SEVERAL OSSETIAN OBJECTS WITH TAMGAS

Abstract

5 Ossetian objects of the 16th–19th cc. from the different mountainous regions are analyzed (Fig. 13) with graffiti including the tamga signs (nysan). The ancient image of the labyrinth in Makhchesk Village (Figs. 1–6) shows the traces of a one-time action with 6 tamgas of local and Balkar nobility. The tower in the village of Bajin / Bagini in the early period depicts three tamgas of all the clans who lived there (Figs. 8–10). The fortified houses (ganakh) with a single tamga in Okrokana and Edys / Edisi are also interesting (Fig. 11). The stamp for cattle dedicated to the all-Ossetian Rekom Sanctuary (Fig. 12) belonged to the Dudarov princes, who had various connections among the Ossetians and neighboring peoples. In each studied object there are the emblems of ancient origins from the nomadic Sarmatians, the ancestors of the Ossetians, and sometimes (Figs. 1, 2; 11, 2) — Kangju state in Southern Kazakhstan associated with the Sarmatians. The studied complexes once again demonstrate the old contacts of Ossetian elite with neighboring Kabarda peoples, Balkars and Ingush.