The History of a Ritual Text Published by Ivan Sakharov

Abstract

Among the publications prepared by Ivan Petrovich Sakharov (1807–1863), there are a number of texts that represent literary stylizations and hoaxes based on folklore. The article deals with one of these pseudo-folklore texts — a Christmas carol (kolyadka) that describes goat sacrifice. This carol was first published by I.P. Sakharov in 1837, reprinted by I.M. Snegirev in 1838, and then reproduced by many researchers of Slavic mythology. This paper argues that this carol is a combination of two texts: the first of them is the carol first published in 1817 by I.E. Sreznevsky in Ukrainsky Vestnik; the second one is the song being part of the fairy tale about brother Ivanushka and sister Alyonushka (SUS 450). This contamination is unique and occurs only in one text, albeit many times reprinted later. The article argues that this carol may belong to the pen of two anonymous folklore carriers, I.E. Sreznevsky and I.P. Sakharov. Sakharov’s stylization technique is characterized by the contamination of works belonging to various folklore genres. As a result, we encounter texts that are obscure within authentic tradition. Despite the fact that the Sakharov carol is an authored work, generations of historians and mythologists read it as a description of the ritual that was performed in ancient times by pagan Slavs.

Keywords

• folklore
• ivan petrovich sakharov
• literary pastiche
• hoax
• fake
• christmas carol
• goat sacrifice.