ANIMISTIC BELIEFS IN TRADITIONAL SHAMANISM OF THE TURKIC PEOPLES OF SOUTHERN SIBERIA

The article is devoted to the consideration of animistic beliefs associated with
traditional shamanism of the Turkic peoples lived in the region of southern Siberia.
The author defines periodization of this phenomenon as well as basic problems and
difficulties in the studying of the Altaic shamanism. According to the worldview of the
Turkic peoples, special attention is paid to review of mythological characters that
inhabit the natural world everywhere. The main theme in this paper is the role of a
shaman who was intermediary between the world of humans and the world of spirits
and whose main function was maintenance equilibrium and harmony in the world.