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The value of hair in childbirth and baptismal rites (based on the East Slavic material)
https://doi.org/10.28995/2686-7249-2023-6-27-38
Abstract
The article deals with rituals performed with the hair of a newborn; an attempt is made to semantic and functional classification. The key issue raised in the article is the question of the “asexual” nature of the child. The author tries to challenge the existing point of view and show that the “genderlessness” identified by the researchers characterizes the social and ritual status of the child, but is in no way its physiological characteristic in traditional culture. The idea of a newborn as a male or female being seems to be the initial given, which determines the content of the rite of the first hair cutting. There are three main options for correlating the sex of the child and the corresponding ritual actions with hair. The first group of cases – when boys and girls during the ceremony of the first haircut could perform the same action (put various objects under their heads), but these objects differed in their symbolism. The second group of cases is when the boys’ hair is cut, and the first braid is braided for the girls; or when boys and girls had different haircuts. The third group of cases is when a child, regardless of gender, was put on a fur coat turned inside out with fur, and a certain amount of hair was cut crosswise. It is concluded that the rite of the first tonsure is the first step in introducing the child to the culture of this community, when he is withdrawn from the chaotic realm and becomes part of an orderly society. However, hair, as an integral part of the human appearance, continues to be a symbol of a person’s connection with some otherworldly beginning.
About the Author
S. K. MamonovaRussian Federation
Svetlana K. Mamonova
6, Miusskaya Sq., Moscow, 125047
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Supplementary files
For citation: Mamonova S.K. The value of hair in childbirth and baptismal rites (based on the East Slavic material). RSUH/RGGU Bulletin: “Literary Teory. Linguistics. Cultural Studies”, Series. 2023;(6):27-38. https://doi.org/10.28995/2686-7249-2023-6-27-38
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