RITES AND RITUALS OF ANCIENT TURKIC PERIOD BY THE WRITTEN SOURCES

Abstract

In this article is considered the description of rites and rituals of the ancient Turkic era by the written sources and their reflection in the design and architecture of princely memorial churches of the steppe Eurasia. Characteristics of the Bozok archaeological microdistrict as a cult center of the medieval Saryarka. The authors made an attempt to systematize written information about the cult practices of the ancient Turks. Details of ritual activities associated with the funeral-memorial cycle are recorded in Chinese dynasty chronicles, in Arabic-Persian tractates, in part in the European annals. Information about the rituals can be obtained from the texts of the Orkhon runic. Comparison and matching of these diverse multilingual sources restores the worldview of ancient Turkic-speaking ethnic groups. The article contains written evidence of the existence of special places for the performance of religious and calendar ceremonies among the ancient Turks. It could be open areas, elevations, special groves, where sacrifices were carried out. At the same time there is information about the cities and the temples built in them for holding annual calendar festivities. Thus, the involvement of narrative sources reinforces and complements the positions of archaeological reconstructions.