FUNERAL CUSTOMS AND RITUALS OF THE CHUVASH IN THE NORTHEAST OF THE SAMARA TRANS-VOLGA REGION (THE HEADWATERS OF THE RIVER BOLSHOI CHEREMSHAN): TRADITION AND MODERNITY

The article deals with funeral and commemorative customs and rituals of the Chuvash living in the Northeast of the Samara Trans-Volga Region. The study concerns modern religious practices of the Chuvash people, taking into account both the preservation of traditional beliefs and worship and innovations due to social change. The region in question is characterized by the fact that different confessions —  paganism, Orthodoxy, and Islam —  have historically come into contact here. The article shows the dynamics of the funeral and commemorative customs and rituals of the Chuvash of this area during one and a half centuries (mid 19th —  early 20th century). It demonstrates that various features of funeral and commemorative customs and rituals of the Chuvash in the area are due to their religious affiliation and contain key pagan or Orthodox characteristics. Traditional elements in the rite of passage of the unbaptized Chuvash form the basis of some rites, while Christian ones are displaced to its periphery. Key characte- ristics of rites based on Christian tradition serve as the foundation of the religious identity of the Orthodox Chuvash. The innovations indicate the variability of funeral and memorial customs not only due to changes of religious identity, but also as a result of the modernization of social conditions and the transformation of traditional social institutions.