The place of the faerie in shaman ceremony folklore

This article is devoted to the analysis of Uzbek mythological notions related to the image of a faerie. Based on the analysis of ethno-folkloric materials, the symbolic-ritual functions of the fairy image in the folklore of the shamanic ritual are revealed.

e-ISSN : 2620 3502 p-ISSN : 2615 3785 Volume 3, Issue X, October 2020 | habitation or to move from one epic space to another. This place serves as a means of changing the epic space for a zoomorphic or animal-looking faerie. When the light shaman Ashiroy Ruzieva summons the faeries, she addresses the faeries as blue doves on Mount Qaf: Those who descended from Kohi Qof, Those who walk like blue pigeons, Those who fly in the blue air, Hiromon faerie, go down, Misqal faerie, go down (9). It is no coincidence that the faeries, which were "blue pigeons" in the words of the shaman, were called by epic names. Because it is an epic tradition of Uzbek folk epics that the faeries of Kohi Qof fly like blue pigeons. The epic "Princess Cunning" describes Gorogly's encounter with faeries as he hunts for the Sugar Lake in the Zebit Desert. "It's a strange thing, ripe without a pattern, with a black currant on its hungry waist, the mind of the beholder is in a hurry, and its beauty is quarreled with for months." The faerie, who gave her pedigree and address, once again "stood up, put on a pigeon's coat, flew into the sky, and flew away" (10). The motif of faeries flying like pigeons and taking off their bird clothes and bathing in the pool is also present in Uzbek folk tales, especially in the tale of the Ahmadis (11).
The poetic functions of the image of a fairy in Uzbek folk magic tales are reflected in our previous research. After all, in ancient mythology, the pigeon was a symbol of eternity, longevity, divinity, supernatural life. These qualities of her correspond exactly to some features of the image of the faerie (eternal youth, beautiful beauty, never dying, etc.). It is this common mythological interpretation that brings these two images closer together.
L.I. Rempel, who specifically studied the traces of mythical imagery depicted in the drawings of the Central Asian artifacts, considers the "pigeon to be a symbol of the sanctity of female goddesses" (12). Z.P. Sokolova also notes that in the mythology of the peoples of the world the image of a dove comes as a shaman's helper, the spirit of the dead, a symbolic mediator between the dead and the living (13).
As in many nations around the world, the Uzbeks had an animistic view that if a person died, his/her soul would turn into a bird. Because the bird is a zoomorphic attribute of the sky, which is thought to be the abode of spirits in the higher universe. Some tribes also had a bird totem (14). To the ancient man, human birth was an event that took place in the presence of a totem, and death was a process of becoming a totem. Therefore, in ancient animistic myths, the bird has become a symbol of the soul. The evolution of the pair into a bird (pigeon) is also a motif associated with mythological notions that the soul can be manifested in the image of a bird.
In Uzbek folk tales, there is a motif that faeries exist outside the body, i.e. in the image of a pigeon, which is another proof of the correctness of the above idea: in the fairy tale "Kiron Batyr" faeries say to the hero: "... there are two pigeons in two boxes. If you take these pigeons in your hands and squeeze them a little, we will both come at once." The souls of the faeries are in these pigeons (15). Another interpretation that defines the zoomorphic image of faeries is the image of a snake. In our people, the snake is considered sacred and taboo. Such a snake is sometimes considered to be the ghost of the ancestors, sometimes the symbol of Hizr, and sometimes the faerie. It is believed that the white snake brings blessings and wealth to the house. In Uzbek mythology there are such images as Snake Faerie, Dragon Faerie, Snake Faerie. Faeries with such a name are depicted in the image of a snake. Because the image of faerie is genetically linked to an ancient cult of fertility, this image is often interpreted in relation to water sources. The popular notion that faerie turned into a snake or vice versa should also be a direct continuation of these mythological notions.
In popular opinion, faeries are sometimes imagined as an animal whose identity is not clear, that is, in an abstract zoomorphic image. For example, we wrote the following story about a fairy from 54-year-old Kurbangul Nabieva, who lives in Nurata: The horse staggered back. He did not walk, no matter how hard he tried. After a while, that tailed thing came back. After a severe whip, the horse continued on its way, but the owner's medicine dried up and his condition worsened. The fortune-teller reveals that the horse was frightened and that the past was a faerie, and while they were playing there, the man interrupted them and got on the horse. A fairy fell in love with him. Now that faerie, the young man, would walk together for the rest of his life. Since then, if a young man walks, his shadow will be two." It is not known what kind of creature the appearance of the pair, which is included in the zoomorphic image in the given oral story, resembles. In general, only one detail proves that the fairy looked zoomorphic to this guy. It is also a "worm-tailed tail", a characteristic of animals. In our view, this zoomorphic image of the faerie was previously depicted in the folklore of the Nurata people in the form of a definite creature, and over time the notions about it have become blurred and forgotten. As a result, the image of the zoomorphic image became abstract.

IV.Discussion
In the system of mythological views of Uzbeks about the faerie, a special place belongs to the mythical images, which are imagined in the form of a half-creature, half-human. One of such mythical symbols is one of the traditional images widely used in ancient and medieval fine arts, the head is in the image of a beautiful girl, and the body is a mythological creature with a bird's eye view. This mythological image is called sirens (16). According to Greek mythology, sirens are demonological beings born of an angel with a river called Archelois. e-ISSN : 2620 3502 p-ISSN : 2615 3785 Volume 3, Issue X, October 2020 | Half-female, these bird-like creatures lived on the islands in the middle of the sea, charming the passengers of the passing ship with their magical voices and inviting them to the island. Enchanted by the miraculous sound, those who sailed to the island perished at the hands of sirens. That is why the shores of the island of sirens are full of human bones and withered human bodies (17). The image of sirens also existed in the ancient mythology of the peoples of Central Asia. Archaeological monuments found on the territory of our country also confirm this idea. According to L.I. Rempel, the monument of ancient Khorezm of the II-III centuries -the Siren in the form of a young man is depicted on the wall of the Earth Fortress. The image of the sirens is found on the handle of a silver vessel found in ancient Nisa (2nd century BC), a ganch plate on the wall of the palace of the Bukhara gods (8th century) excavated from Varakhsha, and many copper objects from the 11th-12th centuries (18). In general, the tradition of depicting the image of girls with a bird-like body in the handicrafts and fine arts of the Muslim eastern peoples of the X-XII centuries is highly developed (19).
In our view, the emergence of the image of sirens in the form of a half-bird, half-human (girl or boy) was based on the combination of popular views about the fairy, more precisely, it's anthropomorphic and zoomorphic (bird) interpretations in the mythological pantheon. In other words, faeries were originally conceived as human (beautiful girls). Later, folk views about the zoomorphic and symbolic images of this image were formed. According to the interpretation of the zoomorphic image, the fairy takes on the appearance of a bird only in certain situations, while retaining a mostly human form. This man → bird; bird → moves in the human direction. The anthropomorphic (beautiful girl) and (bird) appearance of faeries has been imagined as a whole in some mythological systems. The result was a composite image of a mythical creature or fairy with a human head and a bird. The image of sirens in Greek mythology later emerged as a result of the popularization of mythological views related to the hybrid image of faerie in the form of a human + bird, as well as his extensive work in folk applied and fine arts.
In the ancient mythology of the peoples of Central Asia, there is another type of composite image in the form of a bird + man. It is an image of a winged man, whose first figurative expressions are reflected in the amulets -seals of the Bronze Age of ancient Bactria. L.I. Rempel believes that the image of a man (mostly a woman) fluttering his wings embodies the image of a savior god or an angel who saves people from disaster in ancient Central Asian mythology. To prove his point, the scholar quotes the following text: They control the flow of the river, give life to the plant world, and give eternal freedom to the sun, moon, and stars by the will of Mazda and Amesha spentas. They will fight valiantly for the honor of their land and their homes." Based on this fact, L.I. Rempel concludes that after the advent of Islam, all the features of this mythological image described in the Avesto were transferred to the image of a fairy (20).
The image of the "winged man" is one of the distinctive attributes of the faeries. Because, according to the epic tradition of Uzbek folk epics, faeries sometimes do not turn into a dove, but fly "with wings" while maintaining the appearance of a human figure. The epic "Miskol Pari" describes the sending of Gulnara Faerie and Miskal Faerie to their homeland, who was guests at Yunus Faerieni's house: shone and took a circle to Heaven (21).
In folk epics, the detail of "flying with wings tied" is used as a traditional artistic formula that means the faerie moves from one epic location to another. It is an artistic tool that provides the creation of a composite epic image of a faerie image in the form of a human + bird. Among the materials collected by us, only one piece of information on public opinion about the combined image of the pair was recorded. Shoira Haqberdieva, a resident of Navbahor, describes the appearance of the faeries she communicates with: Below the waist is like a fish's tail. They have no legs." Apparently, the above communicative story depicts a composite image of mermaids in human + fish form. The scientific literature also mentions the appearance of faeries in the form of fire (22). Even one category of faeries is called by such names as Fire Fairy, Flame Fairy. According to N.P. Dyrenkova, the Altai people consider the family hearth sacred and refer to it as "fire mum". The hearth was a blessing for the family, a source of survival, sacrificed for its sake, and the fire (hearth) of the family hearth could not be given to a stranger (23). In the mythology of many peoples living in Siberia and the Far East, it is known that there was a patron of fire or a legendary woman who guarded the sacred fire of the tribe. We believe that the notion of the "owner of the fire" as the guardian of the tribal fire was the basis for the birth of the fire believer, who was imagined in primitive mythology as the "fire mum" (i.e., the "woman of fire"). As a result of the evolution of these mythological notions, interpretations of the image of the "fire mum" were later transferred to the image of a faerie. As a result of the re-perception of the relics of the image of fire, preserved in the traditions of Turkish mythology, in the religious views of the Uzbeks, beliefs about the mythological image of the pair in the form of fire emerged. The Alas ceremony of Uzbek shamans was also formed as a result of the mythological notions of our ancient ancestors related to the sacred fire and is included in shaman mythology.

V.Conclusion
So, in Uzbek shamanic mythology, the image of a faerie is associated with dualistic views, and sometimes appears in the image of an extremely beautiful girl (or boy). Such a faerie is interpreted as a symbol of the patronage power that makes people fall in love with people and encourage them to engage in the profession of shamanism. In some places, faeries are also portrayed as a destructive evil force for not following a certain prohibition. This is an expression of the dual nature inherent in the nature of the faerie image. Faeries are