of such significant objects as the Milky Way and the North Star, identifying their specific, common and borrowed images in the representations of Turks and Finno-Ugrians.

The history of studying the problem. The astral representations of the peoples of Northern Eurasia in one way or another, including in the comparative aspect, have been studied or touched upon by various scientists: M.A. Kastren, G.N. Potanin, U. Kharva, V.K. Magnitsky, A.F. Anisimov (including Turks and Finno-Ugric peoples in general) [36; 37]. Also, questions concerning the astronym of the Milky Way in relation to the peoples of Northern Eurasia were highlighted by V.V. Napolskikh [26].

Cosmogonic and, in particular, astral representations of the ancient Turks and modern Turkic peoples of Eurasia have been studied to varying degrees in the works of N.Ya. Bichurin, L.N. Gumilev, S.V. Kiselyov, S.G. Klyashtorny, I.V. Stebleva, L.P. Potapov, A.M. Sagalaev, R.N. Bezertinov, N.A. Alekseev, I.S. Gurevich, D.V. Cheremisin, M. Eliade, F.M. Suleymanov. Valuable information on the historiography of the issues of interest to us in modern Central Asia is reflected in the dissertation of N.I. Zhurakuziev, in which the author refers to the works of such scientists on this subject as A. Bisenbayev, S.A. Kaskabasov, Ya. Kalafat, B. Ugel, M. Seyidov, H. Zarif, M. Saidov, B. Sarimsokov, N. Rakhmonov, M. Zhuraev, S. Turdimov, A. Musakulov, G. Akromov, J. Eshonkulov [12]. Among the recent Kazakh studies, the work of H.-M.Sh. Iliuf [15] deserves attention.

In the Republic of Bashkortostan, the astral mythology of the Bashkirs and other Turkic peoples (in particular, the ancient Turks) is reflected in the works of N.H. Maksyutova, V.S. Psyanchin, R. Shakur, A.S. Bayazitova, V.S. Suleymanov, G.R. Abdullina, G.D. Gainullina, S.R. Karanayeva, A.A. Khazieva, A.G. Salikhova and others. [1; 20; 33; 35].

The astral mythology of individual Finno-Ugric peoples was studied by U. Kharva (Finns), T.P. Devyatkina, N.G. Yurchenkova (Mordvins), E.A. Aibabina and L.M. Beznosikova (Komi), Yu.A. Kaliev and N.S. Popov (Mari), L.E. Kirillova (Udmurts) and others. [36; 37; 42; 2; 17; 18; 31; 21].

A large review article by V.V. Ivanov, devoted to general theoretical issues of astral mythology, was published in the two-volume encyclopedia "Myths of the Peoples of the World" (1987). One of the new works on the topic of astral mythology is the book by Y.E. Berezkin "The Birth of the Starry Sky. The Mythology of Space" (2022). In it, the author notes in particular that there are still no generalizing full-fledged works on the astral myths of the Turks and Finno-Ugrians [5, p. 17] (with a significant amount of specific data).

The works of the last two years, which in one way or another relate to the astral mythologies of various peoples of Eurasia, deserve attention, for example, articles by S. Gulomshoev, N.A. Dubova, M.G. Nikiforov, M.K. Polyakova [11], R.H. Sharyafetdinov [41] and others. In 2024, V.Ya. Petrukhin republished a collection on the comparative and systematic retelling of the main myths of the Finno-Ugric peoples [29]. The editions of the overview plan by T. Muravyeva, O. Khristoforova, and V.S. Cherepenchuk are also of interest [25; 38; 39].

Traditionally, astral mythology for Europeans was reduced mainly to ancient Greek myths about the origin of various constellations (zodiac signs). In addition, back in Babylon, the practice of correlating planets with gods and days of weeks began, and even reached the Scandinavians through the ancient medium. At the same time, European researchers, who had collected a wealth of material on the astral myths of the American Indians, were extremely poorly informed about the cosmonyms of the peoples of Northern Eurasia. As Berezkin rightly points out, they still use Russian-language sources for these purposes [5, p. 17].

It is not surprising that, for example, Finnish scientists like U. Harva, who began to systematize material on astral mythology among the peoples of Northern Eurasia (primarily Turks and Finno-Ugrians) in the first half of the twentieth century, showed, in our opinion, a certain bias. So, we cannot agree with the scientist's opinion that the "knowledge of astronomy" of the Turkic nomadic peoples was small because the stars in the sky of Northern Eurasia do not shine as brightly as in the homeland of the Semitic peoples in Mesopotamia. This is why the nomenclature of star names is poor among the Turkic peoples [36, p. 100]. In our opinion, Berezkin's extremely fruitful idea that in the 12th and 11th millennia BC, that is, "at the turn of the Pleistocene and Holocene, Siberia, apparently, was the world center for the development of cosmonymy, is more consistent with the modern level of scientific development" [5, pp. 7-8]. At the same time, European astral mythology has undergone too serious a transformation and reflects, apparently, the realities of the Iron Age (in any case, not earlier than 5-4 thousand BC), new productive technologies. In addition, it was strongly influenced by the spread of Christianity [5, p. 8].

Unfortunately, researchers have been engaged in the comparison and more or less in-depth analysis of cosmonyms among the Turkic and Finno-Ugric peoples of the Ural-Volga region relatively recently. However, experts often provide translations of existing international names into Turkic languages instead of finding out the ancient names of stars and constellations. So, in the article by G.R. Abdullina and G.D. Gainullina, the constellations of Lynx, Fox, and even Whale and Giraffe are listed as Bashkir astronomers [1].

Almost the only works devoted to astral representations of Mari are an article by Yu.A. Kaliev [18] and a section in a local history study performed by N.S. Popov and A.I. Tanygin [31]. Kaliev then repeated some of his materials in the monograph "Myths of the Mari People" (2019) [17]. The scientist correctly noted that "Turkic, Muslim, Christian and other borrowed plots" are often reproduced in existing studies as Mari, Finno-Ugric astral representations and myths [18, p. 20]. The fact that new materials on the names of stars, constellations, and planets are still being discovered [19] indicates that the Mari cosmonyms have been poorly studied. In this regard, the local historian V.A. Kamilyanov rightly, in our opinion, notes that, for example, the astronomical knowledge of Marie's ancestors cannot be considered lost to posterity or initially poor, scarce [19]. However, unfortunately, some materials may indeed have been missing or have not yet been extracted from the archives of ethnographic expeditions.

Speaking about Mordovian astral mythology, N.G. Yurchenkova believes that it mostly refers to objects such as the sun and moon. Regarding the mythological elaboration of stars and constellations, terminology is not distinguished by its richness and diversity. For example, apart from the sun and moon, Mordovians knew only the Milky Way, the Pleiades, the constellations Libra, Ursa Major and Cygnus in the sky [43, pp. 120-121]. It is difficult to agree with N.G. Yurchenkova's opinion, if only because the researcher does not mention such an important astral object in the "Mordovian" sky as the North Star.

In our opinion, L.E. Kirillova's point of view is much more objective, including in relation to Finno-Ugric astral mythology in general. So, the researcher notes that "many Udmurt names of stars are forgotten. There are also no legends that explain the origin of the star names in one way or another" [21, p. 32]. Actually, the researcher considers the legend of the girl on the moon to be the only astral Udmurt myth. At the same time, L.E. Kirillova points out that the file of Udmurt cosmonyms she collected amounted to almost fifty names [21, p. 32], although the latter often includes not only the original names of stars, planets and constellations, but also their variants. In general, comparing the names of cosmonyms among different Finno-Ugric peoples and their neighbors, L.E. Kirillova believes that many cosmonyms coincide, which may be a consequence of linguistic interactions. Nevertheless, even a simple comparison of the names of stars can help reconstruct the surviving fragments of the astral system [21, pp. 37-38]. E.A. Aibabina and L.M. Beznosikova, after analyzing about forty-two names of stars and constellations in Komi, emphasized that astronomers are an unexplored area of this ethnic group [2, p. 96].

Definition and evolution of astral myths. According to V.V. Ivanov, the content of astral myths in a narrow sense is representations and legends about constellations, stars and planets [23, p. 116].

According to the researcher, the earliest astral myths should be recognized as images of stars and constellations in the form of animals. G.R. Abdullina and G.D. Gainullina emphasize that Bashkirs often have asterisms associated with animals and birds [1]. Marie's stars could be called "bear" or "moose" [24, p. 198; 2, p.99]. Yu.A. Kaliev, with reference to V.M. Vasiliev, notes that Marie placed a variety of birds in the sky – swans, geese, snipe, pigeons, swallows, cuckoos [18, p. 21]. As for the plots, archaic motives should include those in which it is a question of hunting a particular animal [24, p. 116].

Also note, as will be seen from the following, the most ancient motifs should be recognized as astral images of stars-holes and stars-stones. In our opinion, a special case is represented by the stars-deities, however, rather originating from previous zoomorphic images.

From a typological point of view, astral myths are devoted either to several cosmic characters personified by neighboring constellations, or to one character. In the latter case, stars and constellations can act as parts of the body of a once unified being [24, p. 116]. However, this issue is beyond the scope of the article, and we will leave it without consideration for now.

According to V.V. Ivanov, who apparently relies on the remark of U. Kharva, archaic astral mythologies are characterized by simply moving ordinary earthly objects to the starry sky. So, for the Nenets, the stars are the "lakes" of the lowest of the "heavenly" lands. Among the Kets and Selkups, the stars are the roots of trees growing in the sky [24, pp. 116-117]. Among the western Yakuts– the brightest stars are lakes of fire, while the Kolyma Yakuts consider stars to be nothing more than reflections of lakes in the sky [6]. Judging by the fact that the terms yumyn ("heavenly") and shudyr ("starry") were interchangeable, Mari could place objects such as a lake, a rowan bush, stairs, swings, fire, wings, etc. among the stars [18, pp. 21-22].

Let's expand on the idea of V.V. Ivanov. In our opinion, a more "progressive" phenomenon should be recognized as the placement of already living beings (animals, humans, deities) in the sky and becoming stars or constellations there. This motif became especially popular (or has come down to us better and more fully) in ancient Greek mythology [24, p. 117]. Special cases of such a plot should be recognized as the myth of the wives of the heavenly bodies (especially popular among American Indians), as well as the myth of twins who turned into stars or constellations. According to experts, the twin motif does not necessarily have to be associated with Castor and Pollux from the constellation Gemini. It seems that for the peoples of Northern Eurasia, the Big and Little Bears acted as such twins, personifying the two phratries of the primitive tribe [24, p. 117].

In our opinion, a rather archaic representation (in view of its simple clarity) is the image of stars in the form of holes in the celestial canopy. Thus, the northwestern Yakuts considered the stars not only as lakes, but also as holes in the sky [6]. Marie has preserved the myth of the true sky, which shines through the gaps in the transparent curtain hanging at the edge of the world [23, pp. 59-60]. Komi had a similar idea, as will be shown below [2, p. 96].

The Kazakhs have a tradition that the stars represent large mountains (probably the tops of mountains) made of precious stones. The Mordvins have preserved a rare comparison of stars with stones. According to the myth, the supreme god Shkai created the sky, then made stars from stones collected on earth [6].

Along with such explanations of the origin of the stars, the Turks and Finno-Ugrians had others: for example, according to the Chuvash myth, the stars originated from fragments of one of the two "extra suns" [39, p. 86], the Baltic-Finnish peoples considered the stars to be specks on the world egg [6]. It seems that the Chuvash myth (due to its association with the solar cult) could have arisen later. The Finno-Ugric concept is more archaic, "visual" and associated with hunting.

Turks and Finno-Ugrians have specific, general, and borrowed ideas about stars as a class of objects. The Turks, as a rule, did not deify the stars themselves, even if they represented them as animals or other objects. They were often characterized by even a rather utilitarian attitude towards stars as meteorological objects (the bright glow of stars to cold weather) [33, p. 153]. The Tajik-Yagnobians had the same attitude towards the "cold star" Sirius [11, pp. 67-68]. However, it is unlikely that the Indo-Europeans had a connection between stars and cold weather as one of their ancestral mythologies. This connection could only have arisen in the harsh conditions of Siberia and Central Asia. Subsequently, their neighbors, the Iranians, could borrow it from the Turks. In our opinion, the reference to periods of drought and river flooding was much more relevant for the more southern and western regions. Also, as A.A. Khazieva points out, the connection of stars with human destiny was initially absent among the ancient Turks [35, p. 384]. The available Bashkir words yondoҙo huneү ("someone's star went out") probably have a late origin.

On the contrary, the Finno-Ugrians could deify stars as objects. For example, Marie had a special deity of the stars. First of all, this is Shudyr Ava Yumo (Shudyr Shochyn Ava) – "mother goddess of the stars", "giving birth to the mother of the stars". She was believed to protect people's lives. At the same time, Shudyr Ava was a minor deity under the leadership of Shudyr-shamych puirsho kugo yumo. The latter determined the fate of the stars. At the moment of man's birth, Shudir Ava lit a new star in the sky [25, pp. 28-29]. When a person died, this star fell: "There were many stars in the sky // One star fell today..." [34, pp. 139-140]. As V.A. Aktsorin points out, Mari, Mordvins, and Karelians associated the birth of each child with the ignition of a special star in the sky, which protects him throughout his life. It was the custom of Mari girls to exclaim when a meteorite fell: "My star is in place, in the sky!" [3, pp. 11-12]. Russians had similar ideas (of course, without references to the gods of the stars and emphasizing the feminine principle), where they were undoubtedly older than the belief that the stars are the souls of sinless infants and saints looking at people [22, p. 89]. According to M.A. Kastren, the stars (Tehti) were included in the category of the first category of deities after Yumala, Ukko, the heavenly bodies and the Big Dipper [10].

According to V.V. Ivanov, astral mythology reveals a number of myths that were widespread among many Eurasian ethnic groups. For example, one such myth includes the idea of a dog who is chained up, but tries to break loose from the chain, which is fraught with the death of the world. According to the researcher, this motif is common Indo-European [24, p. 116]. Of course, in our opinion, it is impossible to agree with this statement, since this motif is extremely widely and variously represented among the Turkic peoples [36, p. 106].

As W. rightly points out. Harva, the motif of star ropes used to attach stars to the North Star, is widespread from Norway to India [36, p. 33]. Kyrgyz consider the three stars adjacent to the North Star and forming the arc of the star of Ursa Minor to be a "rope". It seemed that "pacers" were attached to it – two large stars (white and bluish). The seven stars of the Big Dipper acted as guards, protecting the horses from the lurking wolf. The eschatological myth was associated with the image of the heavenly guardians that if a wolf bullies these animals, the end of the world will come. Some believe that the Big Dipper is attached by a rope to the North Star. If this stake is removed, the stars will fall into a state of chaos, and the world will perish. The Minusinsk Tatars believed that if the "seven dogs" of the Big Dipper broke loose from their chains, then a universal catastrophe would ensue. U. Kharva points out that the Slavs have a similar idea, but one dog is represented by the Little Dipper. As soon as the dog drops the chains that hold it, the world disappears [36, p. 106].

The protoform for denoting the concept of "star". The designations for the concept of "star" in the Turkic and Finno-Ugric languages seem to be quite significant.

In the Turkic languages, the common name for stars is standard and comes from the protoform *jul-dur: cf. bash. yondoz, tat. yoldiz, tur. yildiz, khakas. chiltys, Yakut. sulus, debt. hulus, bulk. zhuldyz , etc. In turn, the Turkic protoform goes back to the Altaic protoform with the meaning "burning" and has parallels not only in the Mongolian languages, but also in Korean, Japanese, and also, presumably, in the Finno-Ugric languages (Baltic-Finnish and Mordovian) [7].

In the Finno-Ugric languages, there are two words with the meaning "star" and both of them go back to a common ancestral form. The first word (from the protoform *kuns'a) is represented in the languages of Komi, Udmurts, Khanty, Mansi, Hungarians, and Selkups [8]. Thus, L.E. Kirillova notes that the Udmurt language uses the words dogwood ("star") and dogwood ("constellation", i.e. "cluster of stars") [21, p. 32]. The second word is found in Finnish, Estonian, Sami, Mordovian and Mari (fin. tyakhti "star") languages. However, in Mari the word tishte now means "sign", "mark". In addition to the main meaning, Sami daste ("a speck on the head of an animal") has a similar meaning [9, p. 520]. The Mari word shudyr stands apart to denote the concept of a star proper. It is usually considered a loan from the Chuvash Saldar (which corresponds to the Tatar yoldyz). However, according to V.V. Vershinin, this etymology is not convincing for phonetic reasons. According to the linguist, the basis -shud may be related to the verb shuktesh ("smoldering, burning"). < praur. *saje "rot"). In addition, if we support the etymology of D.E. Kazantsev, words in Indo-European languages are similar to Mari shudyr (cf. Persian. sitara "the star") [9, pp. 690, 692]. As for the word shudyr in the meaning of "spindle; axis; stem", according to V.V. Vershinin, it either goes back to the Finno-Volga proto-language (as an Indo-European loan) or is figurative (cf. sodorni, est. ketrata "spinning") [9, p. 692].

Thus, in the Turkic languages, the concept of "star" is denoted by one word, and in Finno-Ugric by at least two. In our opinion, this is due to the fact that the Turkic pastoralists, the creators of the mighty empires of antiquity and the Middle Ages (the Turkic khaganates), have been more consolidated since ancient times than the predominantly Finno-Ugrian hunters.

Reflection of astral motives in the namesake. Rare and unusual names, lexical variants, and figurative expressions associated with stars as a class of objects. The names of the stars are reflected in the nomenclature of the Turkic peoples. Thus, Bashkirs, as noted by researchers S.R. Karanaev and G.R. Abdullina, have names like Tansulpan ("morning star"), Zukhra ("shine, light, star"), and the popular name Sulpan, which was given to both boys and girls. In Bashkir mythology, the origin of the name Zohra is associated with the name of an orphan girl named Zuhra, whom the moon took from her stepmother and turned into a star. Based on these names, new names have emerged – Golzahr (Gulzukhra), Zaura (Zaura), AҡSulpan (Aksulpan). The name Yondoҙ (Yunduz) in Bashkir means "star" and expresses the parents' desire for their daughter to shine like a star [20, p. 88].

S.R. Karanayeva and G.R. Abdullina also cite the Turkic male name as Timera "Temirkazyk", although not quite right interpret its translation: "(literally – timer (iron) ay "scoop")," since, as mentioned above, the translation of the second part of the name is associated with the Turkic "number", "pole", while the ladle is transferred in particular in the Bashkir and Tatar languages as "kashyk". The name Timerkazyk, in their opinion, also has Bashkir roots and, of course, means the name of the Polar Star [20, p. 88].

Mari had a fixed name Akhtar, which, through the Tatar medium, goes back to the Persian word meaning "star" [40, p. 53]. Female names Kizelet (Kizilat, Kizilet) are also recorded, the source of which is the Udmurt dogwood "star" [40, pp. 215, 216]. Of interest is another Mari female name Chileka, which S.Ya. Chernykh compares with the Sami. chillk "svetly" and Hungarian csillag "zvezda" [40, p. 229].

In addition to the direct naming of stars by stars, apparently due to some taboos, common names were often used. For example, according to L.E. Kirillova, the names of Udmurt stars could be given by their location, time of appearance in the sky, the number of stars in the constellation, the relative size of the object, the characteristic feature of the object, association with any bird, animal, household item [21, pp. 33-35]. At the same time, some cosmonyms could have one variant of the name, while others could have several at once [21, p. 35]. Sometimes the stars, as noted above, were called allegorically. The stars of the Yakut Turks, as well as the Mari and Mordvinian Finno-Ugric peoples, were compared with "holes", "lakes", and "stones". Among the Bashkirs, spots on the body of animals were called "stars": yondoҙ ҡashҡa ("horse with a white star-shaped mark") [35, p. 384]. In the mysteries of Komi, stars are sheep, holes in a blanket [2, p. 96].

Thus, the Turks and Finno-Ugrians were characterized by the reflection of astral mythology in the name book, as well as in the number of lexical variants and expressions. At the same time, it seems that the Finno-Ugrians (for example, Mari) have patriarchal motives more clearly expressed, since all the names associated with the stars are female.

Next, we will separately analyze two key cosmonyms in the representations of Turks and Finno-Ugrians – the Milky Way and the North Star, mainly in terms of specific, general and borrowed concepts.

The Milky Way. The Milky Way is the most significant astral object because it represents a part of our Galaxy. With its brightness and size, it outshines all the constellations and, of course, has attracted the attention of people since ancient times.

As W. notes: Kharva, in the Turkic languages it is usually called the Road of Birds or the Way of wild geese (Kosh/kaz yuli – among the Bashkirs, Kiyok kaz yuli – among the Tatars of the Volga region, Kayak khor sulee – among the Chuvash). The Finns have a Bird's Path, the Sami have a Bird's Ladder [36, pp. 111-112; 6]. At the same time, the Kazakhs may call the Milky Way Saban Kholi ("chaff road"), because supposedly birds cover their way with chaff when flying. The Kyrgyz also recorded the name Zymran kushtik zhul ("the road of the Simurg bird") [6].

Revealing the mythological meaning of this asterism, modern researcher V.Ya. Petrukhin points out that for the Finno-Ugric peoples, the Milky Way, as a road along which migratory birds really rushed to the shores of the Arctic Ocean every spring, connected the land of darkness in the North and the land of warmth in the South. At the same time, the Finns (Linnunrata), Estonians (Linunte) and Mordvins (Narmon ki) were characterized by a simple name without a specific combination denoting a wild goose or other bird. It is different for some Estonians, Mari, Komi-Zyryans, Mordvins, Erzis, Udmurts: Kuretee, Kayik combo korno, Dzog tui, Vir matseen ki, Ludzeg sures ("goose way" or "wild goose road") [28, p. 8; 29, p. 9-10]. The Mordvins also knew the name of the Milky Way as Kargon ki ("the road of cranes") [43, pp. 120-121].

L.E. Kirillova notes that the name of the Milky Way in many Finno-Ugric and Turkic languages is translated by the concept of "the way of birds (geese, cranes)", for example: est. Linnutee ("the way of birds"), tat. Kiyok kaz yuli ("the way of wild geese"); chuv. Hurkainak sule ("wild goose way"). Komi Duck tui, Dzodzog tui, Kai tui, Turi tui (road of ducks, geese, birds, cranes) [6]. The Russians have the same thing – Bird's Way, etc. According to the researcher, it is possible that many of these names appeared independently in different languages. However, the coincidence in the meaning of some cosmonyms could also be formed as a result of linguistic interactions [21, pp. 37-38]. So, in our opinion, it is worth paying attention to the popularity of cranes as a star image among Mordvins, Komi and Bashkirs.

Berezkin associates the bird's path motif mainly with representatives of the Finno-Ugric languages, since, although it is familiar to the Chuvash, Bashkirs, Tatars, Nogais, Kazakhs, Kirghizs, Turkmens and Kipchaks (the latter according to the 14th century), it is completely absent from the Turks in East Turkestan and southern Siberia. Then the "bird's way" suddenly pops up among the Evenks and the Indians of North America. Thus, the researcher believes that "the road of birds" is an archaic North Eurasian cosmonym that arose even before the separation of well-known language families, and was introduced to America relatively late [5, pp. 121-123]. Here, Y.E. Berezkin, in general, confirms the conclusions of V.V. Napolskikh (1991), as well as V.Ya. Petrukhin and E.A. Khelimsky (1988), according to which the idea of the Milky Way as a "road of migratory waterfowl" is noted, in addition to the Finno-Ugrians, among those peoples who had close contact with them [26, p. 74].

As noted by E.A. Aibabina and L.M. Beznosikova, Komi has several designations for the Milky Way: "the path of birds (ducks, geese)" (Komi-Permian Kai tui; Komi Chozh tui; Komi-Permian Dzodzog tui), "ski trail", "heavenly seam", "river", "the way of the straw thief" and others [2, p. 98]. Based on the above analysis of the nomenclature of the names of the Milky Way, we can say that the researchers are right when they claim that the first name is common to the Finno-Ugric peoples [2, p. 98]. At the same time, Komi has a detailed definition of the Milky Way, which, in our opinion, rather reflects not just an image, but is an echo of an ancient myth: Saridzo labzyan tui ("the road along which birds fly to warmer climes") [2, p. 98]. G.E. Vereshchagin recorded such a Udmurt belief about In the Milky Way: "If there were no such road, wild geese could get lost when flying from west to north and from north to west, and therefore everything would be gone" [21, p. 32].

However, Y.E. Berezkin does not explain in any way the reason why a part of the Finno-Ugrians, as well as the Turks of the Ural-Volga region, the cosmonym of the Milky Way includes clarifying names. However, some Estonians and Mansi have clarifying names (Mans. Potlung, "wild duck way"), but the main variants are still different, with the designation simply "bird way" or "way of migratory birds" [6]. Let's take the liberty to suggest that, perhaps, the source of this cosmism was located in the Ural-Volga region. Hence its concretization. This hypothesis is confirmed by the fact that Bashkirs and Mari have similar myths about the formation of the Milky Way: once there was a cataclysm, and the birds decided to leave their feathers in the sky so that their weaker counterparts could reach the southern countries. However, there are differences in a number of important details. For example, at the beginning of the Bashkir myth, it is claimed that there were no stars or the Milky Way before. A severe storm is called a cataclysm. Cranes are the birds that leave feathers [4, p. 9]. In the Mari myth, the emphasis is placed on the onset of extreme cold and darkness in ancient times. Only after that, the geese began their flight "to warmer climes, towards noon" [23, pp. 55-56]. Another version of the myth of the origin of the Milky Way has been preserved by the Eastern Mari. Ducks act instead of geese in it, and the cold acquires anthropomorphic features of the deity Yushto kugyz [32, pp. 41-42]. The Baltic-Finnish myths about the "goose way", primarily Finnish and Estonian, preserve the idea of migratory birds [6]. However, in our opinion, they are complicated by details that seem to have a borrowed or local character. This is especially evident in the example of Central Asian variants, where the idea of birds flying specifically to the south (Kazakhs, Kyrgyzs) is expressed quite schematically, and sometimes even replaced by a "flight to Mecca" [6]. The Udmurt names of the Milky Way are also characteristic in this regard: Zazegpity ("goose trail"), Ludzazegkoshkonsures ("wild goose flight road") [21, p. 35]. Judging by the Mari version of the myth of the origin of the Milky Way, the astral mythology of the Finno-Ugrians could have been influenced by some local Paleosibirsk beliefs associated with the harsh conditions of the ice Age and the long polar nights.

U. Kharva notes that the Milky Way in northeastern Siberia was identified with a river flowing through the sky [36, p. 112]. According to the materials of Y.E. Berezkin, the idea of our Galaxy as a "river", "heavenly water", "giant snake", "road of souls" was primarily characteristic of the Indo-Pacific region. The scientist considers the mythologems "snake rivers" and "roads of souls" in relation to the Milky Way to be the oldest, which later, during the Ice Age, were overshadowed in Northern Eurasia by other ideas: about the "way of migratory birds", "ski trail" [5, p. 39]. In addition, according to the scientist, the comparison of the Milky Way with the "spine of the sky", the "world pillar", the "seam" (a possible offshoot of the "spine of the sky" mythologeme) should also be recognized as ancient, best preserved by the peoples of the far north of Eurasia (Taimyr) and the Indians of North America [5, pp. 110-111]. As for comparing the Milky Way with a crack in the sky and a seam, it is especially common in the Altai region. Most likely, in our opinion, he was the source of this motive.

Another mythologeme is the Milky Way as the "road of souls", noted by many peoples of Eurasia, but often the main one among the Indians of America. It is characteristic that Russians and Chuvash have an image of the rainbow as a "road of souls" [5, p. 36]. According to O. Khristoforova, the Altaians depicted the Milky Way on shamanic tambourines in the form of a rainbow ("toche-stars") [38, p. 81] Yu.E. Berezkin hypothesizes that the motif "road of birds" could have originated from the motif "road of souls" for Finno-Ugrians, Balts, partly Slavs and Turks [5, p. 39].

We dare to assume that the original mythologeme of the "road of souls" could have developed (or existed simultaneously) into the mythologeme of the "star river", as well as the "rainbow snake" (the "snake" could act in conjunction with the element of water). For example, Vodi and Mari had parallel myths about a girl at a well who was sucked to the moon by a rainbow [5, pp. 128-129]. Although they relate mainly to lunar mythology, nevertheless, in our opinion, the Turks and Finno-Ugrians cannot exclude the preservation of the ancient idea of the former comparison of the Milky Way with the "rainbow snake" and "dear souls (spirits)". This assumption is confirmed by the fact that, for example, the idea of the Milky Way as a heavenly, God's river (Yumyn Ener, Yomsho) associated with the cult of Yomsho spirits was recorded by Mari. The Udmurts also had an idea of the heavenly river, according to the materials of V.Ya. Vladykin [17, p. 387].

Among Hungarians, the cosmonym Milky Way may be called Hadak Utja, "the way of the troops." He is associated with the legend of a prince named Chaba, the son of Attila. Allegedly, his troops came across the entire firmament to help the Jews in Transylvania, who were defeated in battle with their enemies. They put the enemies to flight, and then returned along the same path. That is, the Milky Way was formed from the horseshoe tracks of the Chaba army [2, p. 98]. In addition, Hungarians were familiar with the designations of the Milky Way, some of which contained the common Finno-Ugrian concept of the way: "silver road", "path of souls", "night rainbow", "crevice of dawn", "furrow of the East (God)", "white moat", "canvas of beauty" E.A. Aibabina and L.M. Beznosikova draw an interesting parallel with the Komi language and folklore. So, in Komi folk poetry, canvas, canvas denoted a bridge, a road, a river separating and connecting different regions and levels of the universe, and in riddles it was the Milky Way [2, p. 98].

E.A. Aybabina and L.M. Beznosikova left the Hungarian names of the Milky Way unexplained, which are primarily associated with the idea of the "path of souls" and "rainbow dawn" [2, p. 98]. However, they are of undoubted interest, if only because of their semantic diversity. Obviously, the Russian and Chuvash mythologeme of the rainbow as the "road of souls" already mentioned above has to do with Hungarian data. This also includes the Vodsky and Mari myth about the girl at the well, who was sucked to the moon by a rainbow.

Thus, our assumption that the Turks and Finno-Ugrians retained the ancient identification of the Milky Way with the "rainbow snake" and "dear souls (spirits)" receives additional confirmation.

Another group of Hungarian designations of the Milky Way as the "white moat", the "canvas of beauty" may relate to the idea of a heavenly curtain through which the false heavens (stars) can be seen, as well as to the myth of the celestial (starry) virgin. It is possible to note the Hungarian, Komi and Mari parallels in the image of a "starry canvas" thus not necessarily reduced to the image of a "bridge, road, river". According to N.S. Popov and A.I. Tanygin, the Milky Way, as the "road of birds" (more precisely, even as the "road of the gray duck" flying from the Pleiades cluster), could also be compared with the scarf of the goddess of birth (stars) Shochyn Ava [31, p. 18].

The myth of celestial (starry) hunting was known to the Turks. So, N.V. Lukina retells the myth of the Chulym Turks, according to which seven hunters were chasing an elk; the first was a clairvoyant, three assistants were behind, the other three were carrying food; frost struck, they froze and the Milky Way appeared [6]. As one might expect, the Yakuts have the richest mythologeme of the "ski trail". So, the latter have the Milky Way – ayyy walun hayykharyn suola – "the ski slope laid by the son of ayyy", "the trail left by the son of God when he passed through the sky on skis"; "the ski slope of the hero Hallan wala (he paved it when he pursued pretty women and girls). The most classic Siberian variant here is the Yakut astral myth, according to which the Milky Way was formed because Hallaan Wola, the son of heaven, overtook a deer on skis and left a trail in the sky [6].

The mythologeme of the "ski trail" is found not only among the Ob Ugrians, but also among the Finns. The Finnish and Karelian myth has been preserved about how a hunter, having missed his prey, turned into the North Star, and his ski slope into the Milky Way [28, p. 68]. Komi has a myth about a "ski trail" for the Milky Way (Lampa tui is a trail from the skis of a hunter chasing a deer). Yu.E. Berezkin notes that the comparison of the Milky Way among Russians with a "ski trail" has a single character without specifying the place of recording, which indicates the whole Siberian (proto-Uralic?) the origin of this myth [6].

According to U. Kharva, the Yakut ideas, already discussed above, that the Milky Way is the footprints of the God, go back to the Ob-Ugric hunting myth about hunting the six-legged moose of the son of the heavenly god Numitorum. Allegedly, he left them in heaven when he walked on it, creating the world. Yakuts sometimes call the Milky Way "The Ski Run of the son of God" [36, p. 112]. According to the Mansi myth, Numi-Torum, having made the earth, sent a six-legged moose to it. A simple hunter couldn't catch up to him. Then he turned to the "goblin", the son of Numitorum. He somehow overtook the beast, cutting off its "extra" legs. As a result, the moose became a Big Dipper, which can have a head, two eyes, front, rear and two severed legs. The Milky Way is the ski track of the son of Numitorum, and the Pleiades are his dwelling place [36, p. 112].

This motif may have been present in Marie, if we take into account the existence of the spirit of Kava umbal koshtsho among the latter (lit. "walking in the sky"). This spirit was subordinated, among other things, to the male deities- muzo Kugyen and Yomsho, as well as to the female water deity Vichyudyr ("virgin of the Vyatka River") [17, p. 386].

The mythologeme of the Milky Way – the "fallen tree" is recorded mainly among the Baltic-Finnish peoples. According to Y.E. Berezkin, it is possible to talk about the existence of a connection between the Milky Way and a tree (forest) the Khanty and Munsi [6]. In this regard, in our opinion, it is worth paying attention to the comparison of stars with the roots of trees among the Kets and Selkups [24, pp. 116-117]. In general, although this mythologeme is rare, it can be considered a variant of the "heavenly spine" or "heavenly pillar" mythologeme.

Actually, the comparison of the Milky Way with the milky trail, so popular in Europe, is recorded among the Ural-Altaians only among the Chuvash and Kyrgyz – Ak Mayanyg suidi (kirg. "milk of the white camel"). Moreover, among the Chuvash, this acronym is rather reconstructed by V.G. Rodionov from the mythologeme of the milky heavenly lake common to the Turks [6].

The Yakuts call the Milky Way the Celestial Seam [36, pp. 111-112]. It is possible that this mythologeme is somehow connected with the mythologeme of the "heavenly (starry) trail", or expresses the simple idea that the sky is made up of sewn skins forming the roof of a dwelling. In the latter case, the image can be considered quite ancient, dating back to the times when primitive man likened the entire surrounding world to his dwelling and what is in it or nearby.

According to Y.E. Berezkin, the images of the Milky Way as a "heavenly seam", a "crack in the sky", if desired, can be derived from the well-known mythologeme of the "spine of the sky" among the Nenets, Nganasans and North American Indians. At the same time, the designation of the Milky Way as the "heavenly seam" is characteristic of the Mongolian peoples, the Yakuts, and among the Turkic peoples it is recorded among the Tuvans, Nogais, and Anatolian Turks. The scientist believes that this motif could have been borrowed by the Turks from the Mongols quite a long time ago [5, pp. 112-113]. In our opinion, given the presence of a mythologeme in such a large area of the Turkic world, the direction of borrowing, at least within the Altai area, could be the opposite.

The comparison of the Milky Way with snow, frost, and cold is typical for the Chinese, Turks (Khakas, Altaians, and Shorians), as well as the descendants of the Maya (Tzotzil) in Mesoamerica. It is also recorded among the coastal Sami (where it is rather situational and random). According to the Khakass myth recorded by V.Ya. Butanaev, Ak-Kudai declared that there would be no place for Erlik on earth, but agreed to leave him a piece of land on which to plant a staff. Erlik pierced the ground with his staff and went down. Going down, he skinned his sides. Erlik's blood splashed into the sky and there turned into the Milky Way – Khiro Choli (Frost Road). Since then, it has been said that frost falls from the Milky Way in autumn and freezes the earth [6].

Thus, judging by the most complete myth (in the detailed Chinese myth, the mythologeme of snow does not seem strongly motivated), the source of comparison of the Milky Way with frost, snow is the Turkic astral mythology.

The mythologeme of the "straw thief" (simply "scattered straw") in relation to the Milky Way is found among the ancient Egyptians, and is generally popular in North Africa, among the peoples of Western Europe, and Western Asia. Among the Turks, this mythologeme is found among Uzbeks, Kazakhs, and Tatars and is probably due to borrowings from the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern regions. It is characteristic that among Hungarians, the image of straw stolen by Gypsies replaced the previous image of the Milky Way "as a road of birds" [6].

The North star. The North Star is located near the north pole and is the brightest star in the constellation Ursa Minor.

As W. rightly points out. Harva, primitive people have long noticed the rotation of the starry sky around the fixed North Star. In Lapland, the Finns called the North Star the Navel Star of the North. According to the scientist, the Altaians had an idea of the Navel of the sky before the idea of the Navel of the Earth [36, p. 31]. The Scandinavians called the North Star Veraldarnagli "the nail of the world" [36, pp. 31-32]. The Sami people are Varalden Chuold. According to U. Harva, they borrowed this name from the Scandinavians [37, p. 31]. The Slavs had similar comparisons of the Polar Star with a nail.

In the ancient Turkic vocabulary, and consequently in the modern vocabulary of the Turkic peoples, the name of the Polar Star is clearly linked to a pole, a stake (kazik). These are such variants as Altyn kazyk ("Golden pole/stake"), Timer kazyk ("Iron pole/stake"), etc. Kazakh researcher H.-M.S. Iliuf lists the following names in his work: Kazakh. Temir qazıq, astrakhan. tat. Temir qazıq, Karachay-Balkarsk. Temir qazaq/Temir qazıq, kirg. Temir qazıq jıldızı, bash. Timir qadıq yondodo, Turkmenistan Demir gazıq yıldızı (lit. "The star of the Iron Stake"), tat. Qazıq yuldız ("Kol-zvezda", Chuvash. Timer chalsa ("Iron stake") 615, p. 222]. Bashkir researchers G.R. Abdullina and G.D. Gaynullina also note that the Karakhanid Uighurs have a Polar star – Temur kazyk, the Turks – Demir kazuk/Demir kazyk, the Turkmen – Demir gazyk, etc. [1].

In our opinion, the etiological and at the same time cosmogonic ancient Turkic myth about the origin of the Polar Star, cited by H.M.S. Iliuf, speaks about the antiquity and primordial origin of the mythologeme of the Polar Star – "pole/stake" for Turks. Once upon a time, terrible chaos reigned due to the fact that heaven and earth were too close to each other. Then the great sky god Tengri became angry. He drove his golden staff into the core of the universe, separating the earth from the sky. To this day, the sparkling end of the staff can be seen in the night sky – it is the Altyn kazyk ("Golden Stake"). Other stars circle around Altyn Kazyk, thereby expressing submission to the power of Tengri [16, p. 224].

L.E. Kirillova notes the rather numerous nomenclature of the names of the Polar Star among the Udmurts: Inkizili ("heavenly star"); Yyryyl kizili ("star above the head"); Uykizili ("northern star"), Kobykizili ("bucket star") [21, p. 35]. As you can see, most of them are descriptive and common to the skies of Northern Eurasia. Judging by the name, the Bashkir loan is the Udmurt designation Zedygankizili ("seven stars" – Zedygan < bash. etegen "seven") [21, p. 35].

E.A. Aibabina and L.M. Beznosikova, speaking about the names of the Polar Star in the Komi and Udmurt languages, compare mainly Permian and Finnish materials. So, in Komi, as well as Udmurts, the Polar Star can be defined as "the star above the head" (Yurvy kozuu). Among the Udmurts, Finns, Mordvins, Erzya, Sami, the Polar Star can be called the northern or light star (udm. Uy dogwood, Uyshor dogwood; fin. Pohjantahti; muzzle.-erz. Valgo teshte, Peleven teshte; Sami. Feel tasst) [2, p. 99]. It is characteristic that Inkizili, the Udmurt name for the Polar Star ("heavenly star"), corresponds to the Mari Kava shudyr. Among the numerous names of the Polar Star in the Hungarian language, scientists note the following – "navel of the sky" [2, p. 99], which, according to W. Harve, is older among the Altaians than the "navel of the earth".

It is possible that the comparison of the Polar Star with a nail is a rather late mythologeme that developed already in the era of the development of blacksmithing. In our opinion, the Estonian concept of the North Star combines Northern Eurasian and Scandinavian concepts. For example, Estonians believed that the North Star was the nail on which the celestial cauldron revolved. The North Star itself is called Pykhyanael ("Nail of the North") [36, p. 31]. Accordingly, the loss of a nail (among the Sami) meant the death of the world [36, p. 31]. Sometimes the North Star was simply called the North, the Peak of the world (for example, among the Finns, Sami) [36, p. 32].

U. Harva believes that the mythologeme of the nail has pushed people to the idea of the need for something stronger and more durable as a support. This is how the idea of the world pillar was supposedly born [36, p. 32]. In our opinion, the idea of the world pillar is more archaic and undoubtedly preceded the idea of the heavenly nail. The same U. Harva notes that the idea of a World Pillar at the beginning of the twentieth century was known only to the very old Finns in the expression that they live "to be a World pillar" (Maailmanpatsas, cf. est. Ilmasamba) [37, p. 134].

As reported by U. Kharva and Sami believed that Boakhye Nastya ("Nail of the North") anchors the sky, and when on the last day an archer (star Arcturus) shoots it down with an arrow, it will collapse and the world will burn in the flames of the world conflagration [37, p. 31].

The Altaians and Uighurs called the Polar Star the Golden Pillar. Iron stake – Kyrgyz, Bashkirs, Siberian Tatars [36, p. 32]. Judging by the fact that the image of the "golden pillar" is more widespread in the Altai region, it can be recognized as the most ancient, primordial. Moreover, initially, in our opinion, it could have been about bronze, copper, tin, or other soft metals, or there was a poetic metaphor, the identification of the North Star with some kind of true light, fire, dawn, etc. For example, in Marie Kawa menge ("heavenly pillar") It could also be called fiery, iron, silver, gold, and even copper [17, pp. 61-62].

U. Kharva believes that the ideas of the world pillar (wooden, stone) among the Ob Ugrians could have arisen under the influence of neighboring Turkic peoples [36, p. 33; 37, p. 194]. In our opinion, it is possible that the mythologeme of a four-cornered stone pillar made of transparent stone in the middle of an iron field (among the Khanty) expresses the persistence of the primitive idea of the more fundamental nature of stone as a material for construction and tools.

The North Eurasian ideas about the heavenly pillar may have influenced the beliefs of the ancient Saxons, who in the sixth century worshipped the Irminsul ("Big Pillar"), which "supported everything" [36, p. 32].

Thus, we can conclude that the ideas of the Polar Star among the Baltic Finno-Ugrians, unlike the image of the Milky Way, are quite complex and diverse, being a fusion of both ancient Asian and later European myths.

The Turks, as specialized cattle breeders, were characterized by the idea of the Polar Star as a hitching post. The Yakuts called the North Star "Mr. Pillar" [36, p. 33]. The Siberian Tatars believed that the gods lived in yurts in the sky and, like humans, tied their horses to a golden hitching post, a heavenly pillar [36, p. 33]. According to K. Karjalainen, the Ob Ugrians borrowed from the Turkic nomads the idea of an Iron pole to which sled animals were tied [36, p. 33].

As mentioned above, in Mari, the basis of the vertical structure of the universe is represented by the Sudyr, the North Star, which is also identified with the universal, heavenly pillar (Kava menge), located on top of a high mountain or tree. The constellations of the Moose, the celestial swan, and the celestial ram revolve around this pillar [18, p. 20]. Sometimes the name of the Polar Star is specified in Mari: Kava shudyr ("Heavenly star"), Mask shudyr (Bear star) [12, p. 198]. E.A. Aibabina and L.M. Beznosikova note the Mari Shore shudyr ("moose star") [2, p. 99].

As noted above, the peculiarity of the Mari names of stars is that in the Mari language the word shudyr ("star") simultaneously means "star" and "spindle". At the same time, the latter term is also ambiguous, expressing the idea of rotation around an axis and also linking the levels of space.

The peculiarity of the Mari and Mordovian names of the Polar Star is that they can directly relate to a bird sitting on top of a world pole or even a star goddess like Yumynudyr in Mari and Ange-Patiai in Mordvins (the plot is being reconstructed in Mordvins). For example, in the Mari song, the significance of the spring pagan holiday of Surema is compared with the significance of the Polar Star, which acts as a symbol of Yumynudyr [27, p. 59]. As G.E. Shkalina notes, Kava mege (Heavenly Pillar) meant the North Star in Mari. The latter was called a Shudyr (spindle/star) on which a Yuminudyr sits (on a golden, copper or silver pillar) and spins its starry thread [42, p. 73]. In addition, as S.V. Pivkina points out, the four stars of the constellation Ursa Major correlated with the goddess of birth Angepatiai [30, p. 92]. Let us suggest that, by analogy with Yumynudyr, probably in the past the North Star could also be identified with the Mordovian goddess.

What can be the reason for the last specificity of the ideas about the Polar Star among the Finno-Ugrians? Speaking about the evolution of astral representations, we have already indicated above that the stars-deities represent a special case. There is nothing surprising in the fact that the Mari, possibly Mordovian and Hungarian star goddesses were the result of the development of previous zoomorphic, or rather even ornithelike, images of birds-totems, birds – personifications of souls.

Table 1. Comparative table of the main common and specific astronyms among Turks and Finno-Ugrians

The main astral motives

Turks/ethnic groups/other ethnic groups

Finno-Ugrians/ethnic groups

"Stars are holes"

The Yakuts

Marie, Komi Republic

"Stars are stones"

Kazakhs

Mordvins

Milky Way – "frost, snow"

Khakas, Altaians, Shors

Non-Turks: Chinese, descendants of Maya (Tsotsil)

Primorsky Sami (situational image, possibly accidental)

Milky Way – "the road of birds"

Bashkirs, Tatars, Chuvash, Kazakhs, Kirghiz, Nogais, Turkmens, Kipchaks (14th century)

Non-Turks: Evenks, North Indians. America

Ob Ugrians, Udmurts, Mari, Mordvins, Komi, Sami, Finns, Estonians, Hungarians (rare variant)

Non-Finno-Ugrians (Indo-Europeans): Russians

Milky Way – "the road of geese (cranes, ducks)"

Bashkirs, Tatars, and Chuvash

Some Estonians, Mari, Komi-Zyryans, Mordvinians, Udmurts, Ob Ugrians (Mansi)

Polar Star – "Golden/Iron stake" and "hitching post"

Kazakhs, Astrakhan Tatars, Karachay-Balkarians, Kirghizs, Bashkirs, Turkmens, Tatars of the Volga region, Chuvash, Karakhanid Uighurs, Turks.

Ob Ugrians (the result of borrowing from the Turks)

Polar Star – "world pillar" and "nail" (only for the Baltic-Finnish Finno-Ugrians)

Yakuts, Altaians and Uighurs, Kirghizs, Bashkirs, Siberian Tatars, Tatars of the Volga region.

Not Turks: (Saxons)

Ob Ugrians, Mari, Sami, Finns, Estonians

North Star – "world pillar (bird on top of pillar)", "goddess"

Mari, Mordvins, Hungarians (? the plot is being reconstructed)

Conclusion. Thus, having considered the myths of the Turks and Finno-Ugrians regarding stars in general and specifically such significant cosmonyms as the Milky Way and the North Star, we can draw the following conclusions.

We cannot agree with U. Kharva's opinion about the "poverty" of the nomenclature of the names of stars among the Turkic peoples. Berezkin's point of view is closer to us, that Siberia, where the Ural-Altaic peoples were formed, was the world center of cosmonymy development in 12-11 thousand BC. We also support the opinion of many modern researchers of the problem that the astral mythology of the Turks and Finno-Ugrians, despite the accumulated material, is generally poorly studied.

Based on the opinion of scientists that the evolution of astral representations began with the simple placement of earthly objects in the starry sky, we suggested that the further development of astral mythology consisted in the ascension of living beings to heaven, which became stars and constellations there. At the same time, due to their simplicity and clarity, the most archaic mythologems about the stars among the Turks and Finno-Ugrians began to represent them as "holes in the sky" or stones (Yakuts, Kazakhs; Mari, Komi).

Our next assumption is that the Turks and Finno-Ugrians had specific ideas about the stars as a class of objects, according to which they were represented primarily in the form of meteorological objects by the former, and by the latter as deities in themselves. Also characteristic of the Turks, and not for the Indo-Europeans, contrary to the opinion of researchers, was the story that the dog stars or wolves are attached by some kind of bonds to the North Star. The general idea of stars as a class of objects for Finno-Ugrians and Indo-Europeans was, apparently, an emphasis on the connection between human destinies and stars, which was initially not typical for the ancient Turks. However, among the Finno-Ugrians, for example, Mari, the fate of girls and women was mainly associated with the stars. In general, the Turkic mythology of the "starry leash" should be recognized as borrowed, at least by the Slavs.

Further, we found out that in the Turkic languages the concept of "star" is denoted by one word. There are at least two variants in Finno-Ugric. This can be explained by the fact that the Turkic pastoralists, the creators of the mighty empires of antiquity and the Middle Ages, were more consolidated than the predominantly Finno-Ugrian hunters.

Another of our observations is the conclusion that the reflection of astral mythology in the namesake took place among both Turks and Finno-Ugrians. At the same time, it seems that the patriarchal motives of the latter (for example, Marie) are more pronounced, since all the names associated with the stars are female.

A separate analysis of such important cosmonyms of the Turks and Finno-Ugrians as the Milky Way and the North Star, from the point of view of specific, common and borrowed moments, allowed us to note that the comparison of the Milky Way with the milky trail among the Turks, as it turned out, is fixed only among the Chuvash and Kyrgyz. The cosmonym of the "heavenly seam" is more popular among the Turkic peoples (among the Yakuts, Tuvans, Nogais, Turks). Actually, the Turkic mythology of the Milky Way sees its comparison with snow and frost. This is indicated by the rather detailed Khakass myth, as well as the marginal role of snow in the Chinese myth. Despite the fact that researchers associate the comparison of the Milky Way with the "road of birds" mainly with the Finno-Ugric peoples, we found out that the most complete and diverse stories about the Milky Way as the "road of migratory birds" (with the specification of the breed) were recorded in the Ural-Volga region (Bashkirs, Mari). This suggests that this particular region became the source of this myth. We also found out that the mythologeme of the Milky Way as the "road of souls", recognized as more ancient, could have originated from the mythologems of the "star river" and the "rainbow snake" common to the Indo-Pacific and North Eurasian regions. This is evidenced by the mythological representations recorded by both Turks (Chuvash) and Finno-Ugrians (Vodi, Mari). A specific Finno-Ugric (Hungarian, Mari) cosmism in relation to the Milky Way can be called its likening to the cloth (shawl) of the star deity. The mythologeme of the Milky Way as a "ski trail" is most popular among Finns and Ob Ugrians. Nevertheless, it is possible that this motive was also present in Marie. The comparison of the Milky Way with "scattered straw" should be considered an unconditional borrowing from the regions of the Mediterranean and the Middle East from the Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Tatars and Hungarians.

We have expressed the opinion that the antiquity of the mythologeme of the Polar Star "pole / stake" (kazik) for the Turks is evidenced by the etiological and at the same time cosmogonic ancient Turkic myth about the origin of the Polar Star, according to which the latter was formed from the golden staff of the sky god Tengri. We also suggested that for the Baltic-Finnish peoples, the comparison of the Polar Star with a nail, which is apparently common with European peoples, has become a more widespread mythology. Nevertheless, like other Finno-Ugrians, they still have an idea of the world pillar, which, in our opinion, is an older North Eurasian feature. In this case, the peculiarity of the Finno-Ugric representations was that the North Star could correspond to a bird sitting on top of a world pole, or even a star goddess (in Mari, perhaps in Mordovia). The last specificity of the ideas about the Polar Star among the Finno-Ugrians, apparently, is explained by the result of the development of the former zoomorphic, or rather even ornithelike, images of birds-totems, birds – personifications of souls, in the images of star goddesses.

Thus, the conclusions that we have collectively reached allow us to put forward and so far generally substantiate the hypothesis of a certain Ural-Altaic community in the field of astral mythology, which is still a fairly early stage in the development of mythological representations of the Turks and Finno-Ugrians. At the same time, the Turks already had innovations related to a specific cattle-breeding form of economy, while the Finno-Ugrians continued to preserve traditions determined by the hunting society.

Based on this, it is worth coming to the general conclusion that the astronomical views of the Turks and Finno-Ugrians, contrary to some scientific points of view, are not fundamentally "poor" or mostly borrowed from the Abrahamic religions, as well as from neighboring peoples (mainly Indo-Europeans: Iranians, Slavs, etc.) or from each other.

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The article "Parallels in the astral myths of the Turks and Finno-Ugric peoples: on the example of the mythologies of the Milky Way and the Polar Star" suggests a comparative analysis of the manifestations of asterism in the mythology of the Turkic and Finno-Ugric peoples. A combined method was applied, including historiographical analysis, comparative analysis of myths, and linguistic analysis. At the same time, it is necessary to provide a clearer description of the research methodology in accordance with the tasks of comparative analysis of parallels in astral myths stated in the title of the article, to specify the methods of comparison used - the method of opposition, the method of coincidence, the expert method, heuristic, etc. The topic of the publication is relevant. The article is interdisciplinary in nature, combines elements of historical, ethnographic, linguistic, religious studies, folklore and mythology. Undoubtedly, the work is original. However, it is necessary to define more clearly what the novelty of the study is, to present the author's new hypotheses that develop or refute existing points of view, to argue their contribution to the problem of typologization of various manifestations of asterism. The structure of the text seems quite logical. At the same time, the article is descriptive in nature and clearly needs to be systematized. The content of the article is informative, but sometimes redundant. It is necessary to structure the material more clearly, highlighting the main problems and questions. For example, the author consistently describes the designations for the concept of "star", the Milky Way, the Polar Star in the Turkic and Finno-Ugric languages, but there are no parallels or comparative analysis. Meanwhile, the content of the above suggests a deeper structuring and allocation of key elements for comparison in such positions as proforma, borrowing, motives, lexical variants, reflection in the namebook, rare names, taboo, etc. It would be logical to accompany all this with comparative tables, visualize it cartographically, graphically. In addition, the text does not specifically name those Turkic and Finno-Ugric peoples whose myths formed the basis of the comparative analysis. There is a noticeably haphazard, random reference to the folklore and historical and ethnographic material of various peoples. There is no reference to the time of the existence of myths, information about the preservation and transformation of astral representations among certain peoples, about the displacement of astral representations by others. It is known that asterism, knowledge about the starry sky significantly influenced household traditions, were necessarily taken into account when carrying out agricultural work – this aspect was not reflected in the article. An impressive bibliography testifies to the author's deep immersion in the topic. At the same time, it is obvious to refer to various works as sources of information and the lack of an explicit dialogue with other researchers. The author does not sufficiently address the research of modern authors such as Gulomshoev S.A., Dubova N.A., Nikiforov M.G., Polyakova M.K., etc. - publications over the last 5 years make up less than 20% of the total list of notes. The conclusions are vague. In conclusion, the author, instead of specific conclusions comparing the astral mythologies of the Turkic and Finno-Ugric peoples, again cites different opinions, using the formulations "as scientists believe", "in our opinion", "in the opinion of the authors". The author should have made his position more clearly in relation to existing theories and hypotheses. Despite the comments, the work may be of interest to ethnographers, historians, cultural scientists, and specialists in the field of humanities in general. It is recommended to revise the article taking into account the comments: to strengthen the methodological arsenal of the study; to substantiate the scientific novelty; to structure the text, accompanying it with tables, diagrams, maps; to expand the bibliography through publications over the past 5 years; to specify the conclusions.

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Starting from the second half of the XVI century, the mono-ethnic Moscow state began a gradual transformation into a multi-ethnic Russian state, in which peoples living in 1/6 of the land area differed in language, culture, religious affiliation, and economic structure. Contrary to popular speculation, multinational is Russia's strength. At the same time, in addition to the traditional Slavic ethnic group, Turks and Finno-Ugrians played a significant role in the history of our country. In this regard, it is of interest to study various aspects of the history and culture of the Turks and Finno-Ugric peoples. These circumstances determine the relevance of the article submitted for review, the subject of which is the astral myths of the Turks and Finno-Ugrians. The author sets out to analyze the degree of knowledge of the problem, as well as to compare the main images and plots of the astral mythology of the Turks and Finno-Ugrians. The work is based on the principles of analysis and synthesis, reliability, objectivity, the methodological basis of the research is a systematic approach, which is based on the consideration of the object as an integral complex of interrelated elements. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the very formulation of the topic: on the basis of a comparative analysis of the astral representations of the Turks and Finno-Ugric peoples, a hypothesis has been put forward "about a certain Ural-Altai community in the field of astral mythology, which is still a fairly early stage in the development of mythological representations of the Turks and Finno-Ugric peoples." Considering the bibliographic list of the article, its scale and versatility should be noted as a positive point: in total, the list of references includes 43 different sources and studies, which in itself indicates the amount of preparatory work that its author has done. From the sources attracted by the author, we will point primarily to Bashkir legends and legends and Mari folklore. Among the studies used, we note the works of V.Ya. Petrukhin, V.I. Vershinin, V.V. Napolskikh, which focus on various aspects of studying the mythology of the peoples of Russia. Note that the bibliography is important both from a scientific and educational point of view: after reading the text of the article, readers can turn to other materials on its topic. In general, in our opinion, the integrated use of various sources and research contributed to the solution of the tasks facing the author. The style of writing the article can be attributed to a scientific one, at the same time accessible to understanding not only to specialists, but also to a wide readership, to anyone interested in both mythology in general and astral mythology in particular. The appeal to the opponents is presented at the level of the collected information received by the author during the work on the topic of the article. The structure of the work is characterized by a certain logic and consistency, it can be distinguished by an introduction, the main part, and conclusion. At the beginning, the author determines the relevance of the topic, shows that in order to compare the main images and plots of the astral mythology of the Turks and Finno-Ugrians, the work uses "mainly the myths of Bashkirs and Mari, as well as those ethnic groups that primarily have different astronomical representations from others." The work shows that "the Turks and Finno-Ugrians had specific ideas about the stars as a class of objects, that they were represented primarily in the form of meteorological objects by the first, and by the second – by deities themselves." The author comes to the conclusion that "the mythologeme of the Milky Way as the "road of souls", recognized as more ancient, could arise from the mythologems of the "star river", as well as the "rainbow snake", common to the Indo-Pacific and North Eurasian regions. The main conclusion of the article is that "the astronomical views of the Turks and Finno-Ugrians, contrary to some scientific points of view, are basically not "poor" or mostly borrowed from the Abrahamic religions." The article submitted for review is devoted to an urgent topic, is provided with a table, will arouse readers' interest, and its materials can be used both in training courses and in the framework of further study of the mythology of ethnic groups inhabiting Russia. In general, in our opinion, the article can be recommended for publication in the journal Genesis: Historical Research.