THE MAUSOLEUM OF BEKSULTAN - PART 1: NAKH MYTHS ARE THE STUFF THIS MONUMENT IS MADE OF
The mausoleum of Beksultan, better known as Borga Kash, is shrouded in mythology as it does not look like any monument in the region, nor does anyone really know who was buried in it. By systematically studying the written documentation from 1748 to 1901, it became clear that the Ingush, because of their rich oral tradition, wove numerous legendary tales around the monument incorporating various layers of history and making the monument inherently part of their own heritage by claiming that the nart ortskhoi, heroes of their most ancient saga, were buried there. The vast amount of material available on the topic necessitated the article to be limited to the first 150 years of research and leaves room for another article based on more modern research. The aim of this article is to show how the two worldviews, that of Russian research and Nakh oral tradition, collided and then over time, how the latter became more dominant and turned Borga Kash into a myth making factory.