Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 51 (4) 2023   doi:10.17746/1563-0110.2023.51.4.126-134

Annotation:  Early Upper Paleolithic Tubular Beads from the Main Chamber of Denisova Cave Stoilo—A Paleolithic Site in the Southern Angara Region, Siberia Stone Age Ivory Points from the Arctic Zone of Northeast Asia An Early Neolithic Bone and Antler Industry of Rakushechny Yar on the Lower Don: Technological Strat Rock Art of the Ana Zaga Cave Shelter in the Archaeological Landscape of Gobustan, Azerbaijan The Russian Archaeological Project in South America: Principal Findings and Prospects Chronology of Rock Art of the Russian and Mongolian Altai: From the Paleolithic to the Late Middle A Lobed Ware in the Far East from the Neolithic to the Middle Ages Wooden Paddles from the Nizhny Tagil Museum-Reserve of Mining and Metallurgy in the Urals Spatial Distribution of Finds on the Eastern Outskirts of Poltse I, the Amur Region Contents of an Early Byzantine Amphora from Kruglaya Bay, the Black Sea Shift of the Yenisei and Abakan Beds as Reasons for Constructing the Second Abakan Fort in 1707 Corvids in the Buryat Traditional Worldview The Old Believers’ Churchyard: Semiotics of Cultural Space (The Case of the Ust-Tsilma Old Believers A Case of Surgical Treatment of Lower Molars in a Mesolithic Sample from a Cemetery on the Yuzhny Ol Origin of the Andronovans: A Statistical Approach   

The Old Believers’ Churchyard: Semiotics of Cultural Space
(The Case of the Ust-Tsilma Old Believers-Bespopovtsy
in the Komi Republic)

T.I. Dronova

Institute of Language, Literature, and History, Komi Science Center, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Kommunisticheskaya 26, Syktyvkar, Komi Republic, 167000, Russia

This study addresses the structure of cemeteries and types of tombstones in the funerary tradition of the Russian Priestless Old Believers (known as Bespopovtsy) living in the Ust-Tsilma District of the Komi Republic. For the first time, a description of their graveyards, known as “mogilniki”, or “mogily”, is provided, and their history and preservation are outlined. Traditional beliefs concerning cemeteries and their arrangement are cited. The symbolism of the forms of tomb structures, reproducing not only canonical prescriptions and requirements, but also certain pre-Christian beliefs, is analyzed in detail. Folk terms relating to the dead and the afterlife are included. The degree and nature of post-revolutionary transformations, profoundly affecting the foundations of the Old Believers ’ culture, are explored. Despite the attempts to preserve traditions, modern lifestyles took root in the 1960s and 1970s. Elements of local specificity in funerary rites have nonetheless survived and can be seen in the symbolism of tombstones, synthesizing Christian and pre-Christian traditions. Findings of ethnographic, linguistic, and archival studies are presented.

Keywords: Traditional culture, Russian Priestless Old Believers, cemetery, tombstones, deceased, ancestors