Individual and calendar funeral and manistic rites in the Hutsul region

Abstract

Based on ethnographic notes of the late XIX – early XX centuries, as well as modern author's field data collected in the Hutsul region, various individual (thirds, ninths, forties, anniversaries) and calendar (Christmas and New Year, Easter periods and «wonderful») are considered Saturdays) funeral services, common among locals. In this investigation, funeral rites are analyzed through the prism of action, agency, subject and motivational and semantic components. The study found that most Hutsul funeral services are based on a pious attitude towards the dead, as well as ancient manistic motivations. Most of the funeral rites and beliefs preserved among the inhabitants of the Hutsul region are marked by syncretism and reduction, as during their existence they absorbed both archaic and later Christian or modern components. A significant number of the funeral services considered are connected with the Christian-church tradition, which is reflected in the organization of funeral services, appropriate meals, readings of the Psalms. At the same time, among the Hutsuls there are ancient funeral rites, which include collective treats of symbolic cereals, feasts on the graves, as well as the gift of a certain sacrifice «for the soul» of the dead. Consideration of the many beliefs and rites associated with manistic endowments has shown that such practices are based on the reception of agents involved in the rite by symbolic representatives of the dead on earth, while the very procedure of endowing a particular object involves its mediation to the afterlife as a victim. In this context, the status of assimilation to the dead is given to the poor, widows, widowers, the elderly and children. An important element of Hutsul funeral rites are also other manistic rites, among which stand out «calling», «feeding», «drinking», «warming» souls. In general, these rites are an important feature of the cult of ancestors, as they perform a clear gilastic function: they are designed to honor and appease deceased relatives, so that they are the patrons of their descendants during the economic and production year.Key words: Hutsul region, Hutsuls, dead, funeral rites, manistic motives