Elements of Shamanic costume in the context of the cultural and historical evolution of the Buryat and Mongolian peoples

Khingeeva Larisa Post-graduate student, the department of Culturology and Art History, East Siberian State Institute of Culture 670031, Russia, respublika Buryatiya, g. Ulan-Ude, ul. Tereshkovoi, 1 khingeeva@mail.ru Other publications by this author

IntroductionThe study of the phenomenon of Buryat shamanism is impossible without considering the historical retrospective of the conditions of its formation and development: migration routes, ethnic environment, political processes and, above all, the influence of other religious ideologies.

The works of G. N. Potanin, B. Ya. Vladimirtsov, Ts. Zh. Zhamtsarano, S. A. Kozin; the history of Buddhism in Mongolia – V. P. Vasiliev, A.M. Pozdneev, G. Ts Tsybikov, N. L. Zhukovskaya, the ethnic history and culture of medieval Mongols – P. O. Rykin, Yu. I. Drobyshev, V. Y. Myasnikova. M. N. Khangalov, T. M. Mikhailov, T. A. Bertagaev devoted their works to the issues of Buryat and Mongolian shamanism. Mongolian studies were conducted by B. Rinchen, C. Dallai, R. R. Hamayon, H. Nyambuu, etc.

The Buryat people are essentially part of the vast Mongolian ethnos, which gained autonomy in the period preceding the formation of the Genghis Khan Empire, and settled along the shores of Lake Baikal, switched to settled cattle breeding. But the social and religious culture of the Buryats undoubtedly originates from the Mongolian nomadic society. The commonality of language and ideological paradigms, as well as close trade relations have determined the multifaceted mutual influence of related cultures, which does not stop at the present time. The purpose of this article is to study the influence of the Mongolian heritage on the costume and attributes of Buryat shamans in a wide time range. The author studied the manuscripts of M. N. Khangalov on shamanism from the State Archive of the Irkutsk region, used methods of historical analysis, source studies. 

In the absence of written language, shamans transmitted information about religious beliefs orally, from generation to generation, while the information changed and modified over time. The epics, myths, and legends that have come down to our days carry historical evidence, but it is difficult to analyze them with acceptable reliability. On the contrary, the material objects of traditional worship lend themselves to more accurate dating and, due to the conservatism of their components, retain not only their form, functional purpose, but also the most important semantic content. The main part of the exhibits from the Buryat territory was collected in the late XIX-early XX centuries by M. N. Khangalov, Ts. Zh. Zhamtsarano, B. E. Petri on the instructions of the Russian Geographical Society (RGS). They are included in the collections on shamanism of the peoples of Siberia of the Russian Ethnographic Museum (formerly called the Ethnographic Department of the Russian Museum of Emperor Alexander III), the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography. Peter the Great (Kunstkamera). Manuscripts describing the semantics of shamanic things are kept in the funds of the State Archive of the Irkutsk region and the Center for Oriental Manuscripts and Woodcuts of the IMBT SB RAS (Ulan-Ude). Thus, the shamanic costume complex was less affected by cultural evolution, respectively, it is in it that one can trace the influence on the shamanic cult of the epoch of the historical formation and formation of the Buryat people.

1. The influence of the Mongolian military tradition on the shaman's costumeThe historical roots of the Buryat clans are inextricably linked with the numerous nomadic tribes of the Mongols who inhabited the East Siberian lands until the XII century.

The territory of their distribution was quite significant, which was determined by the nomadic way of life. From modern Altai in the west to the Amur River basin in the east, from the northern territories of Lake Baikal and the Lena River in the north to the border with China in the south. Nomads primarily needed pastures, so the settlement of this vast region mainly took place on steppe territories, limited penetration into forests. Where forests became the dominant type of landscape, the Evenk peoples settled.

The nomadic lifestyle of numerous Mongolian–speaking ethnic groups in the IX-XII centuries, the need to compete fiercely with each other for pastures for livestock inevitably led to the fact that armed clashes between various ethnic groups on the territory of modern Mongolia and the Trans-Baikal Territory firmly entered everyday life. For several centuries, the military art of the ancestors of modern Mongols and Buryats was polished and improved until it reached the highest level for that time, which later allowed the great Genghis Khan to establish the largest continental empire in the history of mankind. The military cult inevitably penetrated into all spheres and aspects of the culture of the Mongol conquerors, including religious ideas about the world.

The nomad was constantly confronted with aggressive neighbors who continuously claimed his cattle, property and pastures. Every adult male of a nomadic family had to be ready at any moment to repel an attack, as well as for armed expansion into other kind of camps. It is obvious that during this turbulent period, the casual men's suit was actually a combat armor.

Modern researchers V. Y. Myasnikov and V. D. Dugarov describe the protective armament of the Mongols of the Middle Ages as a complex of armor, represented by shells, chain mail, helmets, necklaces, bracers and shields. "In combat practice, the Mongols used lamellar, laminar, combined laminar-lamellar, plate-sewn with internal fastening of plates – "brigantines", as well as shells made of soft materials – leather, felt, fur, dense quilted fabric on horsehair or cotton wool." First of all, we are interested in the last type of armor, which evolved from the everyday clothes of nomads – a robe. "The shells of the "robe" type were similar in cut to the clothes of the same name, they were usually quite long, up to the middle of the shins, had either a straight axial cut, or were wrapped from left to right, an incision was made from the hem to the sacrum in the back for convenience when riding, so that the lower part formed very wide thigh-pads. The “robes” always had shoulder pads, usually rectangular, but there were also shoulder pads in the form of a cut sheet. The connection of the chest and back parts on the shoulders is not visible, but it must be assumed that it consisted of one or two bands of a lamellar set or wide leather or metal straps to which the shoulder straps were attached. Sometimes the shoulder pads are connected at the throat and neck and form a separate cape, as in Khitan, Sung and Jin armor. Usually the shell-robe was quite long, but there were variants reaching only to the sacrum. These shell jackets had rounded bottom floors and leaf-shaped shoulder pads. Laminar and combined lamellar-laminar shells were identical in cut to lamellar shells" ^{[1, pp. 85-86]}.

For the first time, S. V. Ivanov drew attention to the similarity of shamanic costumes with medieval laminar-lamellar armor. In the XIX-early XX centuries, the following types of pendants and overlays were found on the shamanic costumes of the Buryats and Mongols: "flat metal plates, most often rectangular in shape; flat metal discs, ovals and rings; tubular metal pendants of conical shape and their derivatives; copper bells of East Asian origin with relief signs and the image of the muzzle of an animal (tiger) Russian Russian-made round iron "sharkunts"; Russian-made copper spherical bells and half-bells; Russian-made round copper bells" ^{[2, 136/137]}.

Although some ethnographers have noted that shamans sometimes considered individual metal pendants as armor for defense against blows from hostile shamans and spirits, according to S. V. Ivanov, elements of a shamanic costume were not considered as protective armor. At the same time, there is evidence that earlier shamans were leaders of their communities and performed functions not only political, but also military. Donning their cult robes, they personally participated in combat clashes. But basically, the function of the suspensions was considered to be the creation of a noise effect during the ceremony.

Now let's turn to M. N. Khangalov, to his description of the shamanic costume complex of Buryat shamans of the early XX century. "Shamanic costume "orgoy" is one of the main accessories of the shaman. <...> it could be of two colors – white and dark blue. The white “orgoy“ was worn by a shaman of ”white" origin, and the dark blue - “black". They sewed a suit of silk or paper fabric, and before the appearance of such fabrics, probably made of fine animal skins. Metal figures of a man, a horse, birds, snakes, mugs, hammers, “holby”, ribbons, etc. were sewn onto the suit. <...> there were special combat suits with aprons, shoulder pads and knee pads, they were made of thick animal skins and sheathed with iron plates. Such a costume was called “huyak orgoy” – armor-cloak. They were worn during military operations to protect against arrows and spears. The presence of a combat "orgoy" indicates that shamans at one time participated in battles, performing the functions of military leaders or advisers" [Cit. po 3, pp. 108-109]. Depending on the rank of the shaman, the "orgoi" also differed, the highest was considered to be "Yehe orgoi" ("big orgoi"). It was sewn from the skins of large animals, with a length above the knees, iron plates with images of animals and people were sewn on it, there was also a belt with iron stripes. Such an "orgoy" replaced combat armor during wars ^{[4, p. 182]}.

It is obvious that shamans, being an integral part of the nomadic culture, could not stay away from the militaristic life in which the entire medieval world of Eastern Siberia was involved. It can even be argued that shamans exerted a formative and determining influence on the culture of nomadic peoples, while occupying not the last place in the military unit of this culture.

M. N. Khangalov among the indispensable attributes of the shamanic costume complex, along with the cloak-armor "orga", the crown "mayhabshi", protective mirrors "toli" directly mentions attributes of military origin:

"A spear ("jade"), it was received during the second or third, and in the old days even the fourth initiation. The spear, apparently, served as a combat weapon, a sign of the shaman's power.

Dirk, dagger, knife. Every Buryat had an ordinary knife carried with him, but shamans' knives were considered sacred, served as amulets, amulets (“hahyuu khan”), in addition to their usual purpose. Special dirks or swords (daggers) were given to dedicated shamans as a sign of power and authority" [Cit. po 3, p. 111].

Having considered the elements of military armor in the clothes of Buryat shamans, we note that among the metal pendants there were miniature images of various weapons designed to fight spirits – swords, sabers and bows and arrows. "Shamanic means of attack and defense were an ideological reflection of the real events of the past" of the Mongolian people, of which the Buryats were a part. For several centuries after the disappearance from the historical arena of the great Mongol Empire, the Buryat people led a relatively peaceful existence, which led to a significant demilitarization of everyday and social culture. However, it is precisely in the attributes of the shamanic costume that the legacy of the Mongols' fighting past of the era of great conquests is clearly preserved, when "the need to fight the enemies of the clan, tribe, arm themselves and have protective armor" ^{[2, p. 141/142]} was firmly included in the everyday life of every Mongol.

The period of formation and heyday of the Mongol Empire in the XIII century was accompanied by the successful military expansion of the Mongols into the vast territories of the Eurasian continent. A significant military contingent of the empire required the supply of advanced weapons and armor at that time and, in turn, the availability of advanced iron metallurgy and metalworking. But in the modern era, there are no large-scale metallurgical industries and significant reserves of raw materials on the territory of Mongolia and Buryatia. However, many studies confirm the existence of such reserves and means of iron production in the past.

In 1720, during his stay with the Buryats, Ambassador to China J. Bell noted the extraction of iron, silver and copper ores and the production of metal by the Trans-Baikal Buryats: "we have reached the big city of Udinsk, so named from the river Uda, which flows into the Selenga. This place <...> is located in a fertile valley with high forested hills to the east. Various rich ores are found in these hills, in particular silver, in the extraction of which many workers are now employed. Both here and on the Hangar, iron is found in great abundance on the very surface. <...>. In addition to these, there are very rich copper mines in these places" [Cit. 5, p. 63]. In 1735, academician I. G. Gmelin also reported on iron mining in the territory of Buryatia in the early epochs: "On the left bank of the Angara River, 5 versts below the village of Paperkin, there is a mountain abounding in iron ore. The Buryats "have been melting iron from this ore since time immemorial, as evidenced by numerous pits in the mountain" [Cit. 6, p. 16].

Later in the XVIII century. the Buryats preserved the blacksmithing craft, but it became economically more expedient to purchase raw materials for it from Russian sources. Russia in the XIX century began to develop large-scale metallurgical production in the southern Urals. L. R. Pavlinskaya, analyzing metal elements in the clothing of various ethnic groups of Western and Southern Siberia, including iron in shamanic costume complexes, sees the reason for their identity in the fact that identical blanks of Russian origin were used for their manufacture. "The starting material was a cast rod of square cross-section (1-1.5 cm2). In such rods, Russian iron was delivered to the foreigners of Siberia. The original shape of the blank has left a certain imprint on the cult plasticity of the peoples of Siberia. For example, hollow conical pendants widely used in shamanic costumes and attributes have an absolutely identical shape throughout the region" ^{[7, p. 80]}. Probably, similar processes of metallurgy development and its subsequent regression took place in neighboring Mongolia. "Soyots (Uriankhais) don't have their own iron. The mining business that flourished in the Altai-Sayan Highlands in the VI century, which the Chinese write about and numerous ancient mines point to, is now forgotten, and all the metal circulating in the country is purchased mainly from Russian merchants" ^{[8, p. 86]}.

In the period preceding the XIX century, the products of Buryat masters of blacksmithing were in demand in the Irkutsk province. In the Nukutsky district there were whole uluses of the local population, whose main activity was the manufacture of metal products. Not only of iron, but also of silver and copper. The Russians called the inhabitants of these settlements "brotherly people", slightly distorting the name of the nation "Buryat", and the high-quality products of these craftsmen "brotherly work".  From the reports of I. G. Gmelin, it is known about the perfect methods of iron processing by Western Buryat blacksmiths: "The Buryats are engaged in a craft in which there are many masters among the Balagan Buryats. They are able to make silver and tin notches on iron so well that their work is not inferior to Damascus" [Cit. po 6, p. 16].

Evidence of the pre-existing ulus of Buryat blacksmiths and the decline of the craft during the Soviet period can be found in the work of G. D. Sanzheev "Tailgan of Buryat blacksmiths" ^[9]. In 1926, G. D. Sanzheev attended a prayer service in the Bulut ulus of the Nukut district, which was held in a vain attempt to restore the former dawn of blacksmithing in this area. The prayer service was held according to the authentic traditions of ancient blacksmithing rituals. The researcher recorded an interesting legend of the emergence of metalworking craft in this place. But, unfortunately, the purpose of this rite was never achieved, due to changing social conditions and the disappearance of economic expediency. Later, Bulut ulus entered the flooded territories of the Bratsk reservoir.

Thus, S. V. Ivanov and M. N. Khangalov believe that the Buryat shamanic costume originates from the Mongolian lamellar armor "huyak". A large number of metal elements and suspensions are perceived by them as transformed derivatives of standard lamellae of the Mongolian warrior's combat ammunition. We can agree with this, especially taking into account that in the era of active military operations of the Genghisid Empire, shamans should not have stayed away and personally participated in combat companies, which means they could not ignore personal protective equipment.

M. N. Khangalov ^{[4, p. 183]}, T. M. Mikhailov ^{[3, p. 109]} believe that the tambourine ("hese") could serve as a shield during military operations and various signals were sent to the "hese": alarms, warnings, calls for an attack. The claim that the tambourine performed the function of a shield is untenable. A tambourine is primarily a musical instrument, it looks like a shield, but it is completely unsuitable for performing the functions of blocking blows with cold weapons. However, as a means of communication on the battlefield, the tambourine is quite suitable and could really be used in this capacity.

S. V. Ivanov concludes that the shamanic costume with elements of protective armor appeared at the late stages of its development, before that it was preceded by a zoomorphic type costume containing real wings and beaks of birds, animal skins, parts of the skeleton, signs of the sun ^{[2, p. 167/168]}. His conclusions are questionable. The protective armor of the Mongols was relevant during the period of active hostilities, that is, in the XIII-XV centuries. However, later the Mongols, and above all the Buryats, stopped fighting, and military traditions eventually completely disappeared from the everyday culture of the people. When in the XVII century. the active expansion into these territories began with the limited forces of the Russian Cossacks, the local population could not provide them with worthy resistance. Therefore, the necessary conditions simply did not exist for the emergence of the traditions of making protective armor in later epochs. Shamanic costumes with zoomorphic elements are characteristic of cultures in which the main type of management is fishing, that is, for the Evenks (Tunguses), who have been in close ethno-cultural interaction with Mongolian tribes for a long time. Mongols and Buryats are cattle breeders, so for their shamans, the presence of zoomorphic type attributes is rather a borrowing from neighboring peoples than its own peculiarity.

2. Features of the "skeletal style" in the shaman's cloak  M. N. Khangalov, describing shamanic costumes from the Trans-Baikal collection (Col. 7310) ^{[10, l. 130-137ob]}, notes the presence of numerous metal elements in them.

There are so many of them that the costumes themselves had considerable weight, forcing the shaman to put them on sitting and in the same position to begin the ritual. Later, having entered a state of ritual ecstasy, he got up, began to move impulsively, accompanying his actions with frantic vocals, and countless pendants of his costume created a metallic clang and ringing. All this produced a strong psychological effect on the people present at the ritual, gradually also introducing them into a state of mystical ecstasy.

The origin of the metal elements, as well as the shape of the "orgoy" costume itself, the author sees in the Mongol battle armor – "huyak". The latter consisted of a short caftan made of leather, tightly sheathed with small metal plates. Thus, the widely known lamellar armor of the Mongolian type was obtained. To strengthen the protection of the body, a one-piece metal breastplate was often put on the front of the armor. M. N. Khangalov believes that this breastplate in a shamanic costume transformed into an apron made of deer suede in the form of an apron, on the top of which a rectangular iron plate is fixed, meaning the breast bone (“?bs?ni yakhan” or “?bsun”), below it is the navel (“h?hen”) ^{[10, l. 133]}.

According to the author, the standard plates of lamellar armor in a shamanic costume were transformed into various metal elements of various shapes bearing certain symbolic meanings, and the shamanic costume itself became a long cloak. The main details were metal objects symbolizing the bones of the human skeleton. There were oblong plates depicting ribs on the chest, wide plates were fixed on the back, indicating the shoulder blades. On the sleeves there are metal images of shoulder bones and forearm bones, up to the image of the hands. A massive chain of several long links hung along the back, symbolizing the spine, on the lower ring of which were a knife, a spear and an arrow ^{[10, l. 133-137]}.

It is doubtful that the images of the skeleton were transformed from elements of combat armor, they are too different in fact, but they are united only by the material for manufacturing – iron. The skeleton itself carries a powerful sacred meaning. When the body of any animal decays after death, it loses all soft tissues (muscles, viscera, skin), and bones remain intact for a long time, sometimes they undergo mineralization and are preserved in fossilized form for millions of years. The same applies to human bones. In the old days, people believed that the whole body is perishable, but bones are what remains after a person forever. In the tradition of many primitive religions – to consider bones as the receptacle of the immortal soul. The Mongols and Buryats associated with the term "bone" ("yaagan") the origin of a person, belonging to a particular clan, genus, for example, "he is from the bone of so-and-so."

V. N. Basilov reports the existence of an ancient belief that flesh is mortal, but not bones. And also about the belief that if there is a complete skeleton of an animal or a person, it can be revived. In the traditions of many shamanic cults, the process of initiation into shamans consists in the fact that the shaman's body is mentally sacrificed to spirits, the shaman acquires new flesh and thus is reborn in a new capacity – now he is not an ordinary mortal and can act as an intermediary between people and the spirits protecting him ^{[11, p. 111]}. On the costumes of Mongolian shamans there is an image of a human skeleton, and the shaman associates himself with these imperishable bones, devoid of flesh, symbolizing complete liberation from any attachments to the mortal world. A similar rite existed in the ancient pre-Buddhist Tibetan Bon religion. During the initiation ceremony "Chod" (cutting off), or "Jod" (Jod), a follower of this religion sacrifices his physical body to the invisible spirits of water and earth and "becomes "hogson" – "emptiness"", as a result, these deities cease to harm people ^{[12, p. 133]}. M. Eliade ^[13], E. G. Devlet ^[14], E. I. Lishtovanny, R. N. Dugarov, D. I. Buraev ^[15] and others A. G. Gombozhapov ^{[16, p. 131]}, G.-D. Natsov ^{[12, p. 129-138]}, G. Ts. Tsybikov ^[17] mentioned that in the Buddhist tradition there were special attributes – beaters and pipes (wind instruments) "ganlin" made of shin bones, bowls "gabala" made of skulls, masks with five skulls, etc. Such objects possessed a special sacred power, perhaps they were even animated to some extent. By now, such attributes have fallen out of use in the Buddhist religious tradition.

In shamanic cults, when creating anthropomorphic figures of shaman ancestors or other patron spirits, it was primarily the skeleton that was depicted. The exception was the head, usually the skull was not depicted, but was replaced with masks, often detailed, with imitation of a mustache, beard and eyebrows. According to beliefs, such figures contained a living spirit, that is, they were "ongons". E. D. Prokofiev reports that the metal elements of the skeleton on the shaman's "orgoe" are metaphysically perceived as the bones of the shaman himself ^{[18, p. 8]}.

Metal elements on a suit imitating a skeleton, numerous noise pendants, images of animals, weapons and implements of everyday life and hunting, can carry the function of armor (G. M. Vasilevich, A.V. Anokhin, S. I. Weinstein, A. A. Popov, E. K. Pekarsky, N. A. Alekseev, P. Poltoradnev), but rather in a metaphysical sense I mean, as a real protection, they are extremely ineffective and are much inferior to tightly bonded standard lamellas. Real armor is a fairly short and light garment, they should not interfere with riding a horse and limit the active movements of a warrior. Shamanic "orgoy" is a long and very heavy cloak, it is difficult to simply wear it, not to mention participating in a battle. The claim that the shaman's costume is of military origin is debatable, but there is no reason to reject it.

3. Animalistic symbolism of shamanic attributesMetal ornaments were suspended from the elements depicting the skeleton, the main task of which was to create a noise effect during the movement of the shaman – bells, copper and iron "shomshorgo", botala, rings, copper "Circassians", etc.

At large shamanic "orgies", the number of "shomshorgo" should have reached ninety-nine pieces. In addition, there were symbolic images of heavenly bodies (sun, moon, stars), as well as some animals (bear, wild boar). Plates were attached to the back on both sides with images of eagle claws ("swag"), with which the shaman "grabs" evil spirits and human souls ^{[10, l. 134ob-136ob]}.

There were miniature metal images of weapons, household implements: bows and arrows, swords, spears, stirrups, boats, oars, spears, hooks and other objects. There were copper masks on the hemlines, on which the eyes, nose, and mouth stood out, which were symbolic images of the shaman-ancestor.

The shamanic costume also had numerous images of "dragons" ("luu") or "snakes" made of matter, flat or three-dimensional. "Dragons" have paws, a different number of tails. Some are inlaid with "walruses" (corals), images of eyes were made of them. On the sleeves in the lower part, suede brushes are fixed, symbolizing the feathers of a bird's wing. In addition to metal jewelry, the costume has a lot of colorful ribbons, scarves, "hadaks" (small silk scarves), which were tied to the shaman's "orgie" by believers as a gift right during mystical rituals ^{[10, L. 132, 134-135]}. "Hadaki" is an obvious borrowing from Lamaism, which has become widespread in Mongolia and Buryatia. Lamaism is the "yellow faith", one of the branches of Buddhism. Buddhism is primarily a philosophy, and Buddhist monks lead a closed lifestyle, devoting all their time to comprehending the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha. Unlike traditional Buddhism, Lamaism is primarily aimed at satisfying the spiritual needs of believers who attend Lamaist datsans, where priests – lamas – conduct rituals, collecting offerings, including "hadakami".

One of the "orgoi" described by M. N. Khangalov in this collection belonged to a deceased shaman from the Khori-Mongol bone of the Sungalsky parish of the Nerchinsky district. On this "orgoy" on both shoulders there was an image of a swan made of iron. M. N. Khangalov quotes an excerpt of a shamanic hymn, which mentions the origin of the Khorin clans of Sharats and Khangins from the Mongols from the Shishiktu-Gol River basin.

Bird Sen serel

Origin of Serel-Mongol

The Hun Horel Bird

Origin of the Hori Mongol Bone

Southern land, land

Shingil-Shibe locality

Origin (i.e. bone)

Cones Mongol

"Seng shubun" and "Hun shubun" are the names of swans. "Seng shubun" is a small swan with a bluish sheen of feathers. Buryats consider these birds sacred, killing them was strictly taboo. "Hun shubun" is a large swan of a yellowish shade of feathers, hunting them was not considered a sin ^{[10, l. 133ob.]}.

M. N. Khangalov described the shamanic crown of "myakhabshi" in this collection. It consists of an iron hoop, two half-arms were attached crosswise to it from above, forming a hemisphere that could be worn on the head. From the inside, the metal was sheathed with fur or cloth for ease of wearing. Straps for tying under the chin held the crown so that it would not fall off the head during the ceremony. As with the "orgoy", many additional attributes were attached to this crown, the main ones being metal imitations of deer horns or a small-sized tiger. There were two horns in total, each with three to five branches. Both horns are decorated with colored ribbons and "hadaks", there are flat images of "dragons".

A conventional image of a human skeleton was fixed from the back of the shaman's crown, his face was worked out with special care, on which the nose, mouth, eyebrows, mustache and beard stood out. This symbolic person resembled ongon Borto, the attribute personified the ancestor shaman.

Black silk cords were attached to the crown in front, this fringe hid half of the shaman's face. Several "shomshorgo" are fixed on the sides and back. Seven symbolic images of animals from different materials are tied to the back. There are also five symbolic images of "snakes" decorated with red and white threads, with heads made of black calico, on which there are brushes made of silk threads and eyes from "morzhana". "Snakes" have tails divided into several parts (up to nine) ^{[10, l. 130-132, 135ob-136]}.

Regarding the origin of the term "myakhabshi", M. N. Khangalov puts forward a version that earlier it was customary for the Mongols and Buryats to single out people with outstanding skills from the people. The most accurate were awarded the title "mergen", the strongest were popularly called "bator" (bogatyr) or, when they killed a large and dangerous beast, "b?h?" (wrestler, strongman). In order for such personalities to stand out from the general mass, a special type of headdress was used, sewn from the skin of an animal, completely removed from the head along with horns and ears. Such a one–piece flap of leather with fur was called "myakha", and a headdress made of it was called "myakhabshi". Shamans were a priori considered outstanding people who possessed a mystical gift, so the shaman's headdress was also called "myakhabshi" ^{[10, l. 132-132ob.]}.

Many researchers (M. N. Khangalov, S. P. Baldaev, E. D. Prokofiev, S. M. Shirokogorov, V. Diosegi) believe that the shamanic costume is zoomorphic in nature. Such conclusions are led by the presence of horns on the shaman's crown, elongated metal pendants, brushes and fringes on the sleeves, taken as imitation of the plumage of birds' wings. E. K. Pekarsky and V. N. Vasiliev, describing the cloak of the Yakut "black" shaman, note the following: "According to the established opinion, the fringe on the sleeves, hem and breastplate means the feathers of the wings and tail, or, according to [N. L.] Pripuzov <...>, wool; in particular, the fringe on the sleeves means, according to [V. L.] Priklonsky <...>, "wings of a kite — elie"" ^{[19, p. 5]}. The image of a bird or an animal is the main meaning of all shamanic costumes, in this they are monotonous ^{[8, p. 8]}. P. I. Koryakin cites reports by V. L. Priklonsky, N. K. Antonov, indicating the origin of Yakut shamanism from Mongolian ^[20]. E. D. Prokofiev in her studies of the semantics of shamanic costume elements notes animalistic symbolism fringes and metal pendants: "In addition to fringes, the meaning of feathers are all numerous small metal pendants – tubular, lanceolate, lamellar, abundantly covering the shaman's caftan, especially its back. Among them there are smaller and larger pendants – small and large feathers. Fringe and metal pendants are found on almost all shamanic costumes.

In the same group [design that contributes to the creation of the image of the beast-bird], we include images of the skeleton, parts of the body of the bird-beast. So, on the sleeves, which almost always mean the wing of a bird, in addition to the fringe, iron plates are attached, very similar in shape and execution to many peoples of Siberia – wing bones" ^{[18, p. 84]}.

Buryat mythology is characterized by a certain totemism (a swan among the Hori, a bull among the Bulagats and Khongodors, burbot among the Echirites). Although M. N. Khangalov writes that the shamanic costume of the Buryats could have evolved from combat armor and there are fragmentary mentions of this in cult legends and shamanic vocations, nevertheless, he believes that there were two types of "orgoi", combat and symbolic. At the same time, the first eventually disappeared from everyday life, and the second transformed into a costume of late shamans. The "symbolic orgy", depending on the beliefs of various ethnic groups of Buryats, imitated a totemic beast or bird, which made a strong psychological impression on the tribesmen ^{[4, pp.182-183]}. But we believe that, in general, the shaman's costume is not endowed with such meanings, although individual elements of the costume, such as images of a bear, wild boar, swans, snakes and dragons, are clearly zoomorphic in nature. The same is said by S. V. Ivanov, describing animalistic attributes in a shamanic costume: "In some cases, such an understanding by shamans of the elements of their clothing could take place, but not always and not in all cases" ^{[2, 167/168]}.

Conclusion

The origin of the shaman's costume from the battle armor of the medieval Mongol nomad causes us certain doubts. As the fighting ceased, shamans could begin the process of giving their attire a more mystical meaning, gradually transforming their armor into the sacred vestments of a cult minister. However, we note that this transformation has gone quite far, and now it is difficult to recognize a warrior's armor in a shamanic costume. As a means of individual protection, the shamanic costume is not complete and semantically carries completely different meanings.

In our opinion, it is more logical to consider the origin of shamanic costume from totemic cults – from garments imitating birds or animals, which M. N. Khangalov calls "symbolic orgies". However, in the late Mongolian and Buryat ritual traditions, such meanings have been lost and it is not necessary to speak confidently about the development of a shamanic costume from imitating animal vestments.

It is believed that objects of material culture are less susceptible to change over time than legends, rituals, traditions and other oral evidence of the development of religion and culture. It's hard to disagree with this. However, it was shamans who actively participated in the intercultural exchange, easily adopting the traditions and attributes of other cults, including them in their own ritual and ritual turnover. This process was facilitated by the tradition of joint prayer services, in which shamans of different clans and localities could take part, widespread intermarriage and migration processes. Thus, the shaman's costume is a dynamically developing system that does not experience the pressure of rigid dogmas.

Probably, the genesis of the shamanic costume is a very complex and multicomponent process that has absorbed the characteristic features of a large number of Turkic–Mongolian, Tibetan and Chinese archaic cults. Undoubtedly, a significant part of this compilation consists of the original costume of an ancient Mongolian shaman, but it is not possible to distinguish it from the numerous layers at the moment.

The origin of the Buryat shamanic costume from the Mongolian religious tradition is beyond doubt. The differences in the Buryat costume are insignificant and are due to the peculiarities of the region of residence, including the cultural influence of neighboring peoples, and the transition from nomadic animal husbandry to sedentary. Of course, the shamanic costume of the Buryats is a derivative of the Mongolian, just as the Buryat people come from the Mongolian ethnos. In essence, it is one nation. The obvious differences between these ethnic groups are currently due to the fact that they live in different climatic conditions (Mongols – in arid steppes, Buryats – in a strip of mixed forest around Lake Baikal), different economic systems of traditional farming (nomadic cattle breeding among the Mongols and sedentary animal husbandry and agriculture among the Buryats), different cultural environments (sovereign Mongolia and the Republic of Buryatia within the Russian Federation). Since the historical paths of these two ethnic groups of the same people diverged several centuries ago, it is natural that differences have accumulated during this time. But the costume of the servants of the shamanic cult of the Buryats basically remained identical to the Mongolian one.