Buga is a creator god and omnipotent highest power in the mythology of the
Tungusic peoples
Tungusic peoples are an ethno-linguistic group formed by the speakers of Tungusic languages (or Manchu–Tungus languages). They are native to Siberia and Northeast Asia.
The Tungusic phylum is divided into two main branches, northern (Evenic or ...
.
Etymology and Ethnography
For the Tungus the term ''buga'' (also ''buya'', ''boya'', ''boga'') refers to the greatest, omnipotent, eternal being. The same word also means either "sky", "universe", and may also refer to terms corresponding to "world" or "locality". The word is not taboo and is used in common speech. According to Shirokogoroff the term is an old one, and was not introduced by Christian missionaries.
For the eastern Tungus ''buga'' is a remote figure whom they have no description of, and nor do their shamans connect with it/him. The ''buga'' forms an exception in that it is one spirit than cannot be mastered by a shaman. Shirokogoroff states that all Tungus know how to pray/make sacrifices to ''buga'' and that activity is done without the intercession of shaman.
Furthermore, ''bugady'' are a tribe's sacred places. Equivalent names for a supreme deity are ''Es'' (
Ket language
The Ket language, or more specifically ''Imbak'' and formerly known as Yenisei Ostyak , is a Siberian language long thought to be an isolate, the sole surviving language of a Yeniseian language family. It is spoken along the middle Yenisei b ...
), ''Nga'' (
Enc language
ENC may refer to:
* Eastern Naval Command of the Indian Navy
* Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy, Massachusetts
* Eastern North Carolina
* Effective number of codons
* Electronic navigational chart
* En language
* ENC (company), a bus manufactur ...
), and ''Turum'' or ''Torym'' (
Ostyak language).
The Tungus term 'buga' is similar to the
Mongolian term ''bogdo'' (holy),
Old Persian language ''baga'' (god), and the
Kassite language
Kassite (also Cassite) was a language spoken by the Kassites in Mesopotamia from approximately the 18th to the 7th century BC. From the 16th to 12th centuries BC, kings of Kassite origin ruled in Babylon until they were overthrown by the Elami ...
''bugas'' (god).
The
Even language term for the highest deity (the creator) is/was ''Nalban Omgo Ogyn Buga'', the proper name in the same language is ''Hovky-Sovky''; in the
Evenk language
Evenki (Ewenkī), formerly known as Tungus or Solon, is the largest member of the northern group of Tungusic languages, a group which also includes Even, Negidal, and the more closely related Oroqen language. The name is sometimes wrongly given ...
the god's name is ''Shavaky-Savaky''. The "upper" and "lower" worlds in those people's shamanic worldview are also referred to as ''Dulyn Buga'' and ''Harpy Buga''.
Tungusic creation myth
In a
Tungusic creation myth
The Tungusic creation myths are traditional stories of the creation of the world belonging to the Tungusic peoples of Siberia.
Account of creation
In one account of the Tungusic creation myth, Buga, their central deity, set fire to a vast primor ...
Buga creates both the earth (using fire to create it within a watery void), as well as creating man and woman from fire, earth, iron, and water. In the myth he is opposed by
Buninka, a devil figure, who becomes responsible for evil persons after death.
See also
*
Tungusic creation myth
The Tungusic creation myths are traditional stories of the creation of the world belonging to the Tungusic peoples of Siberia.
Account of creation
In one account of the Tungusic creation myth, Buga, their central deity, set fire to a vast primor ...
References
Sources
*, citing the monograph ''Evenks'' of
Galina Varlamova
Galina Ivanovna Varlamova or Keptuke (native name) (18 January 1951 – 19 June 2019) (russian: Галина Ивановна Варламова, Кэптукэ) was an Evenk writer, philologist and folklorist. She was an expert in Evenk language ...
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Asian gods
Tungusic mythology
Creator gods
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