Graves of Saints on the Mountains of the Southern Urals: Traditional Beliefs and Modern Perception

Abstract

This article examines the historical development of the cult of sacred mountains on the basis of field materials gathered by the authors during archaeological and ethnographic research on Mount Awliya Tau in Kugarchinsky District, Bashkortostan in 2023, and on the works of contemporary researchers devoted to orolatry (veneration of mountains) in the Southern Urals.The research used a synergistic approach, integrating archaeological, ethnographic, and social media data with geoinformation mapping. The results reveal similar patterns and trends in the formation and development of sacred spaces associated with some mountain tops. Awliya Tau’s significance extends beyond traditional Muslim pilgrimage and tourism; it’s also integrated into contemporary religious and psychological practices, etc.Članek preučuje zgodovinski razvoj kulta svetih gora na podlagi terenskega gradiva, ki so ga avtorji zbrali med arheološkimi in etnografskimi raziskavami gore Awliya Tau v okrožju Kugarchinsky v Baškortostanu leta 2023, ter na podlagi del sodobnih raziskovalcev, posvečenih orolatriji (čaščenju gora) v Južnem Uralu. Raziskava je uporabila sinergijski pristop, ki je združeval arheološko, etnografsko gradivo in podatke z družbenih omrežij z geoinformacijskim kartiranjem.Rezultati razkrivajo podobne vzorce in trende pri oblikovanju ter razvoju svetih prostorov, povezanih z določenimi gorskimi vrhovi. Pomen gore Awliya Tau presega tradicionalno muslimansko romanje in turizem; vključena je tudi v sodobne verske in psihološke prakse