THE SYMBOLISM OF HEADWEAR IN UDMURT CALENDAR RITUALS

Альманах
Key words
headwear, mythological symbolism, meditative function, age-related sociali- zation, “dev’ya krasota” (“maiden’s beauty”), symbolism of plants and birds
Author
TAT’IANA VLADYKINA, GALINA GLUKHOVA
About the Author
Владыкина Т. Г. — доктор филологических наук, профессор, ведущий научный сотрудник
Удмуртского института истории, языка и литературы УрО: Российская Федерация, Удмуртская Республика, 426004, г. Ижевск, ул. Ломоносова, д.4; тел.: +7 (3412) 68–78–44; e-mail:
tgvladykina@mail.ru
Глухова Г.А. — кандидат филологических наук, доцент кафедры удмуртской литературы
и литературы народов России Удмуртского государственного университета: Российская Федерация, Удмуртская Республика, 426034, г. Ижевск, ул. Университетская, д.1; тел.: +7 (3412)
91-61-66; e-mail: galant@udm.ru
Acknowledgements

This paper is financially supported by the grant of the Russian Fund for Humanities No. АААА-А16–11604201005–2 “Thingish Items of the Udmurt Ethnic Culture”. 

Body

 The article discusses symbolic meanings attributed to headwear in Udmurt calendar rituals. While analyzing the context of the rites the authors study the symbolic features of the materials used to make headdresses, their appearance and utilization. In the calendar rites men’s and girls’/women’s headwear usage patterns are determined by seasons (commemoration rites as the way to establish communication with dead ancestors) and age-related socialization (youth festivities as a play form of wedding ceremonies). The birch-bark hat (“tui kalpak”) of the person who presides over the ritual on the last day of Maslenitsa (Butter (Pancake) week) corresponds with birch-bark masks (“tui bam”) worn by guisers at Yuletide and birch-bark containers used in commemoration rites (“churok”) or sacrifices to a forest spirit (“chumon”), representing folk beliefs about connections with dead ancestors. The hat (iz’y/yz’y) and head kerchief (“kyshet”)/ head towel (“chalma”), irrespective of clothes worn, symbolize gender identity and are widely used by guisers to conceal their identities at Christmastide and commemoration sacrifices to dead parents in the autumn-winter season, which is strictly limited by the winter solstice. The headdresses worn by girls in the autumn rites symbolize their transition to another status (the status of bride). The forms of the hats and materials used are equivalent to plant and bird symbolism of the wedding rites and have parallels with the Russian “dev’ya krasota” (maiden’s beauty) which represents the bride at wedding rites.

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