Dmitrievskaya, L. N. HYPOTHESIS OF DURYLIN ABOUT THE ORIGIN OF THE NORTHERN LABYRINTHS: RITE OF PURIFICATION AND PRAYER TO THE WIND. Proceedings of Petrozavodsk State University. 2023;45(8):8–22. DOI: 10.15393/uchz.art.2023.970


Archeology

HYPOTHESIS OF DURYLIN ABOUT THE ORIGIN OF THE NORTHERN LABYRINTHS: RITE OF PURIFICATION AND PRAYER TO THE WIND

Dmitrievskaya
L. N. 		Maksim Gorky Institute of Literatur and Creative Writin
Keywords:
S. N. Durylin
northern labyrinths
Kandalaksha “Babylon”
hypothesis about the purpose of labyrinths
rite		 Summary: In the early 1910s, S. N. Durylin explored labyrinths on the Bolshoy Zayatsky Island (Solovki archipelago) and first described the Kandalaksha stone labyrinth. Having collected information: location by the sea, on abusy ancient sea route, good preservation, rituals of the peoples of the North of the 19th – early 20th centuries, S. N. Durylin put forward his hypothesis about the purpose of the labyrinths. In his opinion, the labyrinths were the place where prayers to the wind and cleansing rites were held before going to sea. The article discusses various hypotheses of researchers of the XX–XXI centuries. All hypotheses are tested according to four criteria: the location by the sea, climate, good preservation, the shape of labyrinths. The novelty of the study lies in the fact that when testing various hypotheses about the purpose of labyrinths, archeological data were correlated with data from folklorists, which made it possible to fit labyrinths into the general system of beliefs of the peoples of the North. The version of S. N. Durylin meets the criteria and finds indirect confirmation in folklore and literature about sea voyages on sailing ships. His hypothesis about the purpose of the northern labyrinths although not having been proved or rejected, is well grounded and plausible. Thus the question of the purpose of the northern labyrinths has not yet been resolved and continues to remain relevant. The version about the cult-trade ritual (???) and the version about rituals before going to sea, most likely, complement each other as parts of the same belief system, the remains of which folklorists and local historians found in the 20th century.



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