The motive of shapeshifting in Russian wedding speeches

This work is devoted to the analysis of Russian wedding speeches with a motive of shapeshifting. They are a part of the dialogs pronounced by the representatives of the groom's family (best man, the groom's godfather, etc.) and the bride's family (brother, father of the bride, a special «elder», etc.) near the closed doors of the bride's house. The motive of shapeshifting in the wedding speeches in its verbal manifestation and stylistics is related to wedding lamentations and fairy tale. The texts of speeches are characterized by independent unforced transformation of the bride and the groom; the bride goes through transformation always; the groom stays in human image or transforms after her in order to get the bride. The bride transforms into different representatives of ornitho-, zoo- and ichthyofauna. The image of a white swan , registered in the Kizhi, Pudozhskay and Mezen’ traditions, is the most frequent. The second frequent is the image of a pike , noted in the late records of the 1970s from Arkhangelsk province (Leshukonsky and Mezensky area), and the image of a fox . The transformation of the bride into a ring is another feature of the motive of shapeshifting, which brings the wedding speeches and fairy tale closer together. The groom's actions in the motive of shapeshifting differ in the degree of his efforts - the groom procures the bride himself or involves helpers, with whom he is connected by familiarity, by kinship (best man, other participants of the wedding procession) or by a chance meeting, which took place during the search for the bride (a miraculous helper). The using of miraculous means, magic objects or the assistance of a magic helper are noted in rare recordings of speeches, these images are mostly a sign of individual style and skill of particular performers, such texts are recorded, as a rule, in single versions.