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The Gorka round dance festival is one of the oldest Russian rites of the spring-summer cycle, preserved by the Bespopovtsy (Pomortsy) Old Believers living in the Ust-Tsilemsky district of the Komi Republic. The ritual action includes seven obligatory figures, each of which corresponds to certain songs, called "gorochnye". In the past, the symbolism of round dances was associated with the renewal of life: the transition of teenagers to the youth circle was ritualized, potential marriage couples were identified in the dramatization of songs, and those who were already determined were approved. A modern holiday is a tribute to the memory of our ancestors. An innovation is the holding of a children's "slide" and the inclusion of children in a single round dance.

Keywords: "gorka", rite, round dance, costume, tradition, Old Believers.

Introduction

Gorka is one of the original ceremonial holidays of the national agricultural calendar, preserved in the villages of the Ust-Tsilemsky district of the Komi Republic. Along with the Northern Russian round dance complexes (Pinezhsky "metische", Mezen "petrovschiny", etc.), it is one of the brightest phenomena of Russian folk culture [Kaneva, 2002, p.46]. Ethnographic study of the holiday and the traditional culture of the Lower Pechora Old Believers in general began relatively late - in the early 1980s, although the discovery of two richest Old Russian traditions-epic and book - dating back to the largest Bespopovsky center - Pomor accord-showed the indisputable cultural significance of the Ust-Tsilemsky area during the first half of the XX century. Brief information about the" gorka " written down by N. P. Kolpakova in 1929 was published only in 1975 [1975, pp. 168-170], and the first scientific article about the holiday was published in 1984 [Neklyudova, 1984]. T. Neklyudova provided an interpretation of the deep origins of the national worldview, reflected, in particular, in the elements of "hill" shapes. A detailed description of round dances, song lyrics, and characteristics of the" mountain " folklore tradition are contained in folklore and ethnographic works of subsequent years [Babikova (Dronova), 1992; And in Ust-Tsilma..., 1992; Kaneva, 2002, pp. 46-53].

This article examines the development of the festival over the hundred-year period, reveals the features of its holding, the place and role of round dances in the life of Ust-Tsilemsk Old Believers.

From the history of the holiday

Even at the beginning of the 20th century, in the Ust-Tsilemsky villages, the ceremonial dances of the spring-summer cycle were united under the name "krasnaya gorka", which corresponded to the ancient Russian round dance festival of the same name, held in different regions of Russia on Fomina Sunday or on the first three days of Fomina Week

The work was carried out with the financial support of RGNF, project N 09 - 01 - 41102a/S.

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[Tultseva, 2001, p. 120]. In the North, the opening of "hill" festivities depended on climatic conditions, the opening of the Pechora River and readiness for agricultural work: Previously, the hill was driven from Nikolina Day, if spring was early. And the Pechora will not go to Nikola, the dek was not even driven (PMA*, P. G. Babikova, 20.06.2003); "As the land is ripe for plowing , so the hill was driven" [And in Ust-Tsilma ... 1992, p. 16]. During this period, the "hill" was held from Nikolina (May 22, n. a.) to Ivan's Day (July 7, n. a.) on holidays and Sundays. Timed to coincide with the dates of the Orthodox calendar, it was a kind of echo of the ancient round dances in honor of Yarila , a deity associated with fertility. Round dances were performed on high banks and hills, but the name of the festival reflects not only the topographical feature of its holding. It symbolizes the peak of the labor year, the peak of fun, the time when teenagers enter the youth circle, etc.

Until the 1940s, spring and summer round dances were some kind of youth gatherings - "exhibitions", "public viewing", where the game, and sometimes the real choice of the bride and groom took place [Kaneva, 2002, p.20]. According to the description of N. P. Kolpakova, "gorka" was a crowded ritual event: "On a high, very high level! - river cliff - girls ' dance. There are five hundred people in it" [1975, p. 168]. Three times a day, its participants were going to lead round dances, each time changing their outfits. The rite consisted of seven obligatory figures: "pillars" or "from behind the wall", "reins", "fence", "circle", "side to side", "on four sides", "quadrille". In full, they were performed only in the evening part of the holiday, and in the morning and afternoon - no more than three [Babikova (Dronova), 1992, p. 3-18]. Each figure corresponded to certain songs that were staged or performed in consecutive transitions/rearrangements. The distribution of roles of participants in the ritual action, rearrangements took place under the direction of the festival managers-experts in the tradition, who were women. Their participation in round dances, on the one hand, was associated "with the "teaching", "broadcasting" function, on the other hand, it symbolized the initiation of young men and women into the rules of ritual and game behavior at the beginning of the season of youth meetings, which was carried out through song games" [Kaneva, 2002, p.47].

Until noon, young girls participated in the festival, involving teenagers in the youth circle. After singing a few songs, they dispersed, meeting again in the afternoon, when they were joined by girls-brides and young women-married women of the first year of family life. During the day's round dances, the participants dressed in the most elegant sundresses and demonstrated their health, beauty, beauty, singing, and playing. Boys and young men did not participate in these dances, but were close to them and arranged games, competed in wrestling, stretched on belts (cf.modern rope/rope tug-of-war), squeezed weights, which showed their skill and strength. Men's competitions were also a mandatory part of the spring and summer festivities.

In the evening, all the inhabitants of the village gathered, from children of six years to the elderly, but the small and old ones did not join in the dance, but were only spectators. Along with women, men and young men participated in the evening ritual actions. The central figure of the "hill" was the "rein", which was performed only if crops were sown. It is not by chance that on Tansy "gorka" had another name - "reins"; even today you can hear from old-timers: "Let's go drive the reins." The significance of this figure in the round dance and ritual practice is also indicated by the participation of the entire village: Everyone led the reins. The old men used to say that the reins stretched for several kilometers. Everyone was putting their hands on the reins. That's how many gorochniki there were! (PMA, A. I. Durkina, 12.07.2003). Probably, in a single round dance of all the inhabitants of the village, one can see a ritual action aimed at achieving general well-being.

On Midsummer's Day, which ended the spring and summer round dances, the most crowded "slides" were arranged: in each religious center (Pizhemsky, Tsilemsky, Ust-Tsilemsky) in the head village, experts in traditions of different ages gathered (Dronova, 2002, p. 21-70) (Fig. 1): On Tansy on Midsummer's Day, a slide was held they always took me to the Borderlands. All here to get together, and with Zagrivochnaya, and with Stepanovskaya, with Skitskaya. But until the Borovians arrived, they didn't start the slide. They were the main singers (PMA, L. F. Solovyov, 07.07.2008); The next day everyone went to the hill in Ust-Tsilma Garevsky, Karpushovsky all sailed on boats. < ... > In Garevo, too, they drove their own hill, poshti in each village. And the next day, ush was taken to Ust-Tsilmy (PMA, A. I. Durkina, 20.01.2005).

The significance of the main, final "hill" and the holiday as a whole was also determined by the spatial and temporal rites of Midsummer's Day: before noon, villagers visited cemeteries, performed commemorations, and in the afternoon led round dances. These rites are genetically similar to the celebration of "Krasnaya gorka" in the central regions of Russia, where such round dances were held after the corresponding memorial rituals [Tultseva, 2001, p. 121]. According to the recollections of old-timers living in each of the religious centers, the cemetery was visited together only on Dukhov and Ivan's days. Currently, in the Ust-Tsilemsky district, the rite of passage is most fully performed.

* Field materials of the author, then specify the informant and date of recording.

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Fig. 1. "Gorochny" round dance, Ust-Tsilma village, 2007. Photo by T. I. Dronova.

2. Visiting the cemetery on Midsummer's Day, Ust-Tsilma village, 2007. Photo by T. I. Dronova.

A number of graves have been preserved in the village of Ust-Tsilma and the surrounding villages. Undoubtedly, it is also connected with the veneration of the locally venerated Saint John, a sufferer for the faith, who was buried in the central cemetery of the village, named after the saint (Dronova, 2007, p. 109) (Fig. 2).

If in the figurative and associative perception of the peasants of the middle zone, "Krasnaya gorka" is a sacredly consecrated beginning of spring and warmth, then in the Ust-Tsilemsky version, a broad celebration of Midsummer's Day completed spring / youth festivities and was aimed at wishing good luck in haymaking/harvesting, cattle breeding. It is not by chance that the peasants put the first haystack (germ) on this day; according to local legend: for the holiday of the germ-prosperity for the year. By Midsummer's Day, the weather was also predicted for the summer.

At the venue of the main "hill", teenagers who were first involved in the youth circle formed their own separate round dance, which at the ritual level consolidated their involvement in the youth. However, during the year they were still in a transitional state and only in the following spring, in the status of grooms and brides, they became participants in a single round dance [Dronova, 2002, pp. 206-213].

Mass festivities were also associated with the traditional fair on the occasion of the arrival of the first spring caravan of Cherdyn kayaks with bread and various goods in the Ust-Tsilemsky region.: "Almost the entire population of the parish was here (in the village of Ust-Tsilma. - Etc.) in the collection, only the old and small ones remained at home. Young people in their best holiday outfits walked in droves along the infinitely long Ust-Tsilma River and led gigantic round dances" [1890, p. 434].

In the middle of the XX century. the ban on traditional culture, which was considered a "relic of the past", "age-old backwardness", was tightened. In the places where the "hill" round dances were held, the village administration organized "reviews" of the village brass band, which drowned out the singing of the participants of the holiday. But, despite the obstacles that were being repaired, Ust-Zemtsy traditionally gathered to lead round dances. The keepers of the holiday became people of mature, more often senile age, this introduced changes in its conduct: some elements of the rite were lost, the rules of game communication changed, songs related to the choice of a couple were excluded from the repertoire. Every year the number of participants decreased, which was explained by the departure of the elders from the song / holiday-game culture, considered by the Old Believers as "sinful", and to a certain extent the loss of interest in the holiday among young people. The place of its holding was also changed: in the village of Ust-Tsilma, the "hill" was driven on high banks, on the road, and later on the stadium, in other villages-on open areas. In this" crisis "period for the Ust-Tsilemskaya "mountain" tradition (1960-1970-ies), the opening of the region with a unique culture for documentary filmmakers took place. Having learned about the original holiday, the masters of cinema came to Ust-Tsilma in August 1975 to film it. It should be noted that

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3. Figure "circle", Ust-Tsilma village, 2007. Photo by T. I. Dronova.

4. Figure "on four sides", Ust-Tsilma village, 2007. Photo by T. I. Dronova.

organizational work was carried out through the district administration and round dances were conducted "by order" outside of their natural timing to the traditional time of holding, but the methodologists of the Department of culture managed to gather the villagers, including those who had never participated in the holiday before. At that time, no one could have predicted that the film "Holiday on the Pechora" would be a lifesaver for Gorka . The growing interest of documentary filmmakers, artists, scientists and all lovers of antiquity led to the lifting of the ban on holding the holiday. Moreover, the desire to "get into the frame" was one of the incentives for Ust-Tsilemsk youth and children to participate in the"slide". So a new tradition began to emerge - the participation of children in round dances, and in 1992 a children's "slide"was held in Ust-Tsilma for the first time.

At present, the life of Ust-Tsilemsky peasants has changed, there is no need to organize traditional youth meetings. Changes have also been made to the Gorki celebration. It is "taken" on Ivanov (July 7) and Petrov (July 12) days, gathering only in the evening. As before, villagers with songs flock to the place of the holiday in small groups/pairs and join in a large round dance, the smooth rearrangements of which symbolize the harmony of life: the unity of human and natural. All seven required shapes are executed (Figs. 3-9). The innovation is the participation of children. During the day, they lead their own round dances, and in the evening they join the general one and join the values of folk culture.

5. Figure "side to side", Ust-Tsilma village, 2007. Photo by T. I. Dronova.

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6. Figure "pillars" or "from behind the wall", Ust-Tsilma village, 2007. Photo by T. I. Dronova.

7. Figure "quadrille", Ust-Tsilma village, 2007. Photo by T. I. Dronova.

Figure 8. Figure "pleten", Ust-Tsilma village, 2007. Photo by T. I. Dronova.

Employees of the Ust-Tsilma Department of Culture make certain efforts to preserve the "mountain" tradition. Since 2000, a children's camp-forum "Ust-Tsilemskiye Samotsvety" has been held, where children from all over the district come to the district center, learn traditional singing, learn round dance figures, and participate in the festival (Fig. 10). Currently, "gorka" gathers Ust-tsilemsky residents who now live in the Ust-Tsilemsky district and have left its borders. Participants of folk groups of the Rus Pechorskaya community associations operating in Moscow, Syktyvkar, Ukhta, Pechora, and Naryan-Mar also come together. It can be argued that "gorka" has become a kind of confessional symbol of the Nizhnepechorsk Old Believers, although in its own way

Figure 9. Figure of the "rein", Ust-Tsilma village, 2007. Photo by T. I. Dronova.

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10. Young participants of "Gorki", Ust-Tsilma village, 2007. Photo by T. I. Dronova.

in nature, it has nothing to do with ancient Orthodoxy, except that the Old Believers are the guardians of the Old Russian holiday.

Roller coaster suit

An indisputable cultural feature of the inhabitants of the Ust-Tsilemsky district is the traditional costume, which dates back to ancient times, "pre-Petrine" times, surprising with the splendor of old-fashioned (hundred-year-old) outfits. Many of them were sewn more than 100 years ago and are preserved as a family heirloom by several generations of people loyal to the precepts of their ancestors. In the Ust-Tsilemsk villages, the beauty of folk costumes is not of a museum nature. It is also not designed for lovers of antiquity, who annually come to Ust-Tsilma to admire ancient Russia. For local youth, this is an internal need to dress up at least twice a year in beauty that is incomprehensible to an outsider, join in the general round dance and sing an old song with a torn colorful and coloristic richness of sub-voices,and then return to modern, rapidly changing life. And women of senile age still sew and wear traditional everyday, prayer, work, and holiday clothes according to all the rules of cut.

The smart suit was distinguished from the everyday one by a set of expensive fabrics and a greater completeness. In the past, the outfit of girls-brides who participated in the "hill" was the most striking and included a shirt-sleeves, a sundress, a korotenka (short swing shower jacket with straps), a belt, a scarf, jewelry, a small scarf attached to the belt; shoes served as patterned feet*. Married women under 40 years of age, instead of a short one, tied an apron, which was a talisman, put on a kokoshnik, which additionally attached braids, tied a scarf over it, and after forty they put on only a sundress and shirt, a kokoshnik, a scarf, a belt. Currently, in the villages along the Pizhma River, the costume of participants in round dances, regardless of their age, corresponds to the old outfit of young married women, and in Ust-Tsilma, many people also wear a short one over the apron - such a complete set has become increasingly popular in recent years. At the end of the XX century, a "hill" costume also appeared for girls from two to seven years old, repeating the outfit of adult women, with a headdress of brides-povoynik (on a solid basis in the form of a crown, trimmed with brocade or braid). After a long period of inattention of young people to traditional culture, old-timers enthusiastically accepted these innovations, rightly believing that the costume now no longer reveals the status of its owners: Small children were not cut to death. From the age of 14 - 15, girls sewed their first outfits. In razny years zhenshshyny the attire dressed, now yeshshe es women who only go in old clothes and do not wear any other. And young people only on holidays, it's good that they wear it like this, they don't forget (PMA, I. P. Tomilova, 04.07.2006).

* Feet - summer women's and men's leather shoes.

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Men's "mountain" attire in the past consisted of trousers, a kosovorotka shirt, a belt, a cap, boots or feet. In the Soviet period, men came to the festival in modern costumes, and participants of the Great Patriotic War with awards. Currently, most of the men participating in the "gorka" are members of folk groups and wear stage shirts-kosovorotki; caps are also returning to the" gorka fashion".

Conclusion

The traditional culture of Russian Old Believers-bespopovtsy Ust-Tsilma is multifaceted. While fleeing to the taiga forests, the adherents of ancient piety mainly focused on the Old church religious tradition, but since it did not exhaust all aspects of social and everyday life, which they had to build anew, the Old Believers also relied on the so-called grandfathered antiquity, represented by archaic forms of life and rituals. Among them stands out the round dance festival "gorka", which occupied a central place in the spring and summer youth rituals. The spring awakening of nature emotionally filled people with new emerging energy and disposed them to universal communication, which unfolded in open places and was characterized by the mass participation of peasants. As T. Neklyudova writes, " gorka's round dances embody the unity of human and natural. The eternal movement of nature is captured in successive images, likened to life itself, its rebirth and renewal " [1984, p. 20]. According to the traditional worldview, the ritual and game behavior of the participants of the holiday was primarily focused on the" cosmic code", which maintained the stability of the peasant society on a metaphorical level. In this regard, the lifting of the ban on holding festivities during Peter's Lent becomes understandable, since the peasants considered spring-summer youth pre-wedding games and rituals to be a necessary condition for maintaining life.

In the XX century - a time of grandiose, primarily ideological changes - the Old Believers of Ust-Tsilma remained faithful to the precepts of their ancestors and carefully preserved their traditions. Despite the prohibitions and threats of the authorities, Ust-Zemtsy annually went out for a holiday. It was not held only in 1941, but the following year it was resumed: Hosh on Midsummer's Day, but we will go to the hill. I had a hard time, but they gave birth to children and sang songs. We were hungry, but the songs kept us going. Let's sing, dek as if the forces are arriving (PMA, A. I. Durkina, 30.12.2005). For the Ust-Tsilem peasants, archaic rites and religious traditions were equivalent, and they determined and maintained the social order of rural society. Currently, the holiday is the hallmark of Ust-Tsilma. Scientific conferences, regional and republican events are timed to coincide with the days of its holding, which attract guests from various regions and regions. The holiday also unites all Ust - Zemtsy residents-those who live in the district and those who have left it. Currently, it combines the memory of ancestors, the preservation of traditions, the splendor of costumes and the joy of communication. In 2003, Gorka was granted the status of a national holiday. The Ministry of National Policy of the Komi Republic has nominated Gorka for inclusion in the Russian Register of oral intangible Heritage monuments.

List of literature

And in Ust-Tsilma they sing...: Traditional song and game folklore of Ust-Tsilma: (To the 450th anniversary of the village). St. Petersburg: InKA Publ., 1992, 224 p.

Babikova (Dronova) T. I. Ust-Tsilemskaya"Gorka". - Izhma: Rbmpbshtan, 1992. - 30 p.

Dronova T. I. Russian Old Believers-bespopovtsy Ust-Tsilma: Confessional traditions in the rituals of the life cycle. Syktyvkar: KSC Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences Publ., 2002, 276 p.

Dronova T. I. Local traditions in the celebration of St. John's Day among the Old Believers-bespopovtsy of Ust-Tsilma (late XIX-XXI centuries). - 2007. - N 2. - p. 106-118.

Istomin, F. M., Preliminary report on a trip to the Pechora Region in the summer of 1890, Izv. imp. Rus. Geogr. ob-va. -1890. - Vol. 26, issue 3. - pp. 432-459.

Kaneva T. S. Folklore tradition of Ust-Tsilma. Syktyvkar: Syktyvkar Publishing House, State University, 2002. 120 p.

Kolpakova N. P. At the golden springs: Notes of a folklorist. - L.: Science, 1975. - 200 p.

Neklyudova T. Poetika severnoi "gorki" [Poetics of the northern "gorki"]. Dekorativnoe iskusstvo SSSR, 1984, No. 4, pp. 19-23.

Tultseva L. A. Ryazansky mesyatseslov: Krug goda fezdei, rites and customs of Ryazan peasants. - Ryazan: Ryazan. ethnogr. vesti., 2001, 284 p. (in Russian)

The article was submitted to the Editorial Board on 16.09.08.

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