Sacred functions of musical instruments in the creative syncretism of shamanistic ritual

Abstract

The study explores the spiritual and worldview aspects of shaman’s ritualistic practice through the example of Central Asian Turkic tribes. We tried to show the magico-religious aspect of using the most widespread Kazakh and Kyrgyz musical instruments in the shamanic practice as a ritual that forms the artistic field in the general context of syncretic multi-element complex of shamanistic practice. This study considers the syncretism of creative principles in the shamanistic ritual, and the meanings of the sacred musical instruments (kobyz, tambourine, dombra, asatayak) used in the re shamanistic rituals of the nomadic Turkic religion – Tengrianism. The ritualistic practice of shamans is interpreted as an artistic comprehension of the world, which not only records and reflects the reality, but also bears creative and forming principles, thus becoming an integral part of culture. At that, emphasis is placed on the key role of sacred musical instruments in the shamanistic ritual. The study reveals the spiritual and symbolic meaning of each key musical instrument in the shamanistic ritual separately and in the context of the syncretic complex of the shaman’s ritualistic practice.