Protection Of Domestic Animals Among Bashkirs

Abstract

The aim of the research is to study and analyse the magical means of protection of domestic animals among the Bashkirs on the territory of the Republic of Bashkortostan in the middle of the twentieth and early twenty first centuries. In this article the author considers various types of magical means of protection of domestic animals amongst the Bashkirs living in the territory of the Republic of Bashkortostan. Bashkirs used amulets, metal objects, natural stones, etc. to protect pets from evil spirits and diseases. It has been revealed that magical items and amulets, which appeared in the deep past, are firmly rooted in the ritual practices of the Bashkirs and have not lost their significance even till the present day. As the author’s field materials were collected from different territorial groups of Bashkirs have shown, at present they continue to preserve traditional ways of magical protection of livestock. In recent decades, the Bashkirs have started to use various means and amulets found on the Internet.