The Hidden Face of Baikal

Pathogenicity of the Sacred Lake in the Land of the Siberian Buryat

Abstract

The Buryat venerate Lake Baikal as a sacred site believed to possess healing powers and to be the home of divine entities who safeguard the local population from diseases and suffering. This worldview remained intact so long as the lake’s ecological balance was perceived as unaltered. However, the Russian media's diligent endeavours to create new stories emphasizing the lake’s pathogenic potential in order to promote environmental awareness have resulted in a transformed perspective of this sacred bioregion among the Buryat. This article therefore asks what is the new symbolic image of Lake Baikal and its curative ability in the collective memory of the Buryat community, and what influence has the media exerted on it. The study utilizes ethnographic research conducted on Olkhon Island and in Ulan-Ude in Siberia and employs indigenous narratology to reach the conclusion that, by emphasizing the taboo associated with ‘pollution’ in both objective forms (carrion and faeces) and subjective forms (decay and contagion) media narratives not only challenge the prevailing perception of nature's ability to heal, they also depict it as a source of evil. Consequently, in the absence of any inherent spiritual significance, Buryat society is not only becoming detached from the ethical principles linked to Lake Baikal, it also deliberately refrains from acknowledging the lake’s pollution.