On the dedication of Nog-dzuar – the religious center of the Ossetian slobodka (Irykhæu) of Vladikavkaz

The article examines the history of the emergence and dedication of the main dzuar (sacred place) of the Ossetian settlement. Modern tradition associates its foundation with the cholera epidemic of 1892 and gives two main versions of dedication – Huytsauy-dzuar (Huytsauy dzuar, ‘God’s dzuar’) and Irykauy-dzuar (Irykhæuy dzuar, ‘Dzuar of the Ossetian settlement’). Meanwhile, the emergence of this dzuar is associated with the return of the Alan (Ossetian) population to the Alan plain. In the 70-80s of the 18th century, near the medieval Alan settlement, Tagaur settlers founded the villages of Zaurovo and Dzaudzhikau. According to the existing tradition, they symbolically transferred with them the dzuar, which was especially revered in the places of residence they left behind, which was called Nog-dzuar (Nog dzuar, ‘New dzuar’) from the village of Dallag-Kani. The complex dedication of Nog-dzuar is associated with two images - Mad-Mayram and Rynybarduag. The special veneration of Mad-Mayram in Dallag-Kani arose in the 18th century, with the appearance here of the icon of the Mother of God, which later became known as the Mozdok icon. The second holy place was dedicated to the patron saint of infectious diseases Rynybarduag, the veneration of which was actualized in connection with the plague epidemic in the same 18th century. During the 19th - early 20th centuries, the residents of the Ossetian settlement retained the name Nog-dzuar. Over time, the image of Rynybarduag was forgotten, and the functions of protection from epidemics were transferred to Mad-Mayram. The Ossetian Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, built in 1814–1815, was also called Nog-dzuar by the citizens, which was in religious connection with this dzuar. During the Soviet period, the influx of new population and anti-religious state policy led to the gradual replacement of the complex dedication of Nog dzuar with the more universal Huytsauy-dzuar and Irykauy-dzuar, which became equally understandable to the significantly renewed population of the Ossetian Slobodka.