The semantics of death and rebirth in the Poturia wedding tradition: the case of transition rites

Abstract

Relevance of the study. Forms of folk beliefs about death and rebirth back to the archaic times of Ukrainian culture and are an integral part of the mythological consciousness, which is fully reflected in the folk-ritual creativity. In the national scientific thought, the problem of liminal transition is covered in the context of rituals of the family cycle, as well as one of the structural and ceremonial aspects of weddings in Central Polissya. But the issue of the semantics of death and rebirth in the context of the wedding ceremony of local territories is still open and require detailed investigation.Scientific novelty. The article first examines the problem of death and rebirth as an example of the rituals of the Poturia wedding ceremony, one of the least explored ethnic regions of Western Volyn. The article also covers for the first time the results of the author’s expeditionary studies on the territory of Poturia during 2011–2015.The main objectives of the study is to investigate the forms, functional load of each stage of the liminal period, symbols of death and rebirth as integral psycho-physiological aspects of the transition to a new status.Methodology. Cross-curricular and integrative approaches, as well as structural and functional methods of analysis, have played an important role in the study of the problem. The methodology of the study is based on the analysis of the symbolism of the main stages of the Poturia wedding rite in the context of the three-stage theory of Arnold van Gennep and the elimination-integrative theory.Results. It is found that in the wedding system of the Western Volyn region there are all three liminal (transitional) stages, each of which has its own distinct structural and semantic markers. Symbols of death and rebirth have their own peculiarities, functional load and are embodied through various forms of ritual passage on Poturia. On the one hand, the liminal period in a traditional wedding is a multi-stage probationary period, and on the other, it becomes a new, higher social status. An integral aspect of the liminal process is the eliminative-integrative function, which is most clearly is traced again in the context of the bride's transition.This study does not exhaust the depth of the problem. In order to study the liminal transition in Poturia's wedding ceremony, it is necessary to see a detailed analysis of clothing, wedding requisites and the mental and personal rebirth of participants in the wedding celebration in the context of myth-ritual creativity.