The Cuman babas are stone statues, which have been found in the steppes where ancient nomadic tribes stayed. Such statues can be up to 4 meters tall. They usually portray warriors, but some of them depict women, who, as the historian Svetlana Pletneva wrote:
Cuman baba
Creation period
XII century
Dimensions
144x55x27 cm
144х55х27 cm
144х55х27 cm
Technique
Stone carving
Collection
Exhibition
3
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Cuman baba
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‘When their husbands were away, performed the functions of both housewives and true guards of their homes defending the tents from enemy attacks’.
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The word baba derives from the Turkic word balbal meaning ‘ancestor’, ‘forefather’. The first graven images appeared as part of the cult of ancestors. They were usually placed near barrows, on hills, and on watersheds. People constructed special sanctuaries for the statues. The Cumans depicted both women and men bare-breasted. Historians suggest that this way they demonstrated their regard for the ancestors as the feeders of the clan.
Later, stone babas were installed to honour the memory of the Cuman leaders and warriors who fell in battles. In honour of the especially revered warlords, statues were placed to form long chains; some of them stretched for several kilometers. The faces of the statues were always turned to the east. The statues of women were also worshiped as the symbols of military morale and immortality.
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The statues of men always have mustaches and pointed beards carved on their faces. Their eyebrows and noses are simply indicated and form a single t-shape. The faces of the statues of women are round and have small lips. In the craters on the stone surface, archaeologists have found traces of black and red paint. Scientists assume that in former times the statues were painted.
Cuman baba
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Cuman babas are rare for the Bryansk Region: the nomadic tribes did not stay in these lands. However, the Cumans sometimes formed alliances with Russian princes participating in internecine conflicts, and visited the territory of the modern Bryansk Region.
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The stone baba from the Bryansk State Museum of Local Lore has been discovered in the Sevsky District of the Bryansk Region. Historians date it to the XII century as this half-meter statue made of gray sandstone differs from more ancient graven images, which resemble human figures only in outlines. In the XII century, sculptors started carving such statues with the hands folded on the abdomen. The unknown sculptor also thoroughly carved the facial features, hairstyle, shoes, and the long garment similar to a skirt.
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Bryansk State Regional Ethnography Museum
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Cuman baba
Creation period
XII century
Dimensions
144x55x27 cm
144х55х27 cm
144х55х27 cm
Technique
Stone carving
Collection
Exhibition
3
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