https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3852-6617
E-mail: kozhanov.kirill@gmail.com Tel.: + 7 (495) 938-17-80
32а, Leninskii av., Moscow, 119991, Russian Federation
PhD in Philology, Researcher, Department of Typology and Comparative Linguistics, Institute of
Slavic Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences
Alexandr V. Chernykh
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7670-3912
E-mail: atschernych@yandex.ru Tel.: +7 (3422) 212-70-19
13a, Lenin str., Perm, 614090, Russian Federation
DSc in History, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Head of the
Ethnological Research Sector, Department of History, Archaeolog
The research was financially supported by a grant from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, project No. 20–09–00092, “Roma Communities in Russia: Formation, Ethno-Cultural Features, Interaction with Society and Government.
This article is based on material collected among the Kelderari Roma of the Moldovaya group in Russia. It describes a cluster of beliefs about mythological female characters appearing in summertime. The first example of such figures is the Barvaľořá (lit. ‘light winds’), personal spirits appearing as whirlwinds in the summer, and the second one is the Sərbətór’a, female spirits that appear in the week after Pentecost. Both groups of characters share common features: they are female, multiple, often referred to as śejá bar’á (lit. ‘big girls,’ i.e. ‘nubile’), and potentially able to harm people. The article analyzes the qualities and functions of these mythological characters, and deals with the various rituals, taboos and patterns of behavior whose aim is not to make these figures angry. The article also discusses the main motifs in texts about them, quoting tales and comments about them in the Romani and Russian languages. The article concludes that both Barvaľořá and Sərbətór’a represent examples of the creative reinterpretation of Romanian folklore within the framework of traditional Romani culture.
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Kozhanov K.A., Chernykh A. V. Barvaľořá (“Light Winds”) and Sərbətór’a — Summer Female Mythological Characters in the Tradition of the Kelderari Roma. Traditional culture. 2020. Vol. 21. No. 4. Pp. 122–131. In Russian.