Индоевропейските ритуални космологични прения: традиции, мистицизъм, състезателност

The work attempts a comparative overview of the cosmological verbal contests, known from a number of sources of Indo-European cultures, including Old Bulgarian texts. Three principal elements of this ritual complex are underlined: some evidence suggests that verbal contests and their quintessential question-answer scheme were considered to be the appropriate framework for the preservation of important knowledge. The fundamental character of the cosmological doctrines was also related to the notion of their constant re-actualization through debate. Secondly, the radical agonistic nature of the archaic verbal contest is emphasized. Some sources preserve the idea that the verbal contests were thought to be initiation rites with very high stakes – the life of the defeated. The third element elucidated is the perception that to be accepted as ‘real’ or ‘valid’ a teaching should be a product of personal mystical experience gained through peregrination to the Otherworld. Arguments are adduced that in some instances the verbal contests stand out as one of the initiatory trials in a number of Indo-European notions of sacral Kingship.