Last class Todays class

1
Last class Todays class

• Ukrainian wedding analyzed
• Magic and margins
• Pollution beliefs
• Consummation of the marriage and morning after
• Russian wedding at least the matchmaking

• Rest of Russian wedding
• Analysis
• Emphasis on gender roles
• Minyonok video grannies reenact wedding

2
Matchmaking and negotiations

• Brief courtship review Russian much like
  Ukrainian different name posedelki
• Svakha matchmaking woman does it (in Ukraine
  groom and male svaty go)
• Svakha matches up young women and potential
  grooms female relatives
• Bride will have to live and work with other women
  in family groom and men in field

3
After matchmaking

• Bride is sequestered lives with family but
  apart
• Cries, hides under kerchief
• Does work on dowry, not family work
• May eat alone
• After matchmaking mutual inspection called
  smotriny
• Grooms side inspects bride brides side
  inspects grooms possessions
• Again bride grooms goods

4
Women wear hats after marriage
5
Hats with horns worn by married women Implies
women cattle, exchanged for?
6
In the south (Ukraine), no hats, but married
women tie kerchief to look like horns
7
Russian nedelia (week before wedding)

• Brewing beer and bride protests
• Laments and physical abuse, placheia
• Saying goodbye to water
• Day before and devichnik first part is women
  only
• Crying and laments last good cry for no crying
  in marriage
• Play lament samples

8
Devichnik (night before) cont.

• Then men enter
• Transition point is ritual bath and making groom
  drink the water
• The krasota (beauty) ritual
• Role of men she asks various men to remove
  krasota only youngest one will
• Symbolism is not too subtle
• Contrast to what is NOT done to the groom
• Display of dowry at grooms home

9
Wedding day

• Train sets out from grooms home to fetch bride,
  led by best man, not groom
• Groom is silent best man speaks and acts for him
• Mock conflicts, straw fires
• Military terminology for various members of train
• Riddling contest and role of the best man
• Demands for money, buying a seat next to the
  bride
• Meal
• Procession to church noise, pins, loose hair

10
At the home of the groom

• Mother-in-law frightens the bride
• Father-in-law welcomes the bride
• Mirror image of youngest male giving her away
  (removing krasota)
• Feast, couple seated apart (on fur)
• Mock tasks and the ritual humiliation of the
  bride role of water
• Hair-braiding ceremony, special hat, with horns
  (link to cattle)

11
Consummation of the marriage

• Cold place warmed by happily married couple
• Further humiliation of the bride
• Boots, beating
• Consummation vigil and display of shift
• Or other announcement of consummation
• Morning after and visit to her parents
• Omelet ceremony
• Broken shot glass also used

12
Male/female difference

• Space as symbol leaving home is like death
• Man does not move his whole life
• Born in his house and dies in same house
• Woman moves at marriage and is like man at death
• Bride needs to die from the point of view of
  her house of birth to be reborn in new
  household of marriage

13
Additional wedding/death parallels for women

• Removal from home through opening other than door
  (not human passage)
• Washing away tracks of procession
• Clothing same dress worn for wedding and
  funeral
• Laments in addition to existence of wedding
  laments, most recorded funeral laments are for
  men
• Woman lamented at marriage need not be lamented
  at death (at least not extensively)