What is ritual folklore? First of all, it is folk art, collective or individual, oral, less often written. The folklore style of communication between people usually did not imply emotions. It expressed thoughts and desires associated with certain events and confined to them. Therefore, rituals mainly consist of songs, lamentations, family stories, lullabies, and wedding praises. Occasional conspiracies, spells and castings, counters and slander are considered a separate category.
What is ritual folklore in a broader sense
These are works of art of a small form associated with traditions, customs, religious and ethnographic genres. It should be noted that in all cases, the rites are signs of a national character. At the same time, modernity is being blurred. Ancient traditions with customs fit best in the past tense.
The range of folklore rites is quite wide. This is village choreography, choral singing in nature, during field work, haymaking or grazing. Since traditional customs were constantly present in the lives of ordinary people, the ritual folklore of the Russian people was and remains an integral part of their existence. The emergence of customs is always associated with long-term circumstances. The ongoing drought, threatening the harvest, may become an occasion for people to turn to God for help. Any natural phenomena that are dangerous to humans also make him seek a way out of this situation. And most often these are prayers and requests, candles and notes in churches.
Many ceremonies and ritual folklore as a whole have ritual and magical significance. They underlie behavioral norms in society, and sometimes even acquire traits of a national character. This fact testifies to the depth of folklore values, which means lasting values.
Folk rites are divided into labor, holiday, family and love spells. Russians are closely intertwined with folklore of other Slavic peoples. And besides, they are often typologically related to the population of some countries located on the other side of the world. The interconnection of seemingly different cultures is often due to a historically established analogy.
Holiday of Ivan Kupala
Ritual folklore in Russia has always been self-sufficient and did not need to be fed from the outside. The originality of Russian traditions and customs not only passed from generation to generation, but also grew with new rituals, often exotic ones. The most prominent folklore ceremony is the feast of Ivan Kupala. This rite has pagan roots. On the night of Ivan Kupala, high bonfires were lit, and each of those present had to jump over the fire. It was not always possible, there was a danger of falling and getting burned.
At night, it was customary for Ivan Kupala to commit ritual atrocities, steal livestock from neighbors, ravage beehives, trample gardens and firmly support the doors in the huts with sticks so that residents could not go out. The motives of all these actions are still unclear. The next day, the atrocious villagers again became balanced citizens.
Song rite
A significant place in Russian ritual folklore is poetry, which can conditionally be divided into song (spells, corral, great songs) and magical (love spells, sentences, lamentations).
Spell songs appealed to nature, asking for prosperity in the household and family affairs. Great singing on holidays, on Maslenitsa, carol and other celebrations. The core songs were mocking.
Rites and calendar
Among other things, in Russia there was a ritual folklore of the calendar type, which was directly related to agricultural work in the broadest sense. Calendar-ritual songs - this is the oldest folk art, historically formed over the long years of peasant labor in the field and haymaking.
The agricultural calendar, the schedule of field work by the seasons is a kind of program of the song genre. All folk tunes that were born behind a plow, harrow and weeding. The words are simple, but in this song poetry was the whole gamut of human experiences, hope for luck, disturbing expectations, insecurity, followed by glee. Nothing unites people like a common goal for everyone, be it harvesting or choral singing. Social values inevitably take some form. In this case, it is folklore and with it Russian rites, traditions and customs.
Seasons folklore
Songs of the spring ritual repertoire sounded fun. They look like jokes, reckless and daring. The tunes of the summer months seemed deeper, they were sung with a sense of accomplishment, but as if with a secret expectation of a miracle - a good harvest. In the fall, at times, ritual songs rang like a taut string. People did not relax for a minute, otherwise you will not have time to collect everything before the rains.
Reason for fun
And when the bins were full, then the folk fun, ditties, round dances, dances and weddings began. Ritual folklore of the calendar phase of hard work gradually turned into festivities and free life with feasts. Young people looked closely at each other, made new acquaintances. And here the traditional customs were not forgotten, the ritual folklore of the Russian people "stood up to its full height." Fortune-telling began at the huts, the girls were burning candles and swinging rings on thin threads. Cherevichki and felt boots rushed over his shoulder, a whisper was heard in the chamber.
Christmas carols
What is ritual folklore from the point of view of religion? The feast of the Nativity of Christ is considered one of the most traditional in Russia. It follows immediately the New Year. It is generally accepted that how you spend this holiday, this will be the whole year. Others consider Christmas to be the beginning of the new year. This is the main Russian religious event. On January 6, Christmas Eve, caroling began. These are holiday rounds of houses and apartments with songs and bags full of grain. Usually children go caroling. Everyone wants to get a pie or a handful of sweets from the owners of the house in response to congratulations on the holiday.
The oldest in the procession of carols usually carries on the pole the “Star of Bethlehem,” which appeared in heaven when Jesus Christ was born. The owners who came with carols should not skimp on gifts for children, otherwise they will have to listen to the comic reproaches of the children.
Main night of the year
A few days after Christmas, the New Year came (today we call it Old New Year), which was also accompanied by folklore ceremonies. People wished each other happiness, long life and every success in business. Congratulations were presented in the form of short carols. The folk rite was also "obscure" songs that accompanied fortune-telling after midnight. That's what ritual folklore is on New Year's Eve!
And when winter is running out, the time comes for her seeing off - and the people take to the streets to greet Maslenitsa. This is a time of fun winter folklore ceremonies with three-wheeler riding, with creaking sled races, with ice-skating games with clubs. Fun continues in the dark, and in the late evening the whole family sits by the stove and recalls the past holiday. During such gatherings, they sang songs, sang ditties, played games. This is also a ritual family folklore of the Russian people. It includes family stories, wedding songs, lullabies, lamentations, and much more.