Concept of the spirit shile / shilemir with Altaians: to the problem of ethno-cultural contacts of Turkic and Iranian peoples

The image of the male spirit Schilti endowed with powerful forces and properties, able to overthrow the Khan and his government, is preserved in the Altai folklore. Character of Tarich-Burkan, which sends shilemir to Oirats is inter-preted as late Lamaist influence on mithologic outlook of Altaen. Image shilemir dates back to the image chiltan / chilti / schilten of the Central Asian mythology. In the agricultural tradition image chiltan acquired gradually the characteristics of the male patron unions or soldiers. Traditional notions of shilemir are connected with ancient arche-types that existed during the Turko-Iranian cultural community.