Oleksandr Vasianovych

Candidate of Historical Sciences (PhD), Deputy Director for Research, State Scientific Center for Protection of Cultural Heritage from Technological Disasters, Kyiv, Ukraine

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9360-6447

E-mail: guru_v@ukr.net

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Keywords: folk meteorology, folk beliefs, magical actions, drought, one-day-made fabric, one-day-made linen, location, Ukrainian Polissia.

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Abstract

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To obtain a harvest, the inhabitants of Ukrainian Polissia used magical rituals to counteract drought, thunderstorms, hail, and excessive frost. The purpose of the publication is to highlight the symbolic locations for production and use of the one-day-made linen for causing rain on the territory of the Ukrainian Polissia based on the author's field materials. To realize the set goal, the places of the ritual action (crossroads, water wells, sink holes, mansions, churches, etc.) are analyzed as well as the circle of participants in the process of manufacturing of one-day-made linen is outlined; the names and sizes of the manufactured fabric were fixed; the actions carried out with the one-day-made linen during a drought are considered. The methodology of the publication is based on general scientific principles and basic requirements that are set for works of historical and ethnological direction. Despite the more than a thousand-year history of the establishment of Christianity in our lands, elements of paganism have been deeply imprinted in the rituals, customs, and beliefs of Ukrainians.

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References

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