Water in oral songs of the year cicle

Abstract

Water is a frequent motif in ritual songs of the year cycle. Its meaning of a boundary is important for forming a notion of the place where ritual actions are performed. On the other hand, its fertile potential corresponds with its function of ritual mean or goal. Within the chronotope, it is often connected with temporal boundaries - morning and night. Ritual songs model water as being, to whom the participants direct their songs in the ritual, but it is also the boundary across which inhuman beings enter the human world. It establishes communication with that unearthly world fulfilling the communicative function. Different realizations of water motif in oral lyric show its importance in traditional culture.