An Ancient Yakut Tradition of Avoidance: Traditions and Ethno-Cultural Similarities
Abstract
The studies of material and spiritual culture of the Siberian peoples are traditionally of great interest, since they expand the possibilities for determining the chronological depth of ethnic traditions and help to solve some problems of cultural contacts. This article highlights the most archaic features of wedding ceremonies of the Yakuts. The author carries out the comparative analysis of some ceremonial features of the Yakuts culture and the same features of some other peoples of Siberia. One of the most important forms of family and ritual life of the ancient custom of avoidance is considered. On the basis of archival material the author describes the functions and adherence of special rules and traditional etiquette in a ritual action. The special attention has been focused on the attributes of the ritual actions, in particular, on the fur, as personal ritual clothing. In many cases it has the magic value associated with ancient ideological representations of people, thus serving as a magic of procreator, and the women has contributed to the well-being of the family. The characteristic facial veils serve as an indicator of social status of the bride. The comparative analysis made it possible to prove that this custom has ethnocultural parallels with many Indo-Iranian and Turkic, Ugro-Samoyedic peoples.
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