© Sergei V. Rjabchikov, Krasnodar, Russia
srjabchikov@hotmail.com
First Posted 14 August 2005, Last Updated 23 August 2005
Abstract. A new portion of Scythian, Sarmatian and Meotian records is studied in this article. The inscriptions help to illuminate some Scythian, Sarmatian, Meotian and Slavonic religious beliefs. Here the field materials of the South Russian folkloric-ethnographic expedition (alternatively, the South Russian ethnographic expedition)under the leadership of Sergei V. Rjabchikov collected in 2002 and 2004 are used.
The Scythians, Sarmatians and Meotians used the syllabic script based on Linear A (B); this writing system contains the variants of these signs as well as some original ideograms and determinatives. The close related languages of the Scythians, Sarmatians and Meotians are Indo-European. I prefer to call them the Scythian/Sarmatian language. In turn it is close connected with the Old Indian language, one can trace the connections with Iranian and Slavonic languages, too. The rules of gradual phonetic evolution of the Scythian/Sarmatian language are noteworthy to read some words successfully, e.g., such variants of sounds are possible: a/o, e/ay, i/u, k/g, b/p, r/l.
Let us examine a figurine from the Scythian barrow No 31 (the Dnepropetrovsk region, Ukraine) (Bunyatyan, Cherednichenko and Murzin 1977: 78, figure 17 [6]), see figure 1.
Figure 1
This is an image of a feline beast. The gryphon, otherwise the winged lion/eagle, symbolises the roar of a lion and the rapidity of an eagle; this character describes the thunder and lightning in the Scythian, Sarmatian and Meotian beliefs (Rjabchikov 2004a). According to the Rig-Veda (I.32.14; I.174.3), the sacred hymns of the Indo-Aryans, the god thunderer Indra is related to a hawk and a lion. So it is reasonable that the feline beast is an image of the deity of the thunderstorm. On the figurine there are Scythian/Sarmatian symbols. Several signs 77 ka, ga (<-shaped signs, decorative variants) are attached to sign 05 ja, cf. Scythian/Sarmatian ka, ga, ko, go ‘arrow; thunderbolt; the sun; solar beam; eye; horse; ox; cow;
cattle; milk; house’, Old Indian go ‘arrow; thunderbolt; the sun; solar beam; eye; horse; ox; cow; cattle; milk; house’, Scythian/Sarmatian ja ‘born; birth’, Old Indian ja ‘born; birth’, Russian dozhd’ ‘rain’. One can offer the following parallels: cf. Old Indian svaru ‘arrow; sunshine; thunderbolt; sacrifice’, Scythian/Sarmatian *ban- ‘arrow; the sun; brightness; light or ray; shine’, Old Indian bana ‘arrow’ and bhanu ‘the sun’. According to the Rig-Veda (I.66.7-8), the lightning is like an arrow.
Let us examine a pattern on a Sarmatian mirror (the Krasnodar region, Russia) (Berlizov, Kaminskaya and Kaminsky 1995: 127, table 4b [53]), see figure 2.
Figure 2
In the representation of the sun there is a number of the Scythian/Sarmatian signs 77 ka, ga, cf. Scythian/Sarmatian ka, ga, ko, go ‘arrow; thunderbolt; the sun; solar beam; eye; horse; ox; cow; cattle; milk; house’.
Now one can study some Scythian/Sarmatian signs engraved on a slab of the 2nd – 3rd century A.D. from the Scythian Naples (the Crimea, Ukraine) (Achkinazi and Puzdrovsky 1994: 256, figure 3), see figure 3.
Figure 3
A.V. Achkinazi and A.E. Puzdrovsky recognised a representation of a horse here. Above this picture I read the name 12-12 So-so ‘The Very Bright (Sun)’, otherwise the name of the Alanian (Sarmatian) god Soslan (Scythian Targitai, the name of a horseman-deity; Indo-Aryan Indra) (1), cf. Scythian/Sarmatian so ‘the sun; shine; heat; light; eye; bright’. On the other hand, this name, So-so, is comparable with the name of an Anatolian horseman-deity, Sozon. I think that both names, Soslan and Sozon, come from a common early Indo-European source. I conclude that the initial form of these names was So-so. The Proto-Indian form *sa/*ca ‘the sun; shine’ is comparable with Old Indian
sata ‘light; lustre; wealth’ and caya ‘shine’. Old Indian capala ‘lightning’ can be split into two Proto-Indian words, *ca and *pala. The first form denotes the sun etc. The second form fits Old Indian bala ‘strength; force; power; vigour’. In the Scythian/Sarmatian language this word is preserved, in particular, as pe/be, pay/bay ‘to beat; beating; strength; force; power; reproduction; increase’, Papay ‘the god thunderer’. One can add such items to this collection of the words: cf. Old Indian bahu ‘in great numbers’, bija ‘seed; semen; sowing with seed’ (< Proto-Indian *bi ja, cf. Old Indian ja ‘born; birth; race, tribe’), ramb
‘lamb’ (< Proto-Indian *ram- b-), cf. remi ‘ram’ (< Proto-Indian *ram-), pi ‘to increase; to grow’, push ‘to increase; to divide; to bud’, Russian pushisty ‘downy’ (initially this term could be connected with ideas “hair”, “wealth”, “sexuality”), puzo ‘belly’ (initially this term could be connected with the idea “pregnancy”), beremennaya ‘pregnant’, peret’ ‘to push; to press’, Proto-Slavonic *pis-/*piz- ‘genitals’, Old Indian payas ‘water; rain; milk; semen virile; power; strength’ (2). In the Scythian/Sarmatian and Russian languages some words are formed by the doubling of words, cf. Russian
bystro-bystro ‘very quickly’, temny-temny ‘too dark’, davnym-davno ‘very long ago’, glagol ‘verb’, Old Church Slavonic glagol’’ ‘word; speech’ < *g(o)l-a-gol-, cf. also glas’’ ‘voice’, Russian golos ‘voice’.
Interestingly, the drawing of the horse is covered with several Scythian/Sarmatian signs 77 ka, ga, cf. Scythian/Sarmatian ka, ga, ko, go ‘arrow; thunderbolt; the sun; solar beam; eye; horse; ox; cow; cattle; milk; house’. Yet another sign 77 ka, ga is incised between the horse’s forefeet.
Scythian/Sarmatian sign “cross” ay is attached to the horse’s head. Scythian/Sarmatian ay means ‘the sun; long life; the World Tree; egg’, cf. Old Indian ayus ‘life; vitality; vigour; long life’ (3). This term applies to the solar symbolism.
In the lower part of figure 3 two groups of signs are inscribed. At the left there are signs 72-33 Pera (Pe-r-, Be-r-, Pay-r-, Bay-r-, here -r- is a suffix). It is the name of the Scythian/Sarmatian god thunderer, well known as Scythian Papay and Old Russian Perun. At the right there are signs 33-12 raso. Scythian/Sarmatian raso signifies ‘shine; liquid; water’, cf. Old Indian rocis ‘shine’, rocana ‘bright’, ruc-, ruk- ‘to shine’, rusant ‘bright’, rasa ‘liquid; water’, Russian rosa ‘dew’.
So the brief records associated with the mythological horse of the god thunderer are devoted to the sun, thunderstorm, water, fertility and abundance.
Let us consider some Scythian/Sarmatian signs inscribed on a slab of the 1st – 2nd century A.D. from the ancient town Olbia (Ukraine) (Solomonik 1959: 122-123, No 61, figure 61), see figure 4.
Figure 4
Here I distinguish the sign “two horses”. Above it there is an intricate symbol that consists of two signs, 33 ra and “cross” ay. Scythian/Sarmatian ray ‘river; water’ is comparable with Old Indian raya ‘streams of the water in a river’. Sign 12 so is attached to the “two horses”. The second sign 12 so is located to the left. I read the name So-so of the god thunderer again. It must be emphasised that in the Old Russian beliefs the horse is connected with the river (Rybakov 1987: 272).
As a parallel let us examine a Meotian mirror of the 2nd – 3rd century A.D. (Republic of Adygea, Russia) (Ditler 1961: 174, table 8 [1]). Here in two concentric rounds there are Scythian/Sarmatian signs 12-12 So-so, it is the name of the god thunderer. Two rounds can describe the increasing heat of the sun.
Let us consider some Scythian/Sarmatian signs inscribed on the marble lion No 1 from Olbia (Drachuk 1975: table XLV), see figure 5.
Figure 5
Here I distinguish the sign “two horses”. Below it there is sign 33 ra. Scythian/Sarmatian ra means ‘the sun’, cf. Proto-Indian *ra/*rya ‘the sun’ (first, Old Indian ravi ‘the sun’ < Proto-Indian *ra vi, cf. Old Indian vi ‘horse; bird’; second, Old Indian surya ‘the sun’ < Proto-Indian *su rya, cf. Old Indian su ‘to produce; to create’, and this form is preserved in the name of a Russian fiery demon, Shulikun < Scythian/Sarmatian Su-ra *kun- ‘The sun – the woman’; third, Old Indian purvi ‘sunrise; east; the sun’ < Proto-Indian *pur- vi, and this form is preserved partially in the name of a Russian fairytale horse, Sivka-Burka).
It is necessary to stress that these religious formulae report about horses of the god of the thunderstorm. According to the Rig-Veda (e.g., I.6.2; I.10.3; I.16.2; I.84.3; II.18.3), a chariot with two horses is a feature of the god thunderer Indra. Two horses of Indra without a chariot are mentioned in the Rig-Veda (I.5.4, I.6.2, I.7.2), too. According to the Rig-Veda (II.11.6-7), two bay steeds are marks of the sun. In the Rig-Veda (I.100.16) a mare of Indra is mentioned as well. Some Scythian/Sarmatian records concerning one or two horses of the god thunderer were investigated earlier (Rjabchikov 2002a: 44ff; 2004a).
The Rig-Veda (I.118.9) also tells of a white horse of Pedu, a serpent-slaying steed, that was sent down by Indra. According to the Rig-Veda (II.20.7; VI.72.3), the latter personage killed a serpent, Vrtra. In my opinion, Pedu is an archaic name of Indra (cf. Old Indian indu ‘spark; drop’, Proto-Indian *ra ‘the sun’). I divide the name Pedu into two parts, *pe and *du. The first part is connected with Proto-Indian *pala ‘strength; force; power; vigour’, *b-, *bi/*pi ‘born; child; growth; reproduction’. It is precisely this form pe/be that is presented in the Scythian/Sarmatian language. Proto-Indian *du can be compared with Old Indian div ‘sky’,
Dyaus ‘the sky god’, da ‘heat’, dah ‘to burn’, dha ‘wealth; granting; placing’. In the light of these data Old Indian indu ‘spark; drop’ comes from Proto-Indian *in du ‘inside a storm-cloud’. In addition, Old Indian koti ‘edge’ comes from Proto-Indian *ko/go ti/tu/di/du ‘an arrow (the symbolism of the thunderstorm) of a storm-cloud’. Notice that Russian kon’ ‘horse’ compares favourably with Old Indian kana ‘to shine; spark; drop; grain’, so the Indo-European symbol “horse” is associated with the sun, thunderstorm, heavenly fire, water, fertility and abundance.
Let us examine a pair of golden ear-rings of the 5th century B.C. (Akhalgori, Georgia) (Brentjes 1978: table 58). It is anticipated that such artifacts have their origin in the Iranian world. Here we see two figurines of horses which are situated alongside each other. The bodies of these animals are decorated with united rhombi. It is a hint of the solar cult. A stripe is attached to this construction, so it is crowned with a sixteen-pointed star/flower. This symbol which is placed in a round denotes the sun and fire. Besides, the stripe is decorated with two groups of united rhombi. Such marks also denote the sun. It is reasonably safe to suggest that this motif derives from the Indo-Aryan world indeed. In that event the symbolism of Indra and his celestial horses is quite clear.
Let us consider some Scythian/Sarmatian signs engraved on slabs of a Sarmatian/Massagetian temple of the 3rd – 1st century B.C. (Bayte, Kazakhstan) (Yatsenko 2001: 70, 166, figure 16), see figure 6.
Figure 6
Here two figures of the duplicated horses are united. Near the upper figure “two horses” there is Scythian/Sarmatian sign 12 so, cf. Scythian/Sarmatian so ‘the sun; shine; heat; light; eye; bright’. Under the lower figure “two horses” there are two Scythian/Sarmatian signs, “round” (THE SUN; the determinative) and sign 77 ka, ga, cf. Scythian/Sarmatian ka, ga, ko, go ‘arrow; thunderbolt; the sun; solar beam; eye; horse; ox; cow; cattle; milk; house’. Obviously this record bears on the archaic mythological plots about the sun and thunderstorm.
Let us consider some Scythian/Sarmatian signs inscribed on the marble lion No 2 from Olbia (Drachuk 1975: table L), see figure 7.
Figure 7
Under the picture “two horses” there are signs 76-12 raso. Scythian/Sarmatian raso may describe the water (rain etc.) and light (fire etc.). At the right there are signs 26-26 ru-ru and sign 80 Ma. Scythian/Sarmatian ru-ru signifies ‘to make a lot of noise; the terrific noise’ (the symbolism of the thunderstorm, life-giving liquid, reproduction, and growth), cf. Old Indian ru ‘noise; to make any noise; to cry aloud; to break to pieces; cutting; dividing’, ruh ‘to grow’ (4). The name of the Scythian/Sarmatian goddess Ma (Aga/Yaga, Rada, Tabiti) of the sun and thunderstorm is known as Ma in a Bosporan Greek inscription and as
Makosh’, Mokosh’ in Russian folklore texts, cf. also Old Indian mu ‘reddish-brown colour; funeral pile’, maya ‘horse’ (Rjabchikov 2000: figure 16; 2002a: 5ff; 2003).
Let us consider some Scythian/Sarmatian signs engraved on a vessel found in a Scythian barrow (Republic of Altai, Russia) (Bourgeois and Bourgeois 2005: figure 3), see figure 8.
Figure 8
I distinguish signs 77 ka, ga, cf. Scythian/Sarmatian ka, ga, ko, go ‘arrow; thunderbolt; the sun; solar beam; eye; horse; ox; cow; cattle; milk; house’. It is probable that the record describes the transition of the soul of a dead ruler to the other world. This vessel presumably contained a sacrificial food (e.g., some portion of the water or milk). Some sheep bones and an iron knife found in this grave as well as remains of two sacrificed horses found near it in different places can be correlated with such items from different Scythian and Sarmatian barrows. To the west of the Altai barrow a small oval structure (1.45 m by 1 m) with clear traces of firing and fragments of some vessels was unearthed. I think that this ceremonial site was used for fiery sacrifices during and after
the funeral. This Scythian/Sarmatian custom is preserved in some plots of Russian fairy tales: the hero leaves the hut of the old woman Yaga (cf. the name of the Indo-Aryan god Agni of the fire) riding a horse. In conformity with the Rig-Veda (VI.59.2), the gods Indra and Agni were armed with the thunderbolt.
Let us examine several patterns of the Slavonic decorative art, see figure 9 and photos 1 – 11.
Figure 9 – The reproduction of the designs on a border of a Russian wedding towel (the end of the 19th century). This specimen is housed in the Sergiev Posad State Historical-Artistic Museum-Reserve (Sergiev Posad, Russia).
The pattern presented in figure 9 can be compared with some elements of figure 3. The basic components of figure 9 are three goddesses. Here the central goddess is holding two horses of other goddesses. The heads of these personages are decorated with rays, so it is possible to say about the three solar deities. Besides, three rhombi (= the solar signs) with rays are shown in the lower part of the picture. Interestingly, all the deities are decorated with rhombi as well. The horses are decorated with rhombi and wavy lines. Furthermore, a square with a cross and two <-shaped signs are attached to each horse. The <-shaped sign corresponds to Scythian/Sarmatian sign 77 ka, ga, cf. Scythian/Sarmatian ka, ga, ko, go ‘arrow; thunderbolt; the sun; solar beam; eye;
horse; ox; cow; cattle; milk; house’. A triangle with a pair of vegetable signs is located near every horsewoman-deity (5). I compare the triangle with Scythian/Sarmatian sign 72 pe/be, cf. Scythian/Sarmatian pe/be, pay/bay ‘to beat; beating; strength; force; power; reproduction; increase’. Thus, the three goddesses denote the sun in three different position during a day (morning, noon, evening). The horses of the dawn and the sunset are marked by the symbols of the sun, water, arrow/sprout = lightning.
Russian embroideries with designs of the central female character and two other female characters on horses are well known (Dintses1951: 469, figure 243; Maslova 1978: 113-114, 159; Rybakov 1981: 391, figure; 511, figure). Bereginya and Makosh’ are the names of the main goddess. I think that the first name corresponds to the name of the god Perun, it also contains Scythian/Sarmatian pe/be, pay/bay ‘to beat; beating; strength; force; power; reproduction; increase’. This terminology is associated with ideas of the thunderstorm, heavenly waters, rains, fertility and abundance. I suppose that the Indo-Aryan myth concerning the white horse of Pedu is preserved in the Slavonic mythology. Really, a Russian legend tells of a hero, Kolyada, who is riding a white horse (Lavrov
1951: 80). This name consists of two Scythian/Sarmatian roots, kol- ‘the sun; fire’ and da ‘heat’, so that it can be connected with Indo-Aryan Pedu < *Pe du/da.
It is notable that the images of two horses are a stable element of the Old Slavonic decorative art (Dintses 1951: 468, figure 242). According to A.N. Afanasiev (1865: 619; 1869: 464), the horse becomes like a thundercloud in the Slavonic folklore. A.N. Afanasiev (1865: 619-620) compares Slavonic plots about foals or mares located inside mountains with an Indo-Aryan plot about Indra and his white horse. Besides, in the Slavonic folklore horses are associated with arrows; these fairytale animals bring the water of life, otherwise some sources of rains (Afanasiev 1865: 619-621). In the Slavonic beliefs the thunder, lightning, cloud and wind appear in the image of the horse; the miraculous horse Sivka-burka figures in the Russian fairy-tales (Afanasiev 1869: 159; 1996: 155). In the Russian folklore the horse is the whirlwind as well (Afanasiev 1868:
708). I compare Russian vikhr’ ‘whirlwind’ with Old Indian vi ‘horse; bird’, harina ‘the sun; white colour; having rays; deer’, Hittite haras ‘eagle’, Scythian/Sarmatian *har- ‘the sun’, Old Russian Khors ‘the sun deity’, Old English hors ‘horse’, hlaf ‘loaf’, Russian khleb ‘bread’ < Scythian/Sarmatian *har- be ‘the sun is increasing’.
In the Scythian/Sarmatian record presented in figures 3 the symbol of a horse combines with Scythian/Sarmatian sign “cross” ay, cf. Scythian/Sarmatian ay ‘the sun’. I found the following parallel in the Russian decorative art. A pediment of a house is ornamented by the figurine of the horse’s head and the sign of a cross located under it. In this composition the horse denotes the noon (Rybakov 1987: 482-483, figure 79 [16]).
I believe that the figurines and other representations of a horse connected with a house in the Slavonic art are relevant to the ideas of the birth, life, family, generation, blood relationship, death. These terms were connected with the cult of the god thunderer and his wife, the goddess of the sun, in the Scythian/Sarmatian time. One can offer the following parallels in the Indo-European terminology: cf. Old Indian kana ‘to shine; spark; drop; grain’, Russian kon’ ‘horse’, German Knabe ‘boy; youth’, Russian skonchat’sya ‘to die’, konchina ‘death’, konets ‘end’, Russian vulgar kanat’ ‘to leave’, English knell. The horse is the symbol of fertility in the Russian decorative art; in the Russian beliefs the horse is connected with the sun, vegetation and water (Maslova 1978: 157, 163).
Two horses of the god thunderer are comparable with two symmetric ideas: “dawn” and “sunset”, “spring” and “autumn”, “birth” and “death”, “east” and “west”. A custom is known at the Russian North (Russia): in a performance a youth in a role of a corpse, a girl and several mummers looking like horses participate (Sleptsova and Morozov 1996). I suggest that in this form a reflex of burial customs of the Scythians, Sarmatians, Meotians is preserved. The “horses” represent the demons of the thunderstorm, they transmit the soul of the dead person to the other world. As a parallel one can mention some details of a Scythian burial custom known in the History (IV: 71) by Herodotus. According to this source, a Scythian king was buried together with one of his concubines and some of his horses.
In the Russian beliefs the fiery arrows are arms of the god thunderer; the arrows correlate with the thunderstorm and solar symbolism; besides, a spear and solar rays are compared (Afanasiev 1865: 247, 261; 1996: 146, 166, 242).
Photo 1 – A casing of windows of a house in the village Pavlovskaya (the Krasnodar region, Russia).
Photo 2 – A casing of windows of a house in the village Pavlovskaya (the Krasnodar region, Russia).
Now let us examine photos 1 and 2. The casings of the windows are decorated with the similar designs. Here we can see a round with two arrows turned in different sides. In the first case each arrow contains a <-shaped sign which corresponds to Scythian/Sarmatian sign 77 ka, ga, cf. Scythian/Sarmatian ka, ga, ko, go ‘arrow; thunderbolt; the sun; solar beam; eye; horse; ox; cow; cattle; milk; house’. The round contains four dots (small rounds), and the number four denotes four cardinals. In the second case every arrow contains a smaller one. In the centre of this construction there is a round decorated with a six-pointed star. According to B.A. Rybakov (1981: 305, 325, 336, 419, 451-459), it is a basic symbol of the Slavonic god thunderer. One can offer a Russian proverb, kak
grom sredi yasnogo neba ‘as the thunder in the centre of a clear sky’. A wooden detail of a Russian loom is decorated with images of two horses and a round with a six-pointed star (Rybakov 1987: 507, figure 85 [2], [7]). In my opinion, this is a reflex of myths about Indra in the Slavonic culture. In the Scythian/Sarmatian and Bosporan plots a six-pointed star symbolises the sun and thunderstorm deities (6).
Let us consider several patterns of the Slavonic decorative art. On a Russian wooden sculpture (the 16th century) of Saint Nicholas of Mozhaysk there are some signs (Bocharov 1987: 140, figure 36). Here we see two similar groups of symbols. Each structure includes a rhombus surrounded by four <-shaped signs. It is a reflex of the Scythian/Sarmatian script where the sign “rhombus” ay is a solar symbol, <-shaped signs correspond to the Scythian/Sarmatian signs 77 ka, ga, cf. Scythian/Sarmatian ka, ga, ko, go ‘arrow; thunderbolt; the sun; solar beam; eye; horse; ox; cow; cattle; milk; house’. Thus, the ancient records with such signs are associated with the symbolism of the sun, fertility and abundance. Let us consider a Russian embroidery (the end of the
19th century) (Mertsalova 1988: 169, photo 152). Here there are several birds and some other symbols. Two birds are decorated with four common signs that correspond to Scythian/Sarmatian signs 77 ka, ga (cf. Scythian/Sarmatian ka, ga, ko, go ‘arrow; thunderbolt; the sun; solar beam; eye; horse; ox; cow; cattle; milk; house’), “rhombus” (the sun symbolism), 80 Ma (the goddess of the sun and fire) and “rhombus” (the sun symbolism). I suppose that all the birds in this picture demonstrate the ideas of the sun and thunderstorm. In the Slavonic beliefs the thunder, lightning, cloud and wind appear as the image of the bird (Afanasiev 1869: 159). In the Russian fairy-tales the Fiery Bird Zhar-ptitsa ‘The Heat-Bird’ is associated with the sun,
fire, thunderstorm; this bird is an incarnation of the god thunderer (Afanasiev 1865: 512-513; ; 1868: 311; 1996: 149-150, 152, 239, 250). As a parallel let us consider a Scythian golden artifact of 4th – 3rd century B.C. from the Scythian barrow Chmyrova Mogila (Ukraine) (Melyukova 1989: 343, table 38 [39]). Here the figure of a bird is decorated with the Scythian/Sarmatian signs “round” (the sun symbolism) and 80 Ma (the goddess of the sun and fire). I suppose that it is the representation of the sun/thunderstorm bird. Let us examine some Old Russian female ornaments (Rybakov 1987: 584-585, figure 102 [a], [b]). In B.A. Rybakov’s opinion, these specimens are decorated with figures of mermaids, horns and buds. In both cases I also distinguish the Scythian/Sarmatian sign 72 pe/be, cf. Scythian/Sarmatian
pe/be, pay/bay ‘to beat; beating; strength; force; power; reproduction; increase’. It is the symbol of fertility and abundance. Let us examine a Russian holiday head-dress of a bride (the beginning of 20th century) (Mertsalova 1988: 26, photo 16). Here triangles and some other signs are depicted. I compare the triangle with Scythian/Sarmatian sign 72 pe/be, cf. Scythian/Sarmatian pe/be, pay/bay ‘to beat; beating; strength; force; power; reproduction; increase’. It is the symbol of fertility and abundance.
Now one can examine some Scythian/Sarmatian signs incised on Scythian arrow-heads. I read the Scythian/Sarmatian sign “cross” ay on a Sarmatian arrow-head, cf. Scythian/Sarmatian ay ‘the sun; the World Tree; life, vitality; vigour; long life; egg’ (Rjabchikov 2002b: figure 13). Furthermore, some Scythian/Sarmatian signs (for instance, a six-pointed star) incised on Scythian arrow-heads are associated with the symbolism of the sun, thunderstorm, fire, sky, Universe (Rjabchikov 2004d). Let us examine signs engraved on some arrow-heads of the Scythian time (Republic of Altai, Russia) (Kocheev 1994: 58). I distinguish the following Scythian/Sarmatian symbols: 1) sign 04 te; 2) two signs “cross” ay; 3) signs 12-12 so-so. Scythian/Sarmatian te
(ta) means ‘the sun; fire’, cf. Old Indian tejas ‘fire; heat; intense heat; brightness’ (7); Scythian/Sarmatian ay-ay means ‘the very bright sun; the summer solstice’; Scythian/Sarmatian So-so ‘The Very Bright (Sun)’ is one of the names of the god thunderer. As a parallel let us examine a clasp of a horse trapping from an ancient Turkic burial of the second half of the 1st millennium A.D.; this artifact is housed in the Minusinsk Museum (Minusinsk, Republic of Khakasia, Russia) (Kubarev 2004: 220, figure 1 [17]). Here I also distinguish Scythian/Sarmatian signs 12-12 So-so (the name of the god thunderer). It is important to keep in mind that the descendants of the Scythians of this area could exert some influence on the ancient Turkic culture (8). Now one can examine signs
engraved on some Scythian arrow-heads (Ukraine) (Alexeev 1983: 74, table 1 [5A], [5B]; [8]; [10]; [18B]; [19]; [20]; [23]; [24]; [25]; [30]). I distinguish the following Scythian/Sarmatian symbols: 1) 77 ka, ga; 2) sign “cross” ay; 3) sign “round” (the solar symbol); 4) sign 04 te. Scythian/Sarmatian ka, ga, ko, go mean ‘arrow; thunderbolt; the sun; solar beam; eye; horse; ox; cow; cattle; milk; house’; Scythian/Sarmatian ay means ‘the sun; the World Tree; life, vitality; vigour; long life; egg’; Scythian/Sarmatian te (ta) means ‘the sun; fire’.
I conclude that the Scythian/Sarmatian sign 77 ka, ga (the thunderstorm symbol) is engraved on a number of Scythian arrow-heads. The six-pointed star (the thunderstorm sign) is engraved on one Scythian arrow-head. So the corresponding symbols on the casings of the windows have Scythian/Sarmatian origin. One can offer an indirect interpretation of Scythian/Sarmatian ka, ga, ko, go. Saint John Chrysostom pointed in the Speech Delivered in a Church in Honour of Paul that the Scythians and Sarmatians translated the Holy Scripture into their language. The author found some hints of this ancient translation (Rjabchikov 2002a: 78, 90-93; 2004e: 13-14). Let us study the name Evga, a Slavonic archaic form of the name Eve (literally ‘Living’ in Hebrew) from the
Bible (Kireevsky 1986: 38-39; Diachenko 1993: 164). I think that the form Evga includes Scythian/Sarmatian ga ‘life; living’. Actually, Scythian/Sarmatian ka, ga, ko, go ‘the sun; solar beam; house’ are a quite correct designation of the idea of life.
Photo 3 – Casings of a pediment and windows of a house in the village Pavlovskaya (the Krasnodar region, Russia).
Let us consider photo 3. The pediment of this house is decorated with semicircles and arrow/spear-like symbols. The windows are decorated with a group of crosses, so that they look like a group of rhombi, too. The parallels in the Scythian/Sarmatian writing system are quite clear: one can offer Scythian/Sarmatian signs 12 so (cf. Scythian/Sarmatian so ‘the sun; shine; heat; light; eye; bright’), “arrows/spears” (the symbolism of the sun and thunderstorm), “crosses/rhombi” ay (cf. Scythian/Sarmatian ay ‘the sun; the World Tree; life, vitality; vigour; long life; egg’). Russian expressions ey-Bogu ‘truly!’, ey-ey ‘truly!’ contain Russian ey (without an exact translation) and bog ‘god’. It is
possible that Russian ey originates from Scythian/Sarmatian ay/ey ‘the sun; the World Tree; life, vitality; vigour; long life; egg’ (perhaps, one of the names of the Scythian/Sarmatian sun deity).
Photo 4 – A casing of a pediment of a house in the town Goryachy Klyuch (the Krasnodar region, Russia).
Photo 5 – A detail of the previous photo.
Let us consider photos 4 and 5. The pediment of this house is decorated with arrow/spear-like symbols. It is notable that some symbols are united with two semicircles. I conclude that here there are Scythian/Sarmatian signs 12-12 So-so ‘The Very Bright (Sun)’, it is one of the names of the god thunderer.
Photo 6 – A casing of windows of a house in the town Goryachy Klyuch (the Krasnodar region, Russia).
Let us consider photo 6. The upper pattern looks like two arrows directed in different sides. Between the arrows there is the sign “rhombus”. The lower pattern contains some signs correlated with Scythian/Sarmatian signs 80 Ma (the name of the fire goddess), “arrow”, “round” (the symbols of the sun, fire, thunderstorm), 12 so (cf. Scythian/Sarmatian so ‘the sun; shine; heat; light; eye; bright’), 59 ta (cf. Scythian/Sarmatian ta ‘the sun; fire’).
Photo 7 – Casings of a pediment and windows of a house in the village Pavlovskaya (the Krasnodar region, Russia).
Let us consider photo 7. The pediment of this house is decorated with arrow/spear-like symbols. The casings of windows are decorated with some signs correlated with Scythian/Sarmatian signs 80 Ma (the name of the fire goddess), “rhombus” and “arrow”.
Photo 8 – A casing of windows of a house in the village Pavlovskaya (the Krasnodar region, Russia).
Let us consider photo 8. This window is decorated with some signs correlated with the same Scythian/Sarmatian signs.
Photo 9 – A casing of windows of a house in the village Pavlovskaya (the Krasnodar region, Russia).
Let us consider photo 9. This window is decorated with a round and two arrows. On either side a T-shaped sign is placed. It corresponds to Scythian/Sarmatian sign 07 di, cf. Scythian/Sarmatian Ti/Di ‘the god of the sky’ (9), Old Slavonic Dyy ‘the sky god’, Old Indian div ‘sky’, Dyaus ‘the sky god’, Russian tucha ‘rain cloud’, dut’ ‘to blow’, Old Indian da ‘heat’, dah ‘to burn’, dha ‘wealth; granting; placing’. It is the symbolism of the sun, sky, thunderstorm and fire.
Photo 10 – Casings of a pediment and windows of a house in the village Pavlovskaya (the Krasnodar region, Russia).
Photo 11 – Casings of a pediment and windows of a house in the village Krylovskaya (the Krasnodar region, Russia).
Let us consider photo 10. The pediment of this house is decorated with arrow/spear-like symbols. They are marked by rounds. These designs are relevant to the symbolism of the sun and thunderstorm. This window is decorated with two rhombi and two images resembling fishes. An arrow is seen on each fish. In addition, the windows shown in photo 11 are ornamented with fish-like designs. I suggest that in the Slavonic decorative art the fish motif goes back to the Slavonic beliefs in mermaids, to histories about Scythian, Sarmatian and Meotian women-warriors who are well known as Amazons. This term contain Scythian/Sarmatian maz-/mas- ‘stone; mountain’ which is inscribed in several Scythian/Sarmatian texts. First, the Scythian/Sarmatian word 80 17 maza (10) is presented in a Meotian text of the Maykop slab (the 3rd
century B.C.; near Maykop, Republic of Adygea, Russia) (Rjabchikov 1998: 23). Second, at least the two Scythian/Sarmatian words 80-12 maso are presented on a silver gilded rhyton from the Meotian barrow Ulyap No 4 (the 5th century B.C.; near the village Ulyap, Republic of Adygea, Russia) (Rjabchikov 2005b: 136). Third, let us consider a Scythian/Sarmatian golden bracelet (Ukraine) (Solomonik 1959: 131, No 70, figure 70). Here the two Scythian/Sarmatian words 80-12 maso are presented. Scythian/Sarmatian maso ‘stone; mountain’ is comparable with Lycian masana ‘deities’ (11). As a parallel for the Slavonic fish-like designs let us examine a Scythian golden sheath from the Scythian barrow Kelermes No 1 (the 7th – 6th century B.C.; near the village Kelermesskaya, Krasnodar region, Russia)
(Anfimov 1987: 58-59, photos). In my opinion, one of the images depicted on the sheath is a mermaid/fish-like personage who throws an arrow. This strange being is riding a mysterious animal with the body and feet of a bull and with the head of a gryphon. A zigzag is represented on the animal’s haunch. I suppose that a religious rite close connected with Scythian beliefs in the sun and thunderstorm deities is shown in this picture. The gryphon, otherwise the winged lion/eagle, denotes the roar of a lion (the thunder) and the rapidity of an eagle (the lightning). In compliance with the Tactics (35.3-5) by Flavius Arrianus, the Scythian flags looked like dragons which let out a whistle during a strong wind. Perhaps, these images represented gryphons indeed. On the other hand, the bull is a symbol of the god thunderer in conformity with the Rig-Veda (I.10.10). The Scythian/Sarmatian sign “zigzag” is one of thunderstorm symbols.
A Meotian (Sindian) golden plate of the middle of 5th century B.C. discovered in the Meotian barrow Seven Brothers No 4 (near the village Varenikovskaya, the Krasnodar region, Russia) is housed in the Hermitage (St. Petersburg, Russia). The ornament of this artifact is shown in figure 10.
Figure 10
Here a lion is falling upon a deer. The deer is the symbol of the heavens in the Scythian/Sarmatian and Slavonic beliefs (Rybakov 1981: 60ff; Afanasiev 1869: 464; Maslova 1978: 163; Rjabchikov 2002a: 16ff; 2002c). As has been mentioned above, the lion is the symbol of the Indo-Aryan god Indra. According to the Rig-Veda (VI.44.22), Indra known as Indu ‘Spark; Drop’ killed his father. On the other hand, the Rig-Veda (III.25.1) informs that Agni is a son of the god Dyaus of a clear sky. Besides, according to the Rig-Veda (I.109.1; VI.59.2), Indra and Agni are kinsmen and brothers. It may be inferred that in the plot Indra (the lion) kills his father Dyaus (the deer, cf. Old Indian harina ‘the sun; white colour; having rays; deer’). I suppose that these symbols were used in some ancient rituals to decrease the heat in summer.
Let us consider some Scythian/Sarmatian symbols presented on the lion’s body. The upper part contains the sign “round” (the sun, fire) as well as the combination of signs “round” (the sun, fire) and 77 ka, ga (the thunderstorm symbol). The lower part contains the combination of signs “wavy line” (the water) and “round” (the sun, fire). I read the Scythian/Sarmatian *indu ‘spark; drop’ and ra ‘the sun’ which form the name Indra.
According to a Russian folk source, Golubinaya kniga (The Book of a Pigeon), Indrik is a beast which is the father of other beasts. Indrik lives in a holy mountain, and this personage is connected with the sun and the waters flowing underground (Afanasiev 1996: 23, 27). I suppose that the name Indrik is the Old Russian form of the name of Indra. In fact, Indra is related to a lion in compliance with the Rig-Veda (I.174.3). Furthermore, Indra is associated with the sun, fire and rains, see the Rig-Veda (I.7.2; II.11.8). Then, the Rig-Veda (I.155.1) tells of Indra who is standing on the top of mountains. One can study the name Parjanya- of an Indo-Aryan god and of Old Indian term of a thundercloud, cf. also Old Indian parvata- ‘mountain’. I distinguish
Proto-Indian stems *par- ‘height; mountain’ and *jan- ‘to be born; to appear; to grow’ in Old Indian parjanya-, cf. Old Indian para ‘highest; supreme; guardian; keeper’, bala ‘strength; force; power; vigour’, Proto-Indian *pala ‘strength; force; power; vigour’, Old Iranian (Avesta) barezahi ‘height; mountain’, Old Indian jan ‘to be born; to appear; to grow’. I distinguish Proto-Indian stems *par- ‘height; mountain’ and *vat- ‘water’ in Old Indian parvata- ‘mountain’, cf. Old Indian uda ‘water’, Hittite vadar ‘water’, Russian voda ‘water’, English water. Thus, in the archaic beliefs a mountain and a
thundercloud are the similar terms. Interestingly, the expression “the waters of the mountains” is presented in the Rig-Veda (V.59.7). Moreover, in the Old Slavonic beliefs the mountain denotes the cloud, the underground sources has a direct relationship to the rains (Afanasiev 1865: 619-621).
NOTES
1. See Rjabchikov 2001a.
2. See also Rjabchikov 2002a: 10, 43, 93-95. Besides, Russian tolpa and gur’ba ‘crowd’ contain Scythian/Sarmatian stem pe/be ‘increase’, cf. Old Indian tol ‘to weight’, Russian tolsty ‘thick’, Old Indian kula ‘family; race; community; tribe; caste; the residence of a family; the front or fore part’ as well.
3. See also Rjabchikov 2001b; 2001c; 2001d; 2002a: 6ff.
4. See also Rjabchikov 2005a.
5. See Rjabchikov 2004b: 34-35.
6. See also Rjabchikov 2004c: 28.
7. See also Rjabchikov 2001b ; 2002a: 43.
8. See also Dashibalov 2004: 265; Korol 2004: 103.
9. Cf., for instance, some Scythian/Sarmatian records. First, sign 37 Ti (the symbolism of the sky deity) is presented on a wall of a house in the Scythian Naples (Rjabchikov 2002a: 9). Second, sign 07 Di (the symbolism of the sky deity) is inscribed on a Sarmatian bronze cauldron from a Sarmatian barrow (the Krasnodar region, Russia) (Rjabchikov 2002a: 81).
10. In this case sign 80 ma resembles the Greek letter M.
11. I suppose that some ancestresses of the Sarmatians-Amazons originated from Lycia. Its inhabitants are called Solim- in the History (I: 173) by Herodotus. On the other hand, the same source informs that in that country the matriarchy was widespread. According to the History (IV: 110-116) by Herodotus, the Description of the World (I: 19) by Pomponius Mela and other ancient sources the matriarchy was widespread among the Sarmatians and Meotians.
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