37

The yurt-dwelling nomads of Tuva,herding sheep, and wanderingacross the vastness of the steppes,seem to have been there for ever.But if you dig in Tuva and otherareas of Central Asia, you may findtraces of an earlier, gold-rich, war-like culture whose stunning artmixed the fabulous with thedomestic.

The nomadic Scythian culturestretched right across the steppesof Central Asia from the Crimea insouthern Russia to WesternChina, and dates from around700BCE to 0CE.

Genetic tests on humanremains found in gravesshow the Scythians were ofmixed blood, but mostly ofIranian and Europeanorigin, with someindividuals having a moreAsian heritage.

It appears, however, thatthey shared a commonspoken language (althoughthere was no written one),and maintained well-usedtrade routes that connectedEastern Europe to China.

They were expert horsemen,being some of the earliest peoplesto ride and use horse-drawnwagons, in which they sometimeslived - a little like gypsy caravans.This skill with horses was how theymaintained their vast empire andkept the trade routes open.

Although they were nomadic,the Scythians had a single king-like leader, tp whom different clanchieftains paid homage. They wereexpert warriors, and their rich elitewore bronze helmets and chain-mail, with round shields made ofleather, wood, or iron, oftendecorated with a central goldornament in the form of an animal.

They used a double-curved bow,shooting over their horse's leftshoulder, and also swords, thesheaths of which were oftenencased in embossed goldwork withivory or gem-stone inlays. Manycarried spears with bronze terminalsdepicting real or mythical beasts.

And underneath all thesplendidly crafted gold, bronze-work and ornate costumes, theScythians also decoratedthemselves with intricatezoomorphic tattoos.

The Scythian's horses werealso often dressed in beautiful and

ornate costumes, with gildedbridles, bits and saddles; manyparts of which have survived ingraves excavated from the oftenfrozen ground.

These frozen tombs are found inTuva, areas of Southern Russia,Kazyktstan and other places acrossthe Eurasian plains.

Because the graves are oftenfrozen in perma-frost, the weaponsand domestic items, jewellery,

clothing, textiles and even theremains of the deceased are oftenin an incredible state ofpreservation.

SHOCK AND AWETheir extreme war-likenessgeneratedmuch fear andfame withthesurrounding

Golden Riders of theGrassLands

THE ART OF THE SCYTHIANS

NICHOLAS

BREEZE WOOD

Top: two Scythian lovers sit under a tree, the man’s head in the

woman’s lap; their horses are held by a servant.

Gold belt ornamentC4‐5th BCE. Southern Siberia

The wooded hills and valleysof the Tuvan steppes

Left: Golden griffin’shead C4th BCE.

Southern Russia

SH ISSUE 64 2009

THIS IS A FREE ARTICLE FROM SACRED HOOP MAGAZINE. Sacred Hoop is an independent magazineabout Shamanism and Animistic Spirituality, based in West Wales, published four times a year since 1993.

You may share this in any non-commercial way but reference to www.SacredHoop.org must be made if it is reprinted anywhere.To get a very special low-cost subscription to Sacred Hoop please visit : www.SacredHoop.org/offer.html

peoples.Herodotus, the Greekhistorian, wrote: “The

Scythian soldierscrapes the scalp

clean of flesh andsoftening it byrubbingbetween thehands, uses itthenceforthas a napkin.The Scyth isproud ofthese scalpsand hangsthem from his

bridle rein; thegreater the

number of suchnapkins that a man

can show, the morehighly is he esteemed

among them. Manymake themselves cloaks by

sewing a quantity of thesescalps together.”

Scythians captured Persia,Syria and Judea and evenreached the borders ofEgypt, who quicklymade a peacedeal withthem.

And it wasnot just themen who wereto be feared;the GreekhistorianDiodorus Siculuswrote that Scythianwomen 'fight like themen and are nowiseinferior to them in bravery'.

It was alsorecorded byanothercontemporaryhistorian that aScythian womanhad to kill threeenemies in battle before she couldwed.

ART AND SPIRITThe Scythians were an animisticculture,

with shamans called enaree whothey esteemed highly. Because oftheir war-like nature, weapons were

considered sacred items,and special ceremonieswere performed for anyweapon capable ofkilling.

They made sacrificesof sheep and goats, likemodern day Tuvans, but

also sacrificedprisoners of war tothe gods and spirits

of the ThreeWorlds of theshaman’s cosmos.

Loyalty to theculture’s world

view and spiritualitywas total. A Scythian wishing tofollow other spiritual beliefs faced adeath sentence.

Although the exact nature ofScythian shamanism is not known,the one thing that all historiansremark on is their use of cannabis,especially in relationship to a cult ofthe dead, which was an importantaspect of Scythian culture.

The stag seems to have beenan important cultural animal, and

many gold, bronze

and

SH ISSUE 64 200938

Above: back ofbronze (shaman’s)mirror, decoratedwith stags C7th-8th BCE. Tuva

Right: ritual cupwith a bear-shaped handle.Carved frombirch, the cup’sshape has de-formed over timeC6th-7th BCE.Southern Russia

Ukok Plateau in Tuva, a sacred place to the native people,is dotted by many Scythian burial mounds (kurgans)

Below: golden cat, probably aleopard.C4th BCE. Southern Russia

Centre: Bronze stag C4th BCE. Tuva

wooden figures of them have beenfound. Other animals include thebear, wolf and eagle; and ofcourse, their beloved horses.

Despite their appalling violenceand war-like nature, they were thecreators of stunningly beautifulartifacts.

The Scythians were expertsmiths, sometimes making objectsof solid gold or bronze, orsometimes wrapping beautifullycarved wooden objects in gold foil. Itneeds to be remembered whenlooking at their materialculture that they werenomadic, and this makes theresults of their craft even morespectacular.

The world’s very first carpetshave also been found frozen inScythian tombs, especailly those

from Pazyryk (seeSacred Hoop Issue

59)

THE CELTICCONNECTION

Some of the famous tartan-clad, red-haired ‘celtic’ Tarimmummies, found in Xinjiang, China,date to the Scythian period, and ifyou compare Celtic and Scythianartwork you will often see strikingsimilarities.

The exact origin of the Celts ofWestern Europe is not completelyunderstood, but it is known thatthere was what is called a ‘proto-celtic’ culture in eastern Europebetween around 700-450 BCE

Named after an archaelogical siteat Hallstatt, Austria; the HallstattCelts were expert metalworkers, and like the Scythians,they were also expert horsemen.

Hallstatt burials show somedistinctive trademarks of theScythian culture, and this period ofhistory in Eastern Europe wasturbulent, with many peoples,including the Scythians, fightingfor control.

It is a very plausible theory thatthe war-like Scythians of thesteppes were in fact the proto-celts, who eventually moved toWestern Europe, bringing theirartwork and shamanic practiceswith them.

Scythian burial mound(kurgan) at Pazyryk, Tuva

Left: bronze horse chestdecoration of two camelsfighting and biting C4th BCE.

Southern Russia

Above: very Celtic-looking golden

antelope C4th BCE.Southern Russia

Left: a golden wolfcarries a sheep’shead in its jaws

C4th BCE. SouthernRussia

Left:carved

cedar wood stagwith stiff leatherantlers C5th BCE.

Tuva

Below: Scythianarcher on a horse.C4th BCE. Southern

Russia

SH ISSUE 64 2009 39