page 166–174                                                                                                                                                                                        RUS

https://doi.org/10.20874/2071-0437-2026-73-2-15 

УДК 393.05    EDN: YNPYFC

  http://www.ipdn.ru/_private/a73/166-174.pdf

Reverse actions in funeral customs and rites of the Chuvash people

Igor' G., Petrov, Candidate of Historical Sciences, leading researcher, R.G. Kuzeev Institute for Ethnological Studies of the Ufa Federal Research Centre RAS, Ufa, Russia, ipetrov62@yandex.ru,
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8664-3004

The study examines the peculiarities of funeral rites among the Chuvash population of the Ural-Volga region in the second half of the 19^th — early 20^th century, with a specific focus on the phenomenon of “reverse actions” within the framework of funeral customs and rituals. The objective of this research is to analyze examples of reverse actions during ablution of the deceased, shrouding, grave preparation, coffin construction, removal of the coffin from the household, and burial procedures. In this context, reverse actions are defined as behaviors (both physical and verbal) characterized by inverted focus and semantic content. The research draws on published works on funeral and memorial rites, periodical press materials, archival documents, and field materials of the author. The sources were analyzed employing structural-functional and comparative-historical methods. Field materials were collected using participant observation and interviews. As a result, it has been established that the reverse actions performed during the funeral aimed to gradually separate the deceased from the earthly world and their introduction into the afterlife, and to protect family members and society at large from the potential harmful influence of death. These reverse actions, as components of socio-normative culture, played a crucial role in regulating human behavior during religious and ritual practices.

Keywords:  Ural-Volga region, Chuvash, burial customs and rites, magical actions, semantics.

© Petrov I.G.,  2026

Funding. The study was carried out within the framework of the State Assignment of the Institute of Economic Research of the Ufa Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, No. 1024031800139-2-6.5.1.

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