Chibirov L.A. On a Separate Indo-Scythian-Ossetian Parallel in the Scientific Heritage of T.A. Guriev. Print

Among numerous works of T. A. Guriev on the Narts’ epic and on the history of words and names the theory about the origin of the theonym «Afsati», undoubtedly one of the oldest deities in the OssetianNarts’ pantheon, patron of hunters and ruler over wild animals, occupies a special place. V. I. Abaev elaborated the version of the substrate origin of this image, reinforced it with Caucasian parallels, although eventually came to the conclusion about the possibility of reviewing his hypothesis. Based on the complex and comparative analysis of folklore and ethnographic material, archaeological data T. A. Guriev comes to the conclusion, that this image has quite reliable parallels in many Indo-European peoples and languages and that it reveals very archaic features that go back to the time Indo-Iranian and Indo-European community. Etymological analysis of the name of the deity also indicates its Indo-European character. Guriev proved that: a) the Ossetian word fos / fons has quite reliable parallels in many Indo-European languages; b) this popular Caucasian deity Afsati should be considered in the context of Indo-Iranian influences; c) the name Afsati should be traced back to the archaic Indian Pasipati, in which pasi- ‘cattle’, paiti- ‘host’, i.e. ‘the owner of the cattle’. The importance of this theory is not only the scientific truth achieved, it may also serve as a model of interdisciplinary research.

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