Confessional vocabulary in the toponyms of Tuva

Abstract

The article analyzes the toponyms of Tuva associated with confessional vocabulary. They combine religious and cult beliefs of Tuvans and the first Russian settlers in Tuva. The data for the study were sourced from published works and dictionaries, as well as obtained during the author's expeditions to the areal zones (the Central, Western, South-Eastern and Todzhinsky dialects) of the Tuvan language in 1999-2020. The analysis revealed the following main groups of toponyms: a) toponyms associated with shamanism; b) toponyms associated with Buddhism; c) toponyms associated with Orthodoxy. If Tuvan toponyms associated with shamanism and Buddhism indicate ritual activities, ceremonial attributes, status of clergy, and types of buildings, then toponyms associated with Orthodoxy are formed according to the principle of memoriality - in memory of Orthodox saints, as well as in honor of religious holidays. Structurally and etymologically, a significant part of toponyms in the Tuvan language are actually Tuvan compound words. The first component of complex toponyms or simple toponyms comprises common Turkic confessional vocabulary, lexical borrowings from Mongolian and from Tibetan through Mongolian, as well as borrowings from Russian. And the second components of complex words are expressed by common Turkic words. The presence of the following formants - hydronymic, phytonymic, and oronymic ones - in the composition of toponyms with spiritual and religious content indicates that they were related to the natural and geographical features of Tuva.