«Beekeeping isn’t going with an open mouth»: ritual prohibitions and beliefs of beekeepers

The article deals with such a closed sphere of activity as beekeeping. In folk tradition, beekeeping is considered to be a God pleasing deed, but at the same time is associated with magic as any special knowledge. This duality is also characteristic of the beekeeper himself. On the one hand, he is associated with bees, “clean” God’s creatures. On the other hand, beekeeper should have a number of magical knowledge. Christian component is used on the same level as magical one, Christian and demonological “assistants” operate on an equal basis.