THEORETICAL, SEMANTIC, AND TEXTOLOGICAL FEATURES OF UKRAINIAN INCANTATIONS (BASED ON FIELD RECORDS FROM THE ROKYTNE DISTRICT, RIVNE REGION)

Abstract

The relevance of the study lies in the need to study Ukrainian spells as one of the most secret, non-public genres of folk art. The aim of the article is to analyze spells through the special prism of the representation of verbal magic, to establish signs of their occasionality, to outline their structural properties in complex complexes of magical rituals. The objectives of conducting a scientific examination of Ukrainian spells on the materials of field records from the Rokytniv region of the Rivne region, which in ancient times represented the sphere of folk medicine, served to protect the family, home, economy and combined word and action. Results. Despite the existing records and research of these texts, the topic is relevant, since it includes a review of the theoretical, semantic and textological features of the study of verbal magic of Ukrainians, and we also aim to introduce into scientific circulation previously unpublished records of spells from the Rokytniv region (Rivne Polissya). These texts are interesting for their preservation, ancient structural forms (formula), symbolism, artistic means, and even the fact that they are still in everyday circulation and are in demand today, despite modern globalization processes. This state of existence of the genre of spells in the Polissya region can be explained by its natural protection in past centuries (forests and swamps created a kind of barrier from attacks by external enemies, a zone in which fast-moving horse-drawn military groups of nomadic tribes, who felt much more skillful in the steppe and forest-steppe zones, were actually unable to fight. The current Russian-Ukrainian war has exacerbated the feeling of patriotism, ethnic and cultural belonging. In this context, the analysis of manifestations of ancient forms of culture, such as spells, their transformations, tracing textual changes from pre-Christian times to the present, and at the same time the remarkable stability of structural elements and symbolic images opens up a wide scope for new research for scientists. Conclusions. The texts of spells encode the ancient worldview of the Slavs, their worldview and understanding of the world, and one can metaphorically feel unity with nature. They are permeated with unique images that filled with symbolic meaning, are interdependent and mutually conditioned.