A WOMAN IN THE UKRAINIAN RITUALS OF THE WINTER CALENDAR CYCLE

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to identify gender priorities (parity of male and female roles) in the Ukrainian rites of the winter calendar cycle based on the analysis of the mythological origins of the rite system and the composition of the rites, the main role in the performance of which belonged to a woman. To achieve this goal, the following methods were used: generalization ? for the systematization of the scientific sources; analytical method ? for the analysis of the cause-and-effect features, the emergence and formation of the trends in the complex study of the scientific issues; the method of the retrospective reconstruction or historical and genetic method, which is based on the idea that the initial stages of the development of certain objects and phenomena can be reproduced on the basis of the later stages. The scientific novelty of the study is to analyze the peculiarities of the distribution of female and male roles, identify and justify the special role of a woman and emphasize the gender priorities in the rites of the winter calendar cycle. Conclusions. The study demonstrates that the cult of Mother Earth, Mother Water defines the essential role of the feminine principle both in the macrocosm – environment of gods and elemental spirits, and in the microcosm of the family, determining the corresponding gender priorities of the rituals. It has been defined that the role of a women in the winter rites differs from the role of a man in its symbolic content, but it is devoid of any signs of hierarchical subordination, secondary importance. Sometimes, even the opposite – it is the leading one, which is explained by the mythological content of Christmas and New Year rites as those that are addressed directly to the highest female deity and indicate the organic and deep connection of a woman with the goddesses of Earth and Water. This suggests that the image of a woman in the traditional Ukrainian culture was to a certain extent perceived as the everyday embodiment of these sacred entities and is a confirmation of the relations of ritual and myth. It was revealed that the belief in the supremacy of the female deity was transformed under the influence of Christianity. The gender hierarchy of the traditional Ukrainian family mainly depends not so much on the established patriarchal rules, but on the personality and its social status. The gender identity of the Ukrainian rites of the winter calendar cycle consists in the parity of female and male roles, which symbolizes the harmony in the family microcosm and the macrocosm of the environment.