PRACTICES OF UKRAINIAN TRADITIONAL WEDDING RECONSTRUCTION IN THE BEGINNING OF THE XXI c.

Abstract

This article is devoted to the issue, which usually slips away from the scholar`s glance – to attempts of traditional Ukrainian wedding or its elements reconstruction in contemporary conditions. The article`s source base consists of the author`s field researches, interviews, video and photo materials. The author pays attention to the real weddings in “folk style” as well as to the local variants of the wedding, staged by folklore ensembles.The main purpose of the article is to examine such practices in aspects of their functionality, process, material and interaction content and, at last, factors that structure the situation of reconstruction and allow to recognize it among other collective actions. To reach the last aim frame-analysis, developed by E. Goffman, is used.The motivations of the reconstructors can be different: participation in some festival or competition in case of staged performances; sincerely desire, connected with professional or extra-professional interests in case of the real “ethnographical weddings”. However, in the latter case participators often realize their activity as some extraordinary behavior, deserving for some self-irony.The author makes conclusion that wedding rite`s reconstructions fluctuate between two pairs of social senses. First of all, it seems that real “ethnographical weddings” often have connotation of the averaged “Ukrainian” wedding, despite they appeal to the certain social and historical variant of the wedding – traditional peasant wedding of the XVIII and XIX centuries. The second pair of senses is the wedding as it is and performance – in the “real” weddings it is notable actualized.The research shows that in many cases reconstruction of traditional wedding can be understood as a collage, made from different sources. Besides that such structuring factors of this situation are defined: locality of reconstruction, presence of alien spectators, scenario, filming and demand in concentrate format. If the “ethnographical wedding” has schematic view, it draws near to the frame of performance. And the more detailed it is, the closer to the traditional wedding it becomes. Wedding reconstructions in Ukraine represent all spectrum between these two frames. Opposed to some historiographical positions, real weddings in “folk style” isn`t only illusion of reality or authenticity. In contemporary circumstances they can reach forms, senses and importance of traditional wedding, although it seems impossible to define some “formula” of successful synthesis of ethnographical material in certain reconstruction.