Rituals and Socialisation in the Udmurt Folk Calendar
The article describes Udmurt folk calendar rites from the perspective of age and gender socialisation as one form of regulation of the ritual act. It shows, using particular examples, the interdependence of gender and age differences. Men played an important role in the process of prayer. However, the ‘female theme’ has become the quintessence of spring ceremonies, the main functions of which were fertility and production. A special role was given to older women who were not only the supervisors of ritual actions, but also the initiators of occasional rituals. They also established contact with the other world. Youth held an active position at the beginning of half-year as equivalent periods (palar) of calendar cycle – spring and autumn. Boys and girls were the main participants in the spring and summer merrymaking dances and at the autumn and winter gatherings. The main task of these rituals was the formation of pairs with the prospect of marriage. The eve of the holiday could be correlated with puberty. Children participated in appropriate games in which the basic images and characters of the rituals are revealed. Attention is focused on the functions of the participants and the peculiarities of their behaviour.