Baikal in the works of Sergey Belov

Lake Baikal is not only one of the most beautiful places on Earth, but also one of the most mysterious. Many legends and traditions are associated with various sections of the sacred lake. The real testimonies of people who became witnesses of inexplicable phenomena on Lake Baikal are very numerous.
One of the most mysterious places is the Shamanka rock on Cape Burhan, consisting of white marble, granite and quartz. An ancient Buryat legend about the leader of the Tengrii, the people of celestials, Khan Guga Babai, is associated with the cave, which is inside the rock. According to legend, having descended to the earth, Khan Guga Babai married the most beautiful girl from the human tribe and settled with her in his palace, located in a cave of the Shamanka rock. From the union of the leader of the celestials and the earthly woman, the clan of the Great Shamans appeared, who spread the sacred knowledge of the Tengrii around the world …

According to the testimonies of the residents of the village of Khunzhir, located near Cape Burhan, for centuries the cave was visited by shamans of many peoples who inhabited ancient Siberia. The priests of the pagan religions performed rituals in the cave related to the purification of tribal karma and the removal of curses; falling into a trance, they got the opportunity to contemplate the pictures of the past and the future.
Cape Khoboy is in the northernmost point of Olkhon Island. There is a legend about a dragon who, flying over a sacred lake, dropped its fang. Having fallen on Khoboy, the fang of a mythological animal went deep into the ground, leaving a characteristic mark in the island’s outlines. Some scholars suggest that this is associated with memories of the fall of a celestial body (possibly a small meteorite) that happened many thousands of years ago. It was such a local catastrophe that could become the reason for the strong geomagnetic activity in this part of Olkhon. Parapsychologists who often visit Khoboy notice a constant powerful release of astral energy in the area of the cape, which is associated with numerous cases of the appearance of ghostly substances here. Local residents claim that sometimes on the cape you can meet the spirits of their deceased ancestors or even see their own previous incarnations. The spirit of the White shaman emerging from the waters of Lake Baikal gained particular fame.

Not far from Baikal there is a small Shara-Nur lake, which means Yellow Lake in Buryat. The water of the lake is extremely saturated with hydrogen sulfide. For this reason, a reservoir attracts people suffering from joint diseases. They say that the disease disappears without a trace after several bathings of the patient in the waters of Shar-Nur. In former times, the local population was afraid to swim in the lake, since they believed that a giant yellow snake, Shara-Kaaya, lived in it. Local legends say: once upon a time there lived a brave hero who angered the evil spirit Erkin. As a punishment, the evil spirit turned the hero into a huge serpent, commanding him to live forever in the waters of the lake and eat carrion of the lake. It is believed that this is why the bodies of drowned people are never found in Shara-Nur – they are eaten by Shara-Kaaya. True, according to scientists, Shara-Nur, located more than 100 meters above sea level, is connected to Lake Baikal by a network of underground tunnels through which the bodies of the drowned go with the flowing water. However, even today, local hunters and fishers claim that sometimes they hear sounds coming from muddy waters, similar to the growls of an unknown giant creature.

30 kilometers southeast of the Olkhon island in the deepest part of Lake Baikal, there is a place called the Devil’s Funnel. The two-square-kilometer part of the lake is not remarkable in normal times. However, once or twice a year the waters of the lake begin to “rampage” there. In good weather an incredible rotation of water begins in this place, and soon a large funnel appears in its very epicenter, sucking everything in itself. Local residents claim that in this way the abyss opens, through which the souls of dead sinners go to hell…
Everyone who has visited Baikal at least once will never forget the amazing beauty and attractiveness of this place, which has many secrets and mysteries in its protected corners, which modern people cannot yet reveal.
Official site of the artist: s-belov.jimdo.com

Baikal in the works of Sergey Belov