Concept of “unclean” death in the local tradition of the Ukrainian and Belorussian migrants in the south of Western Siberia

The structure and symbolism of popular beliefs are largely defined by the pagan beliefs of death as a transition to the other world and afterlife in different incarnations. Traditional (mythological) worldview involves a belief in interaction between the living and the dead, the ability of the dead to influence life and health of the living, weather, and economic well-being. That influence could be both positive and negative, depending on the status of the dead resulting from the cause of death. Mythologization of the dead is based on the concept of “rightful” and “wrongful” death. The “unclean” type of death triggered the emergence of the majority of demonic characters in Slavic mythological tradition. Ethnographic research has revealed great vitality of mythological views among the descendants of settlers from the Polesie region, who arrived to Siberia from the Kiev, Chernigov, and Mogilev Guberniyas of the Russian Empire in the early 20th century. These ethnic and local groups of Ukrainians and Belorussians live compactly in some villages in the south of Western Siberia, and have a well-preserved concept of “clean” and “unclean” death. “Unclean” death had varying degrees of negative status depending on its cause, time, and place. Those who died before the time of their natural term of life would become the “unclean” deceased. The most dangerous, “walking dead,” were the deceased sorcerers, witches, as well as persons who committed suicide, drowned (by accident or from suicide), or died of alcoholism. It was believed that they could leave their graves and frighten people. The dead for whom their relatives grieved greatly and for a long time could also come back to visit their homes. The ritual of “pacifying” the restless dead, when a sharp aspen stick was stuck into the grave, was practiced in some places throughout the 20th century. The article presents field records in the form of vivid stories told by the respondents.