STRUCTURAL AND SEMANTIC FEATURES OF THE OSSETIAN TEXTS OF INCANTATIONS (ETHNOLINGUISTIC ASPECT)

	ISSN 2223-165X
	Izvestiya SOIGSI

Home Editorial board Publication ethics Current Information Archive Peer review guidelines Contacts Address: Pr. Mira, 10, Vladikavkaz, 362040, RNO-A, Russia E-mail: soigsi@mail.ru	DOI: 10.46698/VNC.2026.99.60.006 STRUCTURAL AND SEMANTIC FEATURES OF THE OSSETIAN TEXTS OF INCANTATIONS (ETHNOLINGUISTIC ASPECT) Besolova, Elena B. Izvestia SOIGSI. 2026. Issue 60 (99). P.150-163. Abstract: Incantations (as a text and as a ritual), which are unique verbal formations with a special way of existence, have been the subject of ethnolinguistic analysis in the Ossetian language for the first time. With features of several archaic ritual and magical texts, incantations belong to a small folklore genre; they are variable in time and space; they have clearly defined utilitarian functions; and they are conservative in content and form. As a folklore phenomenon, incantations have almost disappeared from the archaic spiritual life of the Ossetians, but they are valuable because they have retained their functional properties, unique structure, and unique verbal formulas until the first quarter of the 21st century. The ritual text is a sacred text in which it is important to identify similarities and differences in the direct verbal address of the Ossetians to supernatural forces; however, it is also a ritual text, which is why it is the subject of study of archaic traditions centered around their intonational and rhythmic structure, magical rituals, and cults, as well as their ritual syncretism. The reconstruction of archaic mythological plots and the specificity of ritual texts that have preserved and brought to the present day the features of the nature of charms are also of great interest. The article is devoted to the peculiarities of the structure and semantics of charms, the magical and religious significance of which lies in the ancient stage-by-stage pagan layers of spiritual culture and religious beliefs of the Ossetians. This syncretism contributes to the distinction between two aspects of the study: ethnographic and folklore. The research is based on ritual texts of the evil eye (tsæsty / tsæstud), which indicate that the magic of “charms against the ‘evil’ eye” is rich in meaning. It is also noted that due to their irrelevance, the rituals have almost completely degenerated in Ossetian culture, and the material that has been found has preserved mainly the verbal part, which allows us to correctly perceive the structure, meaning, symbolism, and archaic vocabulary, indicating that we are dealing with a magical folklore and ritual text that originates from a “witchcraft act”. Keywords: Ossetian language, ethnolinguistic approach, incantations, text, magical formula. Language:: Russian Download the full text For citation:: Besolova, E.B. Structural and semantic features of the Ossetian texts of incantations (ethnolinguistic aspect) // Izvestiya SOIGSI. 2026. Iss. 60 (99). Pp. 150-163. (in Russian). DOI 10.46698/VNC.2026.99.60.006 + References 1. Poznansky, N.F. Zagovory: Opyt issledovaniya proiskhozhdeniya i razvitiya zagovornykh formul [Incantations: An experience in the study of the origin and development of incantation formulas]. Petrograd, Tip. A.V. Orlova, 1917, XVI. 327 p. 2. Tokarev, S.A. (ed.). Mify narodov mira. Entsiklopediya [Myths of the peoples of the world. Encyclopedia]. Moscow, Sovetskaya Entsiklopediya, 1987, vol. I. 671 p. 3. Tolstoy, N.I. Yazyk i narodnaya kul’tura: ocherki po slavyanskoi mifologii i etnolingvistike [Language and folk culture: Essays on Slavic mythology and ethnolinguistics]. Moscow, Indrik, 1995. 512 p. 4. Dzagurov, G.A. (ed., transl.). Digorskoe narodnoe tvorchestvo v zapisi Mikhaila Gardanti [Digor folk art recorded by Mikhail Gardanti]. Pamyatniki narodnogo tvorchestva osetin [Monuments of Ossetian folk art]. Vladikavkaz, 1927, iss. 2. 161 p. (In Ossetian) 5. Chibirov, L.A. (ed.). Osetinskaya etnograficheskaya entsiklopediya [Ossetian ethnographic encyclopedia]. Vladikavkaz, Proekt-Press, 2013. 688 p. 6. Chibirov, L.A. Drevneishie plasty dukhovnoi kul’tury osetin [The oldest layers of the spiritual culture of the Ossetians]. Tskhinvali, Iryston, 1984. 217 p. 7. Bogatyrev, P.G., Yakobson, R.O. Fol’klor kak osobaya forma tvorchestva [Folklore as a special form of creativity]. Bogatyrev, P.G. Voprosy teorii narodnogo iskusstva [Bogatyrev, P.G. Questions of the theory of folk art]. Moscow, Iskusstvo, 1971, pp. 369–383. 8. Zavialova, M.V. Balto-slavyanskii zagovornyi tekst: lingvisticheskii analiz i model’ mira [Balto-Slavic incantation text: Linguistic analysis and the model of the world]. Moscow, Nauka, 2006. 563 p. 9. Tmenova, Dz.G. Detskii fol’klor osetin [Children’s folklore of the Ossetians]. Vladikavkaz, North Ossetian Institute for Humanitarian and Social Studies, 2009. 188 p. 10. Dzutsev, Kh.V., Besaeva, T.Z. Etnografiya detstva u osetin [Ossetian ethnography of childhood]. Vladikavkaz, [n.p.], 1994. 113 p. 11. Abaev, V.I. Osetinskii yazyk i fol’klor [Ossetian language and folklore]. Moscow, Leningrad, USSR Academy of Sciences, 1949, vol. I. 601 p. 12. Sokolova, V.K. Zaklinanie i prigovory v kalendarnykh obryadakh [Incantations and spells in calendar rituals]. Obryady i obryadovyi fol’klor [Rituals and ritual folklore]. Moscow, Nauka, 1982. 280 p. 13. Pchelina, E.G. “OSSETICA”. Izbrannye trudy po istorii, etnografii i arkheologii osetinskogo naroda [“OSSETICA”. Selected works on the history, ethnography and archaeology of the Ossetian people]. Vladikavkaz, Zolotoe sechenie, 2013. 328 p. 14. Kaloev, B.A. Osetiny [The Ossetians]. Moscow, Nauka, 2004. 471 p. 15. Magometov, A.Kh. Obshchestvennyi stroi i byt osetin (XVII–XIX vv.) [Social structure and everyday life of the Ossetians (17th–19th centuries)]. Ordzhonikidze, Ir, 1974. 373 p. 16. Bidzhelov, B.Kh. Sotsial’naya sushchnost’ religioznykh verovanii osetin [The social essence of the religious beliefs of the Ossetians]. Vladikavkaz, Ir, 1992. 181 p. 17. Akhmadov, T.Z. Istoki narodnoi meditsiny chechentsev [Origins of Chechen folk medicine]. Zdravookhranenie Rossiiskoi Federatsii [Health Care of the Russian Federation]. 2013, no. 4, pp. 51–54. 18. Alikova, Z.R. Narodnaya meditsina Severnogo Kavkaza (drevnii period – nachalo XX v.) [Folk medicine of the North Caucasus (ancient period – early 20th century)]. Vladikavkaz, Proekt-Press, 2000. 151 p. 19. Adonieva, S.B. Skazochnyi tekst i traditsionnaya kul’tura [Fairy tale text and traditional culture]. St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg University, 2000. 181 p. 20. Andreeva, V., et al. (comps.). Entsiklopediya simvolov, znakov, emblem [Encyclopedia of symbols, signs, emblems]. Moscow, Lokid., Mif, [n.d.]. 576 p. 21. Frazer, J.G. Zolotaya vetv’: Issledovanie magii i religii [The Golden Bough: A study in magic and religion]. Moscow, Politizdat, 1983. 703 p. ← Contents of issue


	Home \| Editorial board \| Publication ethics \| Current \| Information \| Archive \| Peer review guidelines \|
	© 2026 Известия СОИГСИ