Authors: Маєрчик М.

Summary: The book examines how the symbolic representation of the loss and acquisition of bodily functions, as well as the designation of ritual characteristics such as androgyny and sexless-ness, cocoon-like-ness, and disintegration, facilitated the transition of person into new social statuses. Corporeality, understood in a mythopoetic sense, includes the symbolism of the soul, emotions, clothing, sound, as well as concepts like day/night, light/darkness, laughter/sorrow, food/crumbs. The author focuses on key transitional narratives of traditional culture related to birth, marriage, and death. The central focus is on family rituals such as baptisms, weddings, and funerals, along with their main figures — the newborn, its parents, the bride and groom, the deceased and the soul, as well as other figures repated to these transitional characters: bridesmaids, groomsmen, the midwife, the parents of the newlyweds, and others.

ISBN 978-966-8978-81-4

Responsible institutions: The Ethnology Institute of NAS of Ukraine

Published: Kyiv

Size in pages: 272

Print run: 100