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DOI: 10.46698/VNC.2025.97.58.010

OSSETIANS MATERNITY RITUALS IN HISTORICAL VARIABILITY

Daueva, Tamara T.
Izvestia SOIGSI. 2025. Issue 58 (97). P.103-111.
Abstract:

This article, based on published sources and the author’s fieldwork, examines contemporary transformations of traditional life-cycle rites – the maternity rituals of the Ossetians. The aim of this study is to trace changes in this ancient tradition and its transformative forms, which have developed under the pressure of modernization and globalization. The study’s novelty lies in its analysis of maternity and childhood rituals based on materials obtained by the author during ethnographic expeditions in North Ossetia in 2022–2024, as well as in-depth interviews conducted to identify elements of traditional cultural transformation. Historical-comparative, systemic, and retrospective methods were used in the analysis. Direct observation was also employed alongside interviews. The work provides a comparative analysis of transformational rites in historical dynamics, analyzing the factors that led to the rethinking, change, disappearance, and also the emergence of new ritual and ceremonial practices of modern times. The ethnographic fieldwork collected by the author allowed the identification of surviving elements of the tradition and innovations in the performance of rituals that have emerged over a short period. In our opinion, monitoring the researched issues will allow us to determine the specific prospects of certain innovations and the extent to which they have been integrated into the ritual practices of the modern Ossetian ethnic group. The study will help clarify many questions regarding the very mechanism of ethnocultural continuity: which innovations are entrenched in everyday life, and which serve as a catalyst for the dismantling of certain ethnic stereotypes. Preliminary results of the study suggest a significant degree of modernization of traditional culture and the erosion of certain birth rituals. A noticeable transformation is also observed in children’s practices, some of which have been modified and reinterpreted. The current sociocultural environment requires transformation and the use of new approaches to the preservation and development of life cycle rituals.

Keywords: Ossetians, tradition, family rituals, maternity rituals, naming, childhood.
Language:: Russian Download the full text  
For citation:: Daueva, T.T. Ossetians maternity rituals in historical variability // Izvestiya SOIGSI. 2025. Iss. 58 (97). Pp.103-111. (in Russian). DOI 10.46698/VNC.2025.97.58.010
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