Semantics of Traditional Funeral Rites of the Indigenous Population in the Northern Altai Foothill (Late 19th - First Half of 20th Century)

Abstract

Purpose. The article reconstructs traditional funeral memorial rituals of the indigenous peoples inhabiting the Northern Altai foothills (the Kumandins, the Tubalars and the Chelkans) and its semantics. Results. The funeral memorial rituals included three stages: preparation of the deceased for the ritual, funeral and commemoration. The preparatory period for transition to another world included washing the body, dressing, preparing a new “house” for the deceased (coffin, deck, grave, frame, platform, etc.) and preparing the accompanying equipment (things and food needed on the way to another world). The burial day began with the preparation of the burial site at sunrise. In the middle of the day, the relatives carried the body of the deceased out of the house, mourned and made their way to the dead person’s new “house”. At the burial site, the participants of the procession said goodbye and buried the body. This day culminated in the commemoration of the deceased and purification of the participants of the ritual at sunset. The commemoration stage was accompanied with meetings, feeding and seeing off the soul of the dead person. Conclusions. Death determined the onset of the transition period for the deceased. A successful transition of the soul from one world to another had to be ensured by the correct performance of a complex of rites and rituals. At the same time, rituals were aimed at preserving the lives of living relatives and protecting the society. Elements of the rites had a symbolic character. Ritual practices were intended to ensure the cyclical nature of life. Influence of Russian and Orthodox traditions on indigenous Altai population led to transformations of the funeral and memorial rites and rituals. At the same time, the semantics of the rituals stayed the same and passed on from generation to generation.