Article

Name: Formulas of hospitality in Russian fairy tales of the Urals and Siberia

Authors: M. V. Reili

Institute of Russian Literature (Pushkin House) of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation

In the section Повествовательный фольклор

Abstract: The paper discusses the complexity and multidimensionality of the image of Baba Yaga in the Siberian fairytale tradition. The most important functions of the Russian fairytale characters are marked with formulas. The aim was to identify the place and role of traditional formulas of hospitality in Russian fairy tales of Siberia and the Ural characteristic for the depiction of the meeting of Yaga-helper and the protagonist hero by analyzing their structure and functions. Since the theme concerned has not been studied enough in the scientific literature, this work is not of theoretical but rather of a textological nature. The formulas of the fairytale texts from the most famous Siberian collections were studied and compared with similar or complementary formulas typical of North Russian and South Russian fairy tales. The author proceeds from the division of the fairytale formulas into three large groups: initial, medial, and final. A preliminary classification of internal medial formulas has been proposed within the framework of the topic in question, clarifying the classification by N. Roshiyanu. Additionally, the regional specificity of these formulas has been revealed. Speaking about the formulas of hospitality, both verbal and non-verbal, the behavioral markers in the process of communication between the hero and Yaga were taken into account.

Keywords: Russians in Siberia, fairy tale, fabulous formulas, Baba Yaga, mythology, textology

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