The yule ritual "vozhdenie Melanki" of Ukrainians in Siberia

The article is reported about one of Ukrainian rites in Siberia. In the New Year ''s Eve Siberian Ukrainians had the special rite, that had different options and list of participants - “vozhdenie Melanki ” (Melanka ''s driving). The main character of the ritual was a young girl (Melanka). Ritual performers dressed her as a bride and walked with her through the village, entering the houses with songs “schedrovky“ (carols). The peasants were waiting for her in each house, because her visit gave hope for a happy year, well-being, health, good harvest and livestock growth. The rite is associated with agrarian cults and reproductive magic. The semantics of ritual is connected with the worship of female deities (a girl - the protagonist character; goat - one of the images of rite). In the Siberian villages ritual “vozhdenie Melanki ” has being practiced by migrants from eastern and south eastern regions of Ukraine. We can name the rite “vozhdenie Melanki ” as ubiquitous (practiced not only by the western Ukrainians) for the Ukrainians, who settled in the southern regions of Western Siberia.