Scientific article
UDC 39(393)
DOI 10.30792/3033-6015-2025-1-76-84
BRONZE MIRRORS OF TUVA: HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL
STUDY AND MODERN ETHNOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS
Elena Valeryevna Aiyzhy – Doctor of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor, Associate Professor of the Department of General History, Archeology and Documentation of the Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education Tuvan State University (Kyzyl, Russia). ORCID: 0000-0002-4289-3543. E-mail: aiygy@mail.ru.
Ai-Kherel Gennadyevich Saryglar – 2nd year Master of Science, group TsSIO_403 of the Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education Tuvan State University (Kyzyl, Russia). ORCID: 0009-0002-1840-3767. E-mail: xerelok13@mail.ru.
The article analyzes bronze mirrors found in Tuva since the Scythian period. They are a vivid reflection and embodiment of the worldview and religious beliefs characteristic of traditional communities. A mirror is not only a reflective magical object, but also a portal to a better upper world. The transformation of bronze mirrors, their semantics as part of burial inventory in various historical times, as well as the preservation of mirrors among modern shamans are considered.
Keywords: Republic of Tuva, shaman, bronze mirror, ritual, custom, worldview.
BRONZE MIRRORS OF TUVA: HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL
STUDY AND MODERN ETHNOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS
Elena Valeryevna Aiyzhy – Doctor of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor, Associate Professor of the Department of General History, Archeology and Documentation of the Tuvan State University (Kyzyl, Russia). ORCID: 0000-0002-4289-3543. E-mail: aiygy@mail.ru.
Ai-Kherel Gennadyevich Saryglar – 2nd year Master of Science, group TsSIO_403 of the Tuvan State University (Kyzyl, Russia). ORCID: 0009-0002-1840-3767. E-mail: xerelok13@mail.ru.
The article analyzes bronze mirrors found in Tuva since the Scythian period. They are a vivid reflection and embodiment of the worldview and religious beliefs characteristic of traditional communities. A mirror is not only a reflective magical object, but also a portal to a better upper world. The transformation of bronze mirrors, their semantics as part of burial inventory in various historical times, as well as the preservation of mirrors among modern shamans are considered.
Keywords: Republic of Tuva, shaman, bronze mirror, ritual, custom, worldview.
