Garegin S. Tumanyan^a,#

^aInstitute of Archaeology and Ethnography of NAS of the Republic of Armenia, Yerevan, Armenia

^#E-mail: gstumanyan@gmail.com

Keywords: horse, sacrifice, funeral rite, cult, Indo-Europeans, archaeological complex, burial, deceased.

This paper investigates the problem of horse sacrifice in funeral rites using data of Bronze and Early Iron Age sepulchres in Armenia. To begin with, the study highlights the cultic-ritual role of a horse as a mythological creature, sacramental animal, divine attribute, etc. In this regard, the Armenian epos and petroglyphs are discussed. Horse sacrifice in other rites is also reviewed. As horse is the closest-to-human animal for Indo-Europeans, the author refers widely to the known archaeological and ethnographical evidence on the subject not only from Armenia but also from other countries in discussing the role and significance of the horse sacrifice in funeral rites. The presence of horse in sepulchral complexes demonstrates that human perceptions linked this animal to the abode of the dead. The tie between the horse and the next world also indicates that, in the beliefs of those times, this animal possibly served as a mediator between the worlds. Ethnographic and folkloristic sources and explorations help to reconstruct the main function of the horse in funeral rites. Most probably, ritual horse assumed the role of transferring the deceased from this world to the other, which is one of the most important functions contributing to the revival of the deceased.

DOI: 10.31857/S0869606323010208