Dynamics of cultural landscape (as exemplified by the functioning of conifers in wedding rites of the Ulyanovsk region)

  • Mikhail Gershonovich Matlin Ulyanovsk State Pedagogical University, Ulyanovsk, Russia.
  • Andrei Viktorovich Maslennikov Ulyanovsk State Pedagogical University, Ulyanovsk, Russia.
  • Daniil Anatolevich Frolov Ulyanovsk State Pedagogical University, Ulyanovsk, Russia.
  • Antonina Petrovna Lipatova Ulyanovsk State Pedagogical University, Ulyanovsk, Russia.
Keywords: Traditional Russian wedding, rite, symbol, Ulyanovsk Povolzhye, conifer, dynamics, semiotization.

Abstract

This article is relevant due to the current trend of interdisciplinary research in the sphere of socio-humanistic studies. In this case, it is the study of the dynamic cultural landscape developed by cultural (humanitarian) geography, ethnobotany, ethnology, folkloristics and cultural science. An important role in the formation and development of the cultural landscape of Russian rural settlements was played by traditional culture (primarily, wedding and calendar rites). They functioned in typical natural locations: forests, rivers, meadows, fields, etc., while such natural objects as freestanding trees, wild and cultivated plants, fruits, etc. were included in the ritual process and acquired a new semiotic status. In addition to the symbolic aspect, the interaction of traditional culture and nature had a dynamic character caused by the mutual influence of traditional culture and natural landscape on each other. The article presents the results of the study on the dynamics of the cultural landscape as exemplified by the functioning of conifers in wedding rites of the Ulyanovsk Region. The authors have established that their peculiar functioning is associated with landscape characteristics of certain areas and settlements of Ulyanovsk Povolzhye (the Ulyanovsk Volga region), as well as changes caused by deforestation, the emergence of new forest types and the cultivation of more forests. As a result, the plant used in wedding rites was replaced with a new one, or other types of wedding trees were introduced in the existing traditions depending on the season or regardless of it. Conifers were often used the day before a wedding when the bride's female friends or relatives visited the groom's house, and less often on the wedding day during the dower ceremony. The authors of the article have revealed that conifers are one of the variants of a wedding tree, therefore, their pragmatics are determined by the pragmatics and semantics of the wedding ceremony itself. The main functions of a coniferous tree in weddings were informational (to spread the information about a wedding or a certain wedding rite), symbolic (to designate marriage, marriage partners, loss of the bride's virginity, coitus), aesthetic and festive (to decorate a plant with ribbons, beads and colorful rags to make it colorful and turn it into a symbol of the holiday, while wedding songs performed by girls strengthened this effect).

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Author Biographies

Mikhail Gershonovich Matlin, Ulyanovsk State Pedagogical University, Ulyanovsk, Russia.

Ulyanovsk State Pedagogical University, Ulyanovsk, Russia. 

Andrei Viktorovich Maslennikov, Ulyanovsk State Pedagogical University, Ulyanovsk, Russia.

 Ulyanovsk State Pedagogical University, Ulyanovsk, Russia. 

Daniil Anatolevich Frolov, Ulyanovsk State Pedagogical University, Ulyanovsk, Russia.

 Ulyanovsk State Pedagogical University, Ulyanovsk, Russia. 

Antonina Petrovna Lipatova, Ulyanovsk State Pedagogical University, Ulyanovsk, Russia.

 Ulyanovsk State Pedagogical University, Ulyanovsk, Russia. 

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Published
2019-06-25
How to Cite
Matlin, M., Maslennikov, A., Frolov, D., & Lipatova, A. (2019). Dynamics of cultural landscape (as exemplified by the functioning of conifers in wedding rites of the Ulyanovsk region). Amazonia Investiga, 8(20), 626-639. Retrieved from https://amazoniainvestiga.info/index.php/amazonia/article/view/196
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Articles
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