Ethno-Cultural Code of Altai

The article reveals the essence of the ethno-cultural code of the indigenous people of Altai, based on a complex of stable worldview concepts: the mythologema of the crossroads, the filosofeme “Jol” (“Path”), the sacral center concepts, etc., which make up the framework of the spiritual system of the nomadic peoples of Eurasia – Tengrianism. The study exposes key markers of the mentality of the indigenous inhabitants of Altai, manifested both in everyday life and in ritual practices; their actualization in the current sociocultural situation is substantiated and their potential for developing a strategy for the sociocultural development of the region, based on the integration of the biosphere and noosphere potential of the territory with its cultural code is revealed. It is emphasized that the mentality of the Altai people is free from religious and political dogmas; it is sensitive to changes that occur in the natural and social environment; it is focused on events occurring today. Methods. The methods of structural and functional and semiotic analysis were applied in the study. It is concluded that the sacral centers on the territory of Altai are of great significance in modern conditions, so the new model of socio-economic development of the region – the noosphere model – is based on the synthesis of science, ecology, veneration of the holy places of their people, ethno-cultural diversity and natural laws of social structure as the basis for the stability of life.

Altai, nomadic culture, sacral center, Tengrianism, the mythologema of the crossroads, the filosofeme “Jol” (“Path”), noospheric model of society development.