Local Traditional Celebrations of the Veps: Particularities of the Phenomenon in the 21st Century

Abstract

The article discusses the present day situation of various local traditional celebrations among the Veps. Drawing on own fi eld research data, the author conducts an analysis of a number of celebrations that are still held nowadays in several Veps villages of the Leningrad and Vologda regions. Despite the presence of local differences, there are core elements that appear most stable, such as the ritual remembering of the dead relatives and villagers; family/kin, neighborhood, or fellow-villager meetings, and the cooking of ritual food. Changes in the Veps traditional celebrations from the late 19th through the early 21st century are examined; those are taken to be related mostly to the attitude of the state toward the Orthodox Christianity and Church. Paradoxically, the revival of celebratory activity centers, namely Orthodox chapels, is continuing against a backdrop of declining of Veps villages.