VEHICLES IN THE WEDDING CEREMONY OF THE MORDVINS: FROM THE HISTORY OF RURAL LIFE TRADITIONS

A growing interest in the diversity of life-support traditions in rural areas in ethnotourism and in the field of preserving cultural heritage for the younger generation actualizes research in the field of using certain means in ceremonial culture. The wedding ceremony involving traditional means of transportation and their elements is one of the most attractive for the study and reproduction. The scientific novelty of the study is due to lacking comprehensive analysis of the role of vehicles in wedding ceremonies among the Mordovian population in the Republic of Mordovia and beyond. The purpose of the study is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of using vehicles, their elements and images in the Mordovian wedding ceremony system in the territory of the Volga region. Materials and methods. The article analyzes data on the participation of vehicles in the wedding ceremony among the Mordovian population, obtained from research literature and field data collected both in the Republic of Mordovia and in ethnographic expeditions in Saratov region. The methods of historicism, typologization and comparative analysis were applied. Research results. The terminology of vehicles and their components contained in the historical, ethnological and linguistic material is revealed: names related to the arrangement of the wedding train (names of wedding wagons (“on-ava”, “onavas”, “onavat alu”, “onavat ftala”), participants in the process (“ava-where”, “atya-where”, “anda”), objects that decorated the vehicle”velkhdarda”, “garni”, “gromok”), etc. The stages of the wedding are analyzed, during which transport was used: the bride’s trip to relatives to prepare the dowry, the matchmaker’s arrival to the groom, the wedding train, etc. The article presents folklore works confirming the use of various types of vehicles (horses, carts, sleighs, etc.). Conclusions. The analysis of the wedding ceremony showed that the Mordvins actively used vehicles of various types in the process of its conduct. A certain role was given to the horse (for the rider and in a tandem-type team, for example; as a beasts of burden for transporting people, things, products, etc.) and harness (whip, harness, reins, etc.), sledge-wheeled (sledges, carts) groups of traditional means of transportation (low wide sledges, wagons, carriage, droshky and others).