Musical-Song Folklore in the Context of Funeral-Memorial Tradition of the Eastern Udmurts

Abstract

The article examines the musical and song folklore of the Eastern Udmurts in the context of the culture of funeral and memorial rites. Drawing both on the archival and field data, we discuss the functions, symbolism, terminologies, as well as musical and poetical aspects of songs and melodies performed during funeral and commemoration rites. The sources that we explored point to the strong influence of the neighboring Turkic musical culture. We argue that there is not a single basic tune or melody that could be considered as typical for the funeral and commemorative culture of the Eastern Udmurts; rather, one can speak of a variety of local tunes and melodies. There are both welcome songs and lyrical or folk songs that are frequently performed during the rites. The latter, in their musical aspects, are usually close to the folk culture of neighboring Turkic peoples, such as the Tatar, Bashkir, or perhaps sometimes Chuvash. The presence of lyrical songs in the ritual contexts is due to the fact that those let the rite participants express much stronger emotions, which may be considered excessive and unnecessary in everyday life. The study confirms the assumption that songs in funeral and commemoration rites function as a medium for communication in the sacral dialog between the worlds.