Spirits Sheva in the demonological representations of the Komi-Zyryan people
English
journal number:
Journal’s Subject Headings:
History, ethnography, archeology
About author:
Institute of Language, Literature and History, Komi Science Center, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Syktyvkar, Russian Federation, [email protected]
ABSTRACT
Introduction: the thesis about the presence of a Komi substrate in North Russian ideas about ikota ‘hiccup’ was expressed quite a long time ago. In most studies devoted to North Russian ikota, there is a theme of commonality of Russian and Komi ideas about this phenomenon. There is a need to bring together all the information available today about Sheva (ikota) and give an objective assessment of the relationship between the two traditions.
Objective: to reconstruct the proto-variant of ideas about Sheva of the Komi-Zyryan people.
Research materials: dictionary data on the theme, materials of folklore and ethnographic research of 1970–2018, the author’s field materials.
Results and novelty of the research: the analysis makes it possible to argue that this word is related to a number of terms used in the tradition: Sheva as a general designation of the disease and the “sown” spirit itself, sometimes as a designation of the specialization of a sorceress or a generic nickname; sheva gag ʻSheva insectʼ as a main form of demonic beings; Sheva chuman / Sheva tujis ʻa box, a basket / a basket with Shevaʼ as indispensable attribute of a sorcerer – Sheva setalys ʻgetting a Shevaʼ and as one more designation of sorcerers, a Sheva poz ʻnest of Shevaʼ in the meaning ʻhabitat of Shevaʼ as a box storage and as the patrimonial habitat of sorcerers – Sheva setalys and as a nickname of their representative; Sheva pijan ʻsheva-childrenʼ as a as the hypostasis of the beings stored and nourished by the body of a sorceress-“mother”, whose life depends on them. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that the considered folklore material allows us to confidently speak about the “matrilineal” character of the proto-variant of the ideas about Sheva.
Key words: Komi-Zyryan people, Komi-Permian people, Komi-Russian interrelations, folklore, demonology, ikota ‘hiccup’.
For citation: Panyukov А. V. Spirits Sheva in the demonological representations of the Komi-Zyryan people // Vestnik ugrovedenia = Bulletin of Ugric Studies. 2022; 12 (2): 358–366.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: the thesis about the presence of a Komi substrate in North Russian ideas about ikota ‘hiccup’ was expressed quite a long time ago. In most studies devoted to North Russian ikota, there is a theme of commonality of Russian and Komi ideas about this phenomenon. There is a need to bring together all the information available today about Sheva (ikota) and give an objective assessment of the relationship between the two traditions.
Objective: to reconstruct the proto-variant of ideas about Sheva of the Komi-Zyryan people.
Research materials: dictionary data on the theme, materials of folklore and ethnographic research of 1970–2018, the author’s field materials.
Results and novelty of the research: the analysis makes it possible to argue that this word is related to a number of terms used in the tradition: Sheva as a general designation of the disease and the “sown” spirit itself, sometimes as a designation of the specialization of a sorceress or a generic nickname; sheva gag ʻSheva insectʼ as a main form of demonic beings; Sheva chuman / Sheva tujis ʻa box, a basket / a basket with Shevaʼ as indispensable attribute of a sorcerer – Sheva setalys ʻgetting a Shevaʼ and as one more designation of sorcerers, a Sheva poz ʻnest of Shevaʼ in the meaning ʻhabitat of Shevaʼ as a box storage and as the patrimonial habitat of sorcerers – Sheva setalys and as a nickname of their representative; Sheva pijan ʻsheva-childrenʼ as a as the hypostasis of the beings stored and nourished by the body of a sorceress-“mother”, whose life depends on them. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that the considered folklore material allows us to confidently speak about the “matrilineal” character of the proto-variant of the ideas about Sheva.
Key words: Komi-Zyryan people, Komi-Permian people, Komi-Russian interrelations, folklore, demonology, ikota ‘hiccup’.
For citation: Panyukov А. V. Spirits Sheva in the demonological representations of the Komi-Zyryan people // Vestnik ugrovedenia = Bulletin of Ugric Studies. 2022; 12 (2): 358–366.
