What is ritual folklore? Russian ritual folklore

What is ritual folklore? First of all, this is folk art, collective or individual, oral, less often written. Folklore style of communication between people usually did not presuppose emotions. It expressed thoughts and desires associated with certain events and timed to coincide with them. Therefore, the rituals consist mainly of songs, lamentations, family stories, lullabies, wedding praise. A separate category is considered occasional conspiracies, spells and zaklichki, counters and slander.

What is ritual folklore in the broader sense

These are works of art of small form, associated with traditions, customs, religious and ethnographic genres. It should be noted that in all cases, rituals bear signs of a national character. Modernity is, as it were, blurred. Old traditions with customs are best kept in the past tense.

The spectrum of folklore rituals is wide enough. This is a village choreography, choral singing in nature, during fieldwork, haymaking or grazing. Since traditional customs were present in ordinary people's lives all the time, the ritual folklore of the Russian people was and remains an integral part of their existence. The appearance of customs is always connected with long-term circumstances. An ongoing drought, threatening the crop, may become an occasion for people to turn to God for help. Any natural phenomena that are dangerous to humans, also force it to seek a way out of the situation. And most often these are prayers and requests, candles and notes in churches.

Many rites and ritual folklore as a whole have a ritual-magical meaning. They are the basis of behavioral norms in society, and sometimes even acquire features of a national character. This fact testifies to the depth of folklore values, and hence, the values of the perennial.

Folklore ceremonies are divided into labor, festive, family and privorious. Russians closely intertwine with folklore of other Slavic nationalities. And besides, they are often connected typologically with the population of some countries located on the other side of the world. The interconnection of different cultures at first glance is often due to a historically established analogy.

Feast of Ivan Kupala

Ritual folk folklore in Russia has always been self-sufficient and did not need recharge from the outside. The originality of Russian traditions and customs not only passed from generation to generation, but also grew into new rituals, often exotic. The most notable folklore rite is the feast of Ivan Kupala. This rite has pagan roots. On the night of Ivan Kupala high fires were lit, and each of those present had to jump over the fire. Not always it was possible, there was a danger of falling and burned.

At night on Ivan Kupala it was customary to commit ritual excesses, steal livestock from neighbors, destroy hives, trample on vegetable gardens and firmly prop the doors in the huts with sticks so that the tenants could not get out. The motives of all these actions are still unclear. The next day, the outraged fellow villagers again became equilibrated citizens.

Song of Rite

A significant place in Russian ritual folklore is poetry, which can be conditionally divided into song songs (spells, celerial, majestic songs) and magic (spells, verdicts, lamentations).

Songs-spells turned to nature, asked for well-being in the household and family matters. Grandees sang on holidays, on Maslenitsa, Kolyada and other celebrations. Coriolate chants were mocking.

Rites and Calendar

Along with other, in Russia there was a ritual folklore of the calendar type, which had a direct relation to agricultural works in the broadest sense. Calendar-ritual songs - this is the oldest folk art, historically developed over many years of peasant labor in the field and haymaking.

The agricultural calendar, the schedule of fieldwork for the seasons is a peculiar program of the song genre. Melodies are all folk, born after a plow, a harrow and on the weeding. The words are simple, but in this song poetry there was a whole range of human experiences, hope for luck, anxious expectations, uncertainty, followed by glee. Nothing so unites people as a common goal for everyone, whether it be harvesting or choral singing. Social values inevitably take some form. In this case it is folklore and with it Russian rituals, traditions and customs.

Folklore by the seasons

The songs of the spring ritual repertoire sounded cheerful. They look like jokes, reckless and bold. The tunes of the summer months seemed deeper, they sang with a sense of accomplishment, but as if with a secret expectation of a miracle - a good harvest. In the autumn, sometimes at harvest time, ritual songs rang like a stretched string. People did not relax for a minute, otherwise you will not have time to collect everything before the rains.

Reason for fun

And when the bins were full, here and then began the folk merriment, ditties, dances, dances and weddings. Ritual folklore of the calendar phase of hard work smoothly passed into festivities and free life with feasts. Young people looked at each other, new acquaintances were made. And here the traditional customs were not forgotten, the ritual folklore of the Russian people "rose up to its full height." In the huts began to speculation on the sucheni-ryazhenyh, the girls spent hours burning candles and rocking the rings on thin threads. Cuffs and felt boots rushed over his shoulder, whispering was heard in the upper room.

Christmas carols

What is ritual folklore in terms of religion? The holiday of the Nativity of Christ is considered one of the most traditional in Russia. It follows right after the New Year. It is generally accepted that you will spend this holiday like this and this will be the whole year. Christmas is considered another for the beginning of the new year. This is the main Russian religious event. January 6, on Christmas Eve, caroling began. These are festive detours of houses and apartments with songs and bags full of grain. Carols are usually children. Everyone wants to get a pie or a handful of chocolates from the owners of the house in response to congratulations on the holiday.

The oldest in the procession of caroling usually carries on the pole "Star of Bethlehem", which appeared in the sky, when Jesus Christ was born. The hosts, who came with carols, should not skimp on gifts to children, otherwise they will have to listen to comic reproaches of children.

The main night of the year

A few days after Christmas, the New Year came (today we call it the Old New Year), which was also accompanied by folklore ceremonies. People wished each other happiness, long life and every success in business. Congratulations were presented in the form of short carols. The popular ritual was also the "camel" songs that accompanied divination after midnight. That's what ritual folklore is on New Year's Eve!

And when the winter is running out, it's time for her wires - and people go out into the streets to meet Shrovetide. It is a time of fun folkloric winter rituals with a triple ride, with races on squeaky sledges, with games on skates with clubs. The fun continues until dark, and late in the evening the whole family sits down by the stove and remembers the past holiday. During such gatherings they sang songs, sang chastushki, played games. This is also a ritual family folklore of the Russian people. It includes family stories, and wedding songs, and lullabies, and lamentations, and much more.