Erlik Khan in the Traditional Worldview of the Khakas

Erlik Khan in the Traditional Worldview of the Khakas

V.A. Burnakov.

The article reviews the complex of myths and rituals associated with Erlik Khan – one of the main fi gures of the Khakas pantheon. The review is based on archival and literary data. The article shows the connection between Erlik Khan and the ancestral cult and the subsequent transformation of the deity analyzing its semiotic and functional aspects.

Keywords: Erlik Khan, spirits, the world of the dead, ancestor cult, ritual, shamanism.