Home – Home – Jornals – Geography and Natural Resources 2025 number 3

The present-day coverage of ideas about geographical research of sacred loci of the region shows key elements of cultural and spiritual identity of local communities, and reveals their importance for preserving traditional values and natural-ecological balance. The article considers the characteristic features of the formation of ancestral sanctuaries of the ethnoterritorial group of the Buryat ethnos - the Alar Buryats in the context of the cultural landscape. The actual basis was the authors’ field research, which was carried out in the village of Gotol and the municipal unit “Nygda” of the Alarsky district of Irkutsk oblast, as well as statistical data and archival materials. The objects of the study were the shamanic sacred places “Negdeyn Ybged, Tөөdeyd” and “Gotoloy Ybged” near the settlements of Nygda and Gotol. These places are associated with the clan groups of the Khongodor and Bulagat tribes and serve as spiritual centers where ancestor worship rituals are held. Using the methods of cultural geography, the features of sacred places, their connections and dynamics in the ethnocultural and natural landscape were identified. The role of sacred places in preserving the traditions of family and clan groups of the Buryats was analyzed, including the state of natural conditions and the economic specificity of the areas of development. All this made it possible to determine the features of the sacred landscape and the distribution of settlement sites taking into account political and social changes, showing the historical and geographical continuity and stability of self-identification of ethnic communities. Based on the historical and geographical approach, data on the specificity of sacred places associated with settlement areas are summarized. Field observation materials confirm the importance of cultural traditions of local groups, their features and role in settling the space. Sacred places not only preserve historical memory, but are also markers of ethnic self-identification. The results show that sacred landscapes are threatened by deforestation, disturbance of the soil cover and insufficient coordination between the authorities and local communities. The areas of sacred places that developed in the 17^th - early 19^th centuries demonstrate sustainability in relation to modern economic development of the Alarsky district of Irkutsk oblast.