The concept of “death” in the folklore and ethnographic tradition of the Ukrainian Polissya

Abstract

Purpose of the study. To examine the concept of “death” based on the traditional beliefs preserved in the Ukrainian Polissya region. Scientific novelty. The study draws on field data collected between 2003 and 2021 during comprehensive historical and ethnographic expeditions conducted by the State Scientific Center for the Protection of Cultural Heritage from Man-Made Disasters. The presented records include, in particular, those from villages that suffered losses of cultural values as a result of the Chernobyl disaster. Research methodology. A systematic approach was applied in the analysis of the texts, utilizing a range of general scientific methods, including analytical, structural-typological, interpretive, comparative, and semantic methods. Conclusions. An individual’s attitude toward death determines the moral and ethical state of a civilization and its spiritual level. The presented variety of folkloric, ethnographic, and linguistic material, reflecting the traditional Polissya people’s conceptions of death in all its variations, embodies the value categories of human existence—such as Being, Fate, Will, Justice, Sin, and Atonement. The taking of life by mythological Death is an assessment of the significance of one’s sacrifice. The folk philosophy of death concerns the meaning of life, the awareness of the value of one’s life, a sense of responsibility for the life lived, and, in a crisis situation, the renunciation of one’s own existence. The recurring theme that unites numerous folklore plots on the subject of “death” is the distinction between earthly and otherworldly existence, the concept of the “other” world, and the interdependence and interpenetration of the two worlds. Deep-rooted pre-Christian worldviews regarding death, despite the millennia-long influence of Christianity, have perpetuated themselves and thus have been preserved and continue to be reproduced.