Main Motives in Russian Folklore and Post-Folklore about Treasure Hunting Tradition and Seekers Activities

Abstract

The article compares the most popular common motives of folklore texts about seekers and treasure hunters, whose activities are concentrated around artifacts from the times of the Great Patriotic War. The author addresses the folklore motives of (a) punishment for bringing the belongings of the deceased from the graveyard or excavation site; (b) the appearance of a treasure (ghost) in a material form; (c) the appearance of “wandering lights” as a reference point for the location of the treasure (the remains of a soldier); (d) interaction with the Forest Lord; (e) commemoration of the dead and attempts to appease the treasure keeper; (f) location of treasures close to trees. The article examines unique texts from the researcher's personal archive containing results of expeditions, reflecting popular plots related to both seekers and treasure hunting environment. Research methods mainly include surveys and interviewing and at some point – observation (on the Memory Watch). The author of the article created a questionnaire for seekers, which helped to record a significant number of texts. The materials are illustrative of characteristics for both individuals and specific groups, their traditions, beliefs, legends, signs. In addition, one of the practical results of this study is a corpus of short mystic stories (in Russian folklore terms – bylitchka).