SCIENTIFIC RECONSTRUCTION OF THE HEATHEN CALENDAR BASED ON THE BELIEFS OF THE POLISHCHUKS: SPRING CYCLE

This study presents a new level of interpretation of the ethnocultural meanings derived from the rich empirical material of Polishchuks folk culture, accumulated by several generations of Ukrainian researchers. It involves the analysis, synthesis, and reconstruction of the heathen festive calendar of the spring cycle. The restoration of the spiritual and cultural foundations of the calendar is grounded in folk perceptions of truthfulness, whereby “only the original meaning of a word, phenomenon, or ritual is true…” Adhering to this research strategy, the author prioritises authentic phenomena of the Polissian spiritual tradition over their modernised (populist) interpretations and representations. For the first time, the reconstruction of the folk calendar is based on scientific research by Ukrainian astronomers (New Year/Novolittia), as well as the alignment of spring festivals with the natural occurrence of Easter (spring equinox) and the entire set of ancestral cult rites (Provody, Rusalka Week). Attention is drawn to the determination of the date of the vernal equinox according to local time, which is of great importance when restoring the calendar, since it can differ significantly (by 2–5 days) from the “universal time” (the arithmetic mean on the globe). The system of memorial spring holidays and their symbolism, ideas about birds as mediators between the worlds of living people and Viria, in which the souls of ancestors reside, are considered, and the assumption is made about the existence of a belief in the reincarnation of the soul in Rus. The research findings can be applied in further academic studies, in the teaching of specialised courses on folk spiritual culture to students and postgraduates in Ukrainian studies, in the revival of ancestral spiritual and ritual practices within rural and urban communities, youth groups, native faith circles, ethnofestivals, tourist routes, and in the restoration of traditions by folk artisans and the reconstruction of sacred sites – primarily by local groups of indigenous people, that is, the Polishchuks themselves. The revival of the local culture of Polissia carries national significance and is a matter of state importance.