EASTERN RELIGIOUS MOTIFS ON THE BELT MOUNTS OF SUBOTSI GROUP, KUSHNARENKOVO CULTURE AND LOMOVATOVO CULTURE

Abstract

The spread of Buddhism from the Indian subcontinent in the northern direction towards Bactria began in the 4th century B.C. In the 1st century A.D. its spread in the steppe area was continued by the Kushans settling in Bactria. Trade between Europe, Middle and Far East at the Central Asian stations of the Great Silk Road was regulated by the Sogdians. They were also the mediators in the relations between individual cultures and religions. A signifi cant role in the spread of Buddhism was played by the Sogdians speaking the East-Iranian language related to the Kushan language. The spread of Buddhism in the steppe area has also been confirmed by Chinese travelers. During his trip to India in the 8th century, a Buddhist monk Wu-k'ung visited the territories of the Western Turkic Khaganate which was under the rule of the Turgesh, where he discovered the attributes of Buddhist religious life. These facts have been widely accepted by historiographers. Another accepted fact is that the toreutics of the ancient Hungarians was infl uenced by the Sogdians. In addition to the technical methods of metal processing, masters of the Sogdian origin, or Hungarian masters having acquired the metal processing techniques from Sogdian artisans, could have been familiar with the myths and legends associated with Buddhism, which were spread across the steppe area. Therefore, Sogdian artisans probably depicted the motifs of Buddhist iconography, equally known to themselves and their customers, on the items they crafted. Patterns on belt plates discovered in Subbottsy village, burial ground 2, indicate their relation to ancient Hungarian findings from Magna Hungaria and the Carpathian Basin. However, images of a man sitting down in the lotus position (padmasana) or dancing winged girls/angels have not yet been discovered in the territory of Hungary. Findings of the Subbottsy type include belt set with a dancing girl/angels from Katerinovka. The position of the right hand of a man sitting down in the lotus position, or a stick with a T-shaped tip in his right hand have not been discovered in the Buddhist iconography. Therefore, it cannot be established which Buddha or Bodhisattva is represented by the sitting man from Subbottsy village. However, the dancing girl/angels can be identifi ed as the Apsarasas of the Buddhist iconography on the basis of their characteristic features. Buddhist motifs have also been traced in the territory of the Kushnarenkovo culture. They include a belt tip with the image of a man with four arms the grave No. 3 of barrow No. 3 at Ishimbayevo burial ground, which can be identifi ed as Avalokitesvara (in the Chenrezik Lamaism).