Karakin, J. V., Pashkova, T. V. SYNANTHROPIC INSECTS IN THE KARELIAN FOLK TRADITION. Proceedings of Petrozavodsk State University. 2021;43(8):64–69. DOI: 10.15393/uchz.art.2021.694


Ethnology, anthropology and ethnography

SYNANTHROPIC INSECTS IN THE KARELIAN FOLK TRADITION

Karakin
J. V. 		Petrozavodsk State University
Pashkova
T. V. 		Petrozavodsk State University
Keywords:
domestic insects
beliefs
folk tradition
Karelians
mythology		 Summary: The article addresses the traditional views of the Karelians on obligate synanthropic insects, which are denoted in domestic research as “domestic insects” or “domestic parasitic insects”. The way of life of these insects is directly connected with people and their home, where insects find a favorable microclimate, shelter and food. The peak of development of the synanthropic groups of insects is associated with the appearance of humans and their vital activities. This is reflected in the language, folklore and beliefs of the Karelian people. Over time, the people formed a zoomorphic cultural code that reflected the ideas about these insects and people’s attitude to them. The relevance of the study is determined by the fact that earlier researchers have not used Karelian material for investigating this problem. The authors used the comprehensive approach, combining the ethnolinguistic, contrastive comparative and comparative historical research methods, which enabled them to obtain a holistic view of domestic parasitic insects in the Karelian worldview on the basis of linguistic, folklore and ethnographic materials. The theoretical and methodological basis comprises the works of domestic and foreign ethnographers, linguists and folklorists. Using such linguistic sources as dialect dictionaries of the Karelian language and samples of Karelian speech gives a complete picture of the use of a particular lexeme in the Karelian language. Ethnographic, linguistic, and folklore works of domestic and foreign researchers, as well as the electronic version of the multi-volume edition Ancient Runes of the Finnish People served as the source base. The study also involved the authors’ field materials collected in the Kalevalsky district of Karelia. The authors came to the conclusion that in the Karelian folk tradition cockroaches, fleas and bedbugs were considered unclean representatives of the world of fauna and were endowed with a negative connotation.



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