Article

A ritual of death or life? The case of Radonitsa in the Smolensk Region, Russia

  • June 2018
DOI:10.17223/2312461X/20/12
Authors:
Irena Mostowicz at University of Vienna
Irena Mostowicz
Download citation
To read the full-text of this research, you can request a copy directly from the author.

Abstract

The author describes the ritual of radonitsa in the Smolensk region of Russia. The ritual is a remembrance holiday taking place usually on the first Tuesday after Russian Orthodox Easter. People meet at the cemetery and act out a particular ritual with offerings including food and alcohol at the graves of their deceased family members. The goal of the article is to find out the origins of the ritual and explore its continuity, meaning and framing at present. This article uses historical and anthropological perspectives which, in comparison to other scientific publications on this rite, focus on analysis of contemporary ritual performance in a particular place. It also presents a historical transformation of the rite from pre-Christian times to the 21st century. The analysis of the ritual also features a cross cultural approach: the influence of radonitsa can be observed among other religious and ethnic minorities living in the Smolensk region today. The ethnographic data was gained through participant observation and interviews in the Smolensk region in 2016.

No full-text available

Request Full-text Paper PDF

To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the author.

ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any citations for this publication.
Zur Dynamik von Ritualkomplexen
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 2003
Der Ritualbegriff steht für eine distinkte Handlungsform, die sich aufgrund folgender Merkmale von anderen Handlungsformen unterscheiden: Verkörperung, Förmlichkeit, Rahmung, Transformation und Überhöhung (Transzendenz). Komplex sind rituelle Handlungen, insofern sie kulturell spezifische Aktionseinheiten integrieren und auf gesellschaftliche Beziehungen verweisen. Ihre Beharrlichkeit geht auf Erwartungen zurück, die u.a. mit der Suche nach Sicherheit und Kontinuität zusammenhängt. Gleichwohl verändern sich Rituale durch die Intervention innerer und äußerer Kräfte und stellen die betroffenen sozialen Gruppen vor die Wahl, den Wandel hinzunehmen, Reformen einzuleiten, das Alte abzuschaffen oder etwas Neues zu 'erfinden'.
Modernity and Self-Identity: Self And Society in the Late Modern Age
Article
  • Jan 1991
The American Diabetes Association currently recommends that all youth with type 1 diabetes over the age of 7 years follow a plan of intensive management. The purpose of this study was to describe stressors and self-care challenges reported by adolescents with type 1 diabetes who were undergoing initiation of intensive management. Subjects described initiation of intensive management as complicating the dilemmas they faced. The importance of individualized and nonjudgmental care from parents and health care providers was stressed. This study supports development of health care relationships and environments that are teen focused not merely disease-centered and embrace exploring options with the teen that will enhance positive outcomes.
Mifologicheskie osnovy slavyanskogo narodnogo kalendar'a. Vesenne-letniy cikl [The mythological foundations of the Slavic people's calendar. The spring to summer cycle
  • Jan 2002
  • T A Agapkina
Agapkina T.A. Mifologicheskie osnovy slavyanskogo narodnogo kalendar'a. Vesenne-letniy cikl [The mythological foundations of the Slavic people's calendar. The spring to summer cycle]. Moscow: INDRIK, 2002.
Semik -den' pominoveniya umershih u komi-prermyakov [Semik, a remembrance day as celebrated by the Komi-Permyaki
  • Jan 2010
  • 200-208
  • S V Chugaeva
Chugaeva S.V., Semik -den' pominoveniya umershih u komi-prermyakov [Semik, a remembrance day as celebrated by the Komi-Permyaki], Vestnik VGU, 2010, no. 1, pp. 200-208.
osnovnye vehi narodnogo kalendarya [Folk traditions of the village of Kolbasa: folk calendar major stages (according to Eva Ivanovna Pavlyukova's memories)], Yazyki i folklor korenyh narodov Sibiri
  • Jan 2016
  • 63-70
  • T Dayneko
  • Fol'klornye Tradicii Sela Kolbasa
Dayneko, T. Fol'klornye tradicii sela Kolbasa: osnovnye vehi narodnogo kalendarya [Folk traditions of the village of Kolbasa: folk calendar major stages (according to Eva Ivanovna Pavlyukova's memories)], Yazyki i folklor korenyh narodov Sibiri, 2016, no. 2 (31), pр. 63-70.
  • Jan 1921
  • A Fischer
  • Zwyczaje
Fischer, A. Zwyczaje pogrzebowe ludu polskiego. Lviv: Wydawnictwo im. Ossolińskich, 1921.
Święto umarłych (Fête des morts)
  • Jan 1923
  • A Fischer
Fischer, A. Święto umarłych (Fête des morts). Lviv: Nakład Muzeum im. Dzieduszyckich, 1923.
Chicago: The University of
  • Jan 1954
  • A Gennep
Gennep, A. The Rites of Passage. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1960. Gluckman, M. Rituals of Rebellion in South-East Africa. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1954.
Celebrations of Death: The Anthropology of Mortuary Ritual
  • Jan 1991
  • R Huntingdon
  • P Metcalf
Huntingdon, R., Metcalf, P. Celebrations of Death: The Anthropology of Mortuary Ritual. (2nd ed.), Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1991.
Ètnìčnyâ tradycyì ǔ duhoǔnaj kul'tury Belarusaǔ. Minsk: Unìversìtèckae, 1995. Kopaliński, W. Słownik symboli
  • Jan 1997
  • I Kazakova
Kazakova, I., Ètnìčnyâ tradycyì ǔ duhoǔnaj kul'tury Belarusaǔ. Minsk: Unìversìtèckae, 1995. Kopaliński, W. Słownik symboli. Warsaw: PWN, 1997.
Obrzędy pogrzebowe pogańskich słowian
  • Jan 1952
  • 3-18
  • T Lewicki
Lewicki, T. Obrzędy pogrzebowe pogańskich słowian. In: Archeologia v 1952-1953, 1955, pp. 3-18.
Momento Mori: Pohoronnye tradicii v sovremennoy kul'ture
  • Jan 2015
  • 54-77
  • T Listova
Listova, T. Regional'nye transformacii pohoronno-pominoval'nogo obryada [Regional transformations of the burial-and-waking rite]. In: Sokolova D.A., Yudkina A.B. (eds.), Momento Mori: Pohoronnye tradicii v sovremennoy kul'ture [Momento Mori: burial traditions in contemporary culture]. Moscow: IEA RAN, 2015, pp. 54-77.
Obychai i obriady russkogo naroda. Ot krestin do pominok [Customs and rites of the Russians. From christening to waking
  • Jan 2008
  • I A Pankeev
Pankeev I.A. Obychai i obriady russkogo naroda. Ot krestin do pominok [Customs and rites of the Russians. From christening to waking]. Moscow: Astrel, 2008.
Russkaya cerkov' -hranitel'nitsa narodnoy dohristyanskoy kul'tury [The Russian Church as a keeper of pre-Christian folk culture
  • Jan 2016
  • A V Rachinskiy
  • A E Fyodorov
Rachinskiy A.V., Fyodorov A.E. Russkaya cerkov' -hranitel'nitsa narodnoy dohristyanskoy kul'tury [The Russian Church as a keeper of pre-Christian folk culture]. Moscow: Masterskaya malotirazhnoy poligrafii, 2016.