THE CONCEPT OF THE WORLD TREE IN THE UKRAINIAN ETHNO-CULTURAL TRADITION AND IN THE ANCIENT INDIAN CULTURE

Abstract

ThearticleexaminestheconceptoftheWorldTreeas a dominantelementintheUkrainianethno-cult Abstract. The article examines the concept of the World Tree as a dominant element in the Ukrainian ethno-cultural tradition and the culture of Ancient India. The image of the World Tree is the basis of archaic culture and is represented through the prism of mythology and the worldview system of our ancestors. Attention is focused on the fact that the World Tree reflects an ordered model of the universe in space and time, which determines the organization of the cosmic space and has the corresponding symbolism. In many cultures of the world (the proposed work focuses on the culture of Ancient India), the World Tree represents the unity of three worlds - the heavenly (the world of Gods), the earthly (the world of people) and the afterlife (the world of ancestors). The World Tree (Tree of Life) also has temporal symbolism, that is, the roots are the past, the trunk is the present, the crown is the future. In the Ukrainian ethnocultural tradition, the image of the World Tree is characteristical for the mythological consciousness of our ancestors and embodies the universal concept of the world, which is reflected in various manifestations (heavenly tree, tree of life, ancient tree), as well as in transformational images (world pillar, world mountain, paradise tree, willow). Using the examples of folklore texts, it is proved that the World Tree means a sacred point of origin, functioning as an important sphere of fertility cult in various rites of the calendar cycle and family rites. Attention is focused on the position of the universality of the image of the World Tree in the ancient myths of ancient India, which is embodied in the world axis, temple, tree of life, tree of knowledge and, what is interesting, in the image of the great "inner man" that lives inside each individual. In Indian culture, over the centuries, accumulated knowledge about the inner spiritual world of a person, combined with a perfect physical body, made up a whole system of teaching - yoga. In a broad sense, this concept includes a combination of spiritual, psychological and physical practices that were originated in Hinduism and Buddhism. Therefore, the concept of the World Tree acts as a sacred, fixed symbol almost everywhere and had a powerful influence on the formation of the mythological worldview.