From Chukotka to Karelia: ancient legends, magical rites, and festive customs of the peoples of Russia
What does the beginning of the year mean for the Mari, Evenks, and Veps? How does the Yakut Ysyakh differ from the Kalmyk Zul, and the Buryat Sagaalgan from the Chuvash Surkhuri? Why do the Nganasans wear mortal garments, and what offerings do the water spirits expect from the Nanai?
New Year is one of the most beloved and long-awaited holidays - each region celebrates it in its own way. They tell fortunes, prepare treats, wish for well-being, decorate houses, and turn to ancestors and higher powers. At this time, ancient rituals and traditions come to life, as if by magic. 29 chapters will reveal the origins of the holiday, surviving signs, superstitions, recipes, taboos and prescriptions.
Who is this book for?
For those who look forward to the New Year and Christmas every year and want to celebrate them in an unusual way.
For those who are interested in the traditions and rituals of different peoples.
For those looking for a New Year gift.
From the authors
In this book, we talk about the traditions of twenty-seven peoples of Russia. In total, according to various censuses, there are more than one hundred and eighty of them. When deciding which ones to choose, we were guided by several ideas.
The first is that in Russia they celebrate the New Year eleven times: they start in Chukotka and end in Kaliningrad. But in fact, New Year can be celebrated many more times and not only on December 31st. And also, the names of the rituals that mark the beginning of the New Year cycle are varied; not all of them include the phrase 'New Year,' but they are still New Year's!
The second idea is to share the materials that we recorded ourselves while participating in folklore and ethnographic expeditions.
The third is to show that there is no single Russian or any other tradition. Despite the similar patterns we are discussing here, each region or even locality has its own peculiarities of celebration. So if you read about your people, but you want to be indignant and tell us: “We do everything differently,” that’s normal, because folklore traditions are very variable.
The fourth idea is to use available data: to write this book, we read many scientific articles and monographs (those interested can find them in the list of references at the end of the text). However, there are still traditions that have not been sufficiently studied. Perhaps in the future we will be able to go on an expedition to such regions to ask residents when and how they celebrated the New Year, and write another book.
