Ritual Songs Research Articles

Ukrainian Song Folklore in Oleksandr Dovzhenko’s Records: History of Publication, Analysis of Motifs and Plots

The subject of this study analysis concerns the history of publication of notes those Oleksandr Dovzhenko has recorded from his mother in December 1943 in Moscow. These are 32 song texts of Ukrainian folk Christmas carols, shchedrivky, spring rite carols and lyrical songs. The records are contained in a separate notebook, which has 30 sheets. The name of the collection is The Mother’s Songs. It is kept in the Russian State Archives of Literature and Art in Moscow (RSALA, fund 2081, inventory 1, unit of issue 330). The published work is aimed at the description of the editorial approaches to these song texts in various periods to these song texts, indicating the list of publications of each of them. Records of Christmas carols and shchedrivky from the collection of O. Dovzhenko contain motifs and plots typical for Volhynia, Podillia and Slobozhanshchyna. Most often, these are songs for the owners and their children, for a young man, a girl, less often these are the motifs with biblical characters, formed under the influence of folk tradition. Almost all ritual songs of the winter cycle have variants in Zorian Dolenha-Khodakovskyi’s collection of recordings [11]. The motifs of the lyrical songs from O. Dovzhenko’s recordings are typical for the song tradition of Podillia, Volhynia, the Over Dnipro Lands and Slobozhanshchyna. These are plots about watering horses near a well, embroidering a shirt for a Cossack, a widow and her unloved children for a potential husband, waking up / not waking up a Cossack, a request to a mother to show her daughter. They are circulated throughout Ukraine.

Календарная традиция белорусов-переселенцев: структурно-ритмическая типология песен позднего лета и осени

The article presents the results of a study of the tunes of ritual and season-timed songs of late summer and autumn of the folklore tradition of Belarusian settlers of Siberia and the Far East. The study material comprises archival and published recordings made since the 1970s and up to the present time in a number of the main regions of settlement of Belarusians: Novosibirsk, Omsk regions, Krasnoyarsk, and Primorsky Territories. The focus is on the most important aspect of calendar songs, namely, the structural-rhythmic organization of the tunes. The author of the article has correlated the features of the tunes of the songs of the settlers’ tradition with the types of tunes of ritual songs in the maternal tradition identified by the Belarusian ethnomusicologist Z. Ya. Mozheyko. The tunes under investigation were established to belong to the first and second typological groups of zhnivnye songs, to the type of zhnivnye tunes of the eastern districts of Poozerye (the territory of Belarus), to the first and second dozhinochnye types, the first yarynnyy and the second autumn types (according to Mozheyko). In addition, some tunes were found to have characteristic structural and rhythmic parameters of the summer period types – the sixth rusal’nyy and the seventh kupal’skiy. Few songs proved to have typical modified and typical combined tunes. A special role in the organization of zhnivnye tunes is played by four- and six-syllable verse structures; they are realized in rhythmic formulas found in the tunes of songs throughout the calendar circle.

NEPOTISM AS A PHENOMENON OF UKRAINIAN INGUOMENTALITY (BASED ON THE MATERIAL OF RITUAL SONGS)

The presented research is dedicated to the study of the tradition of nepotism in various rituals of both ritual cycles: family and calendar. Taking into account the fact that there is no single point of view among historians, cultural scientists and ethnologists on the understanding of the origins of nepotism, we included in the analysis the texts of ritual songs, in particular, christening songs, which contain information about godfathers, attitudes towards them, characterized their moral qualities and relationships between them. The purpose of the study was to analyse the texts of folk songs, which reveal the ancient folk tradition of nepotism among Ukrainians. The object of our attention was the phenomenon of nepotism, that is, the presence of them in separate rituals of the family and calendar cycle. The subject was the characteristics of godparents and the relationship between them, the attitude towards the godparents of godchildren, etc. In the process of working with the texts of ritual songs, we used the methods of induction and synthesis, descriptive and comparative methods, as well as the method of contextual and interpretive analysis of folklore texts. The etymology of the words kum and kuma confirms the information that most of the rites of the family cycle were purely female. Ethnographic materials testify to the importance and necessity of the presence of them in the christening ritual. After the christening ritual in the church, the organizers of the festive dinner could be both the parents of the newborn child and the godfather and godmother. At dinner, the main ones were the midwife and godparents, they were the ones who sang majestic songs. Taking into account the fact that the godfather and godmother were chosen for the child with the aim and the possibility of fully duplicating the duties of the biological parents in case of misfortune with the latter, in ancient times sexual relations between godfathers were not condemned, as between a real husband and wife. As a result of the research, we came to the following conclusions: the tradition of nepotism in family rites was primary; in calendar – secondary. Grooming in the broadest sense involved the establishment of family or blood relations; in a narrow way – duplication of married life in all its manifestations as a result of imitative magic, in which the ancestors believed. Godfathers were treated with great respect, even more than biological parents. Folk songs about godparents that have come down to our times record a later period when they were honoured and glorified, and intimate relationships between godparents were condemned.

THEYYAM: A PERFORMER’S JOURNEY OF TRANSFORMATION FROM MAN TO GOD

Theyyam or Theyyattam is a performer’s artistic journey of transformation from mortal man to immortal Gods and Goddesses. It is a resplendent melange of religious and artistic facets which elevates the aesthesia of both performers and spectators to greater depths. Though Theyyam is fashioned on the essence of a tribal culture, it embraced many elements of ancient Hindu mythology. The entire Theyyam ritual is a metaphysical means, which is thought to have the power to summon the Theyyam deities, causing them to emerge with all exuberance. ’Thottam’ songs, the ritual songs of the Theyyam, render the story of the deity propitiated in this ceremonial performance. The performer himself sing the Thottam songs, so that he can get in the exact frame of mind and the necessary spirit of the persona he is presumed to embody. The aficionados observe the rites very closely as the performer performs before and along the shrine. The musical instruments are played in time to the performer’s movements making the performance pious. Gradually, the performer becomes completely absorbed, evolved and transcended into the realm of intangible powers of nature, impersonating the Gods and Goddesses through artistic acts and manifesting his supreme power by strange demeanor. The article examines the practices, traditions, impersonation, myths, and legends of Theyyam and some of its most popular forms and how this ritualistic art form has established a legacy across tribal and non-tribal cultures creating an identity for itself.

The Role of Nanyue Ritual Songs in Promoting Literacy and Cultural Education in Longhui County, Hunan, China

Nanyue ritual songs are traditional vocal performances that hold religious and cultural significance, they are associated with worship ceremonies dedicated to the Nanyue gods. This study explores the role of Nanyue ritual songs in promoting literacy and cultural education in Longhui County, Hunan, China. The research site, Longhui County, is known for its rich cultural heritage and unique geographical location. The study employs a qualitative research method, including fieldwork and interviews with key informants who have expertise and experience in Nanyue ritual songs. The data collected undergoes comprehensive analysis, considering the religious and social functions of the songs as well as the development they have undergone. The research findings highlight the religious function of Nanyue ritual songs in guiding worship ceremonies, facilitating communication with the divine, and creating an enchanting atmosphere. Additionally, the social function of the songs in inheritance and education, entertainment, and social interaction is emphasized. The study also discusses the development of Nanyue ritual songs, considering the impact of changes in travel modes and societal shifts. The research suggests the importance of preserving and respecting these songs as a vital part of the local cultural heritage and promoting cultural education within the community.

Песенный фольклор народов Дагестана как проблема научно-исследовательского знания

The subject of the article is a review of scientific publications by musicologists and folklore scholars concerning the musical creativity of the Dagestani peoples, as well as the history of the study of song folklore. The research methods are: theoretical analysis of scientific literature, system (complex) method, including description, com-parison, analysis and generalization. It is deemed that the accumulation and publication of works in the field of song folklore of the Dagestani peoples constituted a vast field of research activity of national composers, musi-cologists, folklorists. They have carried out a comprehensive study of folk art, developed a concept of local and all-Dagestan peculiarities of its main types and genres, analyzed epic, historical, heroic, lyrical, labor, and ritual songs. The article describes historical sources of song folklore of the Dagestani peoples, its melodic organiza-tion, traditions of performing interpretation, intra-tonality of tunes, peculiarities of instrumental accompaniment of folk songs. Conclusion dwells upon the fact that with all the genre, thematic, instrumental variety of ethnic groups works living in the republic, Dagestani folklore can still be considered as a single formation, the constit-uent parts of which are characterized by similar features.

Syncretism of Church Burial and Ritual Music and Folklore Elements in Orthodox Tradition

The purpose of the article is to discuss the mutual influence of funeral and ritual music and folklore ritual traditions of Ukrainian Orthodoxy. The specifics of the development of folk beliefs, customs and church ritual, and burial music are investigated. It is indicated that Orthodox sacred music developed in interaction with centuries-old folk melos and became the basis for the development of church musical culture. The study aims to identify the relationship of burial ritual music and folklore elements in church chants of the Orthodox tradition, to outline the phenomenon of church burial and ritual music as a specific way of spiritual communication, catharsis, emotional and figurative assimilation, and reflection of personal worldview. The research methodology comprises the general scientific methods of analysis: historicism, systematisation, comparison, and generalisation of the problem under study. Scientific novelty of the research lies in clarifying the fixation and elaboration of the Orthodox taphological repertoire; in the study of the mutual influence of folk household and burial beliefs, customs and church ritual, and burial music of Orthodox Christians on the cultural identity of Ukrainians, their worldview, and national genotype. Conclusions. In the musical burial ritualism of Ukrainians, the symbiosis of customs, beliefs, and church rites is still clearly traced. All of them are aimed to convert an Orthodox Christian to a righteous, sinless life, to the hope of forgiveness and remission of sins, and to giving peace to the soul after death in anticipation of the Kingdom of Heaven, eternal life. They also intend to cleanse the living space from negative action, to ensure the successful transition of the soul of the deceased to the Kingdom of God, to protect living relatives and to unite the living and the dead from the family in Holy Communion (Eucharist). The Orthodox musical and aesthetic tradition states that the soul’s prayer of the deceased is strong and effective in God. Consequently, Christians have a firm belief that the souls of the dead pray for their living descendants of each kin, and the mission of the living is to pray for the eternal peace of their souls and the universal resurrection in the Kingdom of Heaven. If we are to achieve a fullness of synergistic communion with the Lord, we must not only rely on God's help, but also make our spiritual contribution through spiritual effort and compassionate strain, kenosis, self-sacrifice, and personal predestination to the Good. The phenomenon of church burial and ritual music appears as a specific way of spiritual communion, emotional and figurative mastering and reflection of the worldview of an Orthodox Christian, which gives rise to an ethno-national type of a person’s musical and aesthetic thinking, and cultural self-identification. With the help of church chants, including pure funeral and ritual songs, Ukrainian musical culture became the personification of religious and aesthetic ideals, and mental-ideological attitudes of Orthodoxy. This influenced the processes of national identification and left a characteristic imprint on the ethno-national mentality and spiritual and musical culture of Rus-Ukraine throughout the centuries.
 Key words: Ukrainian Orthodox tradition, burial and ritual music, church chants, ritual folklore.

Mari folk Songs in the Artistic Structure of S. G. Chavain's Novel "Elnet"

The article examines the folklore intertext of the novel "Elnet" by the classic of Mari literature Sergey Grigoryevich Chavain at the level of folk songs, reveals their place in the artistic structure of the novel text, analyzes their role in revealing the people's perception of the world and the nature of the creative personality of the intellectual-Mari, in the expression of the author's ideas. The song texts of the novel, directly borrowed from folklore or reworked by the author, as well as created by Chavain himself in the likeness of the content and stylistics of folk-poetic works, give the artistic narrative romantic sublimity, poetry, drama and national specificity, strengthen the author's concept of the world and character. The methodology of the research is determined by the structural and semantic analysis of the works. The article for the first time identifies and describes in detail the semantic and typological components of the folklore-song intertext of Chavain's novel "Elnet", its significance for the expression of its artistic content. It is proved that the song texts of the novel mostly reveal the traditional cultural way of life of the Mari people, their natural existence, orientation to myths and ideals (labor songs; ritual songs: wedding, including lamentation songs; lyrical, mainly love and orphan songs). They are directly related to the national issues of the novel and the author's concept based on the uniqueness of the Mari people and their culture. A lot of space is occupied by songs that highlight the difficulties of the pre–revolutionary social life of the Mari people, the inequality of ethnonational existence, which became the reason for the formation of revolutionary predilections in the popular environment (recruiting - about seeing off to war, orphans, lamentations). This folklore intertext helps to clarify the ideological and moral quest of Mari in the pre-revolutionary era, the search for ways of social and national liberation brewing in the depths of the people.

Lullabies and Algys in the Semiosphere of the Sakha Culture: Linguistic Aspect

The article analyzes the language and cultural code of lullaby songs and maternity incantations (algyss) which belong to the oldest layer of the Yakut folklore. The addressees are the patron goddesses of clans Aiysyt and the guardian goddesses Ieyekhsit. Understanding of the cultural text language leads to the finding of prototypical conceptual meanings in the consciousness of the ancient Sakha. The novelty of the research lies in the identification of the sign nature of lullabies and incantations, which until now have not been the subject of interest for the Yakut linguists. The aim of the paper is to analyze the semiotic signs and symbols of lullaby songs and maternity spells in semiosphere of the Sakha culture. The article is based on archival materials and published folklore texts. Archaic texts are endowed with magical functions: procreative and apotropaic. In the ritual songs, especially in the rites of transition, both the action code and the sound code (moaning, sound repetitions, the manner of singing: diyeretiya or daegeretiyaҥ) are combined and coexist. Sound behavior in the house of a woman in labor during and after the delivery is strictly regulated. Special sacredness is expressed by allegorical messages about the approach of childbirth, which are expressed by the time code. A syntagmatic series of auspicious signs is presented: the numerical characteristic is joined by color and spatial ones, which model the theme of creation of the Universe and Man. The theme of creation is presented through the technological code of making the cradle. The ambivalence of archaic representation generated by the anthropic functions time/birth, our own/foreign, up/down, and death/life is observed. The symbol of the child is traditionally an egg and a bird, as for gender terms, the symbol of a boy is a knife, the symbol of a girl is a scissor. Wishes for the child’s good fortune are displayed by the concept of cold, which preserves the fact of the negative attitude of the Sakha people from the south to the northern Arctic climate. The sound song code is expressed by a set of cultural codes: the action code, which is defined as a set of ritual and ceremonial actions to achieve the hearing of the patron goddess of childbirth; the time code, corresponding to the three-dimensional universe; the spatial code, represented by the eight-member horizontal and nine-tier vertical model. Sign systems of folk culture functioning in lullabies and incantations are inseparable from their pragmatics. They are “folded messages” which eventually represent archetypal beliefs of ancient Sakha, which are deciphered as a result of semiotic and linguistic research.

The Feast of Lăzărel - an Example of Preservation through Adaptation of the Ethnocultural identity of the Greeks of Izvoarele Village in Tulcea County

Izvoarele village is the only compact rural settlement in Romania whose members identify as Greeks. Oral history pinpoints the genesis of this community in 1830, when a few Greek and Bulgarian families, having crossed Dobruja, settled at the foot of Consul hill. Even though these ethnic groups went through a process of ethnic synthesis throughout history, it is visible that the Greek community of Izvoarele has preserved certain valuable heritage elements serving as an identity trademark to be found in the architecture of dwellings, garments, traditions, and in their main occupation, namely agriculture and sheep rearing. The present work deals with the musical repertoire performed on the occasion of Buianciu, a custom usually practiced on Lazarus Saturday (before Christ’s Entry into Jerusalem). The protagonists of Buianciu, or Lăzăriţa by its Romanian name, are girls aged 10 to 14, who sing ritual songs in Romanian, Bulgarian, and Greek. The enacting of this custom contributes
 to the consolidation of group relations to this day, as the entire community acknowledges the framework pattern of the celebration.

Indija kao inspiracija u delima pseudonaučnika - primer Indijske rukoveti

The paper offers an analysis of the motif of India case studying Indijske rukoveti, an unusual collection of folk songs that includes twenty-three ritual songs selected by the authors of the collection. The selection criterion was that the songs/ poems should mention a concept that could co-relate the present-day Serbs with the space of ancient India. Most of the songs were recorded by Miloš S. Milojević back towards the end of the 19th century. Pseudo-science, and the motif of India in it, are contemplated in the paper in terms of the theory of purity and danger established by the British anthropologist Mary Douglas.

Karel van der Toorn. Becoming Diaspora Jews: Behind the Story of Elephantine

Karel van der Toorn. <i>Becoming Diaspora Jews: Behind the Story of Elephantine</i>

Influences of Regional Cultural Breaks and Migration Processes on Children’s and Winter Calendar and Ritual Song Folklore of Kirovohrad Oblast

Kirovohrad Oblast, founded in 1939, is situated in the central part of Ukraine, on the right bank of the Dnipro. The southern center of Ukraine, in particular the territory of Kirovohrad Oblast, has been settled quite late, in the 17th–18th centuries. The conglomeration of East-Podillian, Central-Ukrainian and Trans-Dnieper singing has formed a specific folklore zone here. Resettlers from the northern and western lands have also brought well-preserved folklore traditions to these lands. They have formed a peculiar marginal culture here, which is defined by a number of distinctive features in the folklore works of the region. We consider them after the sources of children’s and winter calendar-ritual folklore. Only some versions of ancient lullabies have been recorded in the Kirovohrad Oblast. The lullabies of the Eastern type predominate on the rest of the territories, although there are also Western ones, recorded from the resettlers mainly. Ancient lullabies from the Podillian part of Kirovohrad Oblast have a syncopated Western-type chant. Eastern-type lullabies of Kirovohrad Oblast differ in their textual and melodic variety. On the melodic side, lullabies of the Eastern type belong mainly to the song-recitative type. The melody is dominated by the repetition of one chant-formula of the ascending-descending type, which contributes to lulling the child with its monotony. In the recordings of eastern lullabies from a resettled woman from the Chornobyl zone of the Zhytomyr region, we observe a significant melismatic enrichment of formulaic intonations. In the western, Podillian regions of Kirovohrad Oblast, samples of children’s folklore are distinguished by dialectal peculiarities of the language. Published works and modern expeditionary records of children’s koliadky and shchedrivky are the evidence of the distribution of such songs as Koliadnytsia, Koliadnytsia, Shchedrivochka Shchedruvala on the territory of the region. Children’s sowing songs have become especially popular. The motifs of Illia walking on Vasyl, who wears a magical rye peacock (whip) are introduced into them from the northern regions. The historical situation in the Kirovohradshchyna, and partly the cultural policy of the last century, have influenced the existence of winter calendar and ritual song folklore here perniciously. Only a few examples of secular carols and shchedrivky have been recorded in the region. At the same time, winter songs of the Gospel themes are more preserved in church and folk usage. In general, the repertoire of koliadky and shchedrivky of the Kirovohrad region is preserved to a greater extent in the western, Podillian districts, where the koliadky prevail, and only fragmentarily, much more modestly, in the central part of the region, where the shchedrivky predominate. The peculiarities of the folklore tradition of the region consist in the inclination of the bearers of folk songs for numerous contaminations of various types. We have observed this phenomenon by the way of example of recordings of children’s and winter calendar-ritual song folklore because of its border location between the Trans-Dnieper, Steppe and Podillia zones. There is the inclination of the bearers of folk songs to numerous contaminations of various types. The enrichment of the song folklore of the Kirovohrad Oblast is introduced due to the migratory waves of various times, starting from the period of intensive settlement of the region to modern processes of emigration because of the natural causes, man-made disasters and military actions. Thanks to the recordings of the expeditions of the Baba Yelka project during the 2018–2022, it is possible to study the peculiarities of functioning of the song folklore of the region in the latest times.

AN OUTSIDER’S GLANCE ON TODAY’s ESTONIAN CHRISTMAS

For the Estonian, Christmas is a most beloved holiday, not only by children, but by the whole population. Christmas, which coincides with the winter solstice, has been so important, that the Estonian have been able to preserve it throughout the Soviet era, despite the hostility of the authorities, which tried to uproot this tradition and to replace it with the laic acknowledgement of the New Year. Today, the celebration of Christmas is a mixture of old traditions, of Soviet times adaptations and of international influences. This article aims at presenting the modern way of celebrating Christmas and insists on the centrality of family and kin, with eating of traditional dishes, a fair amount of material symbols, the exchange of presents, the performance of ritual songs and the visiting of the kin’s graves. The attendance at church remains from the past. The author discovered Estonia and started living in this country as an adult and has been observing the Estonian’s customs for circa 30 years. This article relies mostly on these observations and in addition, on literature written about old customs.

Folk Playing Songs used in Kalangkurichi of Salem District- Psychological Thoughts

Folk literature is in use from the early days itself. Folk literature is just the expression of the people’s mind. Folk literature is also called oral literature or unwritten literature. Folklore is intertwined with the life of the common people. Folk songs are sung by the ordinary people and it is about their experience from birth to death. Lullabies, ritual songs, stories, professional songs, game songs, children songs, riddles and proverbs are sung by these ordinary people. Game songs are sung by both adults and children. The games which they played are related to nature and as time passes everything changes and now people create and adapt many games. They also formulated many rules for playing a particular game. Man learned to play from animals. Run and touch games may have originated from the phenomenon of one animal chasing another animal. Our forefathers have performed every game with a reason. Through the number sequence songs, they learned numeracy and the group songs shows their unity and self-confidence. At present people harm their body and mind by spending their time on mobile phone, playing video games and watching television. This article is intended to highlight the benefits of those games with the help of psychological thoughts.

The Specifics of Even Folklore

Abstract Even folklore, represented by original epic canvases, original texts of fairy tale and non-fairy tale prose, samples of ritual song and dance art, and a variety of other genres, represents unique spiritual wealth, a component of the common cultural heritage of the Even people. Even folklore is a stable and well-established system, having an oral form that has been handed down by storytellers from generation to generation since ancient times. At present, the Even, like all indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia, and the Far East, are experiencing a gradual loss of folklore traditions and a narrowing of their repertoire, which is illustrated by the authors’ field material. This article deals with the circumstances of Even people concentrated in thirteen regions of Yakutia. A brief review of the history of Even epic folklore collecting from the eighteenth century to the present is provided. The modern repertoire and the degree of preservation of Even folklore genres in all regions of Even settlement in Yakutia are characterized. There is a gradual extinction of minor genres, such as riddles, proverbs, and sayings, along with the disappearance of archaic epos and fairy tales.

From the history of collecting Tuvan folk songs: Yrlar and Kozhamyks

The ancient history and culture of the inhabited tribes of Tuva attracted the attention of travelers, linguists, ethnographers, and musicians, especially in recent decades. The primary recordings of yrlar (tuvan songs) and kozhamyk (ditties) in the writing sources of scientists contained samples of ancient musical poetry, including one-thousand-year history images, plots, motifs, and archaic vocabulary. Owing to ethnocultural values and beliefs of Tuvan people in Southern-Central Siberia it preserved features of relict cultures in music traditions. Based on field works conducted in the late 20th century, via ethnographic, historical, and typological principles of systematic approaches to folklore music genres, all songs were divided into occasional rituals and non-occasional songs, according to musical stylistic characteristics folk songs were classified into long songs ʽuzun yrlarʼ, short songs ʽkyska yrlarʼ and traditional ditties ʽkozhamykʼ. Tuvan culture is rich with musical traditions, it includes various song types, melodic recitations, instrumental creativity, calendar, and ritual songs, epic genres, etc. The author considers the development of song art as the most mobile layer, which absorbs all from the surrounding sound world. Songwriting reflects the spiritual experience and national character of the Tuvan ethnos.

Linguocultural Image of Traditional Kazakh Song Texts

The article deals in detail with the linguocultural image of traditional songs, which are the pearl of the spiritual culture of the Kazakh people. The contents of the texts of traditional songs of Kazakh people reflect the peculiarities of mentality, ethnic, linguocultural perception of music and folded history of the Great Steppe, the variety of everyday life, social consciousness and world picture. Traditional Kazakh folk songs are grouped according to the content-structural system as songs born in connection with ancient beliefs, songs born in connection with economy and occupation, household and ritual songs. Traditional Kazakh songs have a linguistic examination of the lyrics reflecting the brevity of the song. The lexico-semantic specificity in the linguocultural aspect of the texts of traditional songs of the Kazakh people is the richest in philosophical deep meaning and didactic content, various expressions and emotions, parables-sentences and aphorisms, phrases and syntactic parallelisms. In the traditional song texts of the Kazakh people on the basis of specific examples the emotive lexicon and linguocultures, connotations carrying semantic and stylistic meaning are differentiated. The functional activity of such pictorial means as rhythm, noise, rhyme, timbre, intonation, metaphor generating the figurative artistic image, comparison, epithet, parallelism, symbolism, personification that make up the harmony of melody and words in a song text is analyzed.

Linguocultural Image of Traditional Kazakh Song Texts

The article deals in detail with the linguocultural image of traditional songs, which are the pearl of the spiritual culture of the Kazakh people. The contents of the texts of traditional songs of Kazakh people reflect the peculiarities of mentality, ethnic, linguocultural perception of music and folded history of the Great Steppe, the variety of everyday life, social consciousness and world picture. Traditional Kazakh folk songs are grouped according to the content-structural system as songs born in connection with ancient beliefs, songs born in connection with economy and occupation, household and ritual songs. Traditional Kazakh songs have a linguistic examination of the lyrics reflecting the brevity of the song. The lexico-semantic specificity in the linguocultural aspect of the texts of traditional songs of the Kazakh people is the richest in philosophical deep meaning and didactic content, various expressions and emotions, parables-sentences and aphorisms, phrases and syntactic parallelisms. In the traditional song texts of the Kazakh people on the basis of specific examples the emotive lexicon and linguocultures, connotations carrying semantic and stylistic meaning are differentiated. The functional activity of such pictorial means as rhythm, noise, rhyme, timbre, intonation, metaphor generating the figurative artistic image, comparison, epithet, parallelism, symbolism, personification that make up the harmony of melody and words in a song text is analyzed.

Music Transfer and Cultural Contact: Romanian Popular Songs in the Repertoire of the Saxons From the Secașe Valley

"The Secașe Valley is an ethnographic area populated by different ethnic groups, the most numerous being the Romanians, Saxons, Hungarians, and Roma. Starting from field recordings of Romanian music performed by Saxon peasants from this region, we aim to contribute to the topic of inter-ethnic musical exchange in Transylvania. The songs borrowed by the Saxons from their Romanian neighbors are diverse, ranging from ritual songs, ballads, lyric songs representative for the area, to dance songs, romances, and other modern creations. We concluded that the Saxons thoroughly absorbed the style of traditional Romanian music not only from their own villages, but also from a wider area that goes past the Secașe Valley and into the neighboring regions. This allows us to claim that, as an ethnic minority, the Saxons were involved in a process of acculturation. The cultural strategy adopted by the Saxon community was the integration within the dominant culture, but without abandoning its own musical patrimony. Keywords: Transylvanian Saxons, Secașe Valley, cultural exchange, inter-ethnic relations, acculturation, Romanian folk songs, Southern Transylvania "