Бабки-повитухи, Бабин день и дети в ритуальных практиках албанцев Буджака и Приазовья в ХХ — начале XXI в.
Midwives, Babos Dita and Children in the Ritual Practices of Budzhak and Azov Albanians in the 20th — early 21st centuries

Summary/Abstract: The study addresses the status of women involved in childbirth, as well as the role of ritual practices associated with Babin Day (Babos Dita), in the past and present among the descendants of Albanian colonists in Budzhak and the Sea of Azov — with the main focus on the analysis of ways to express gratitude to those who know from the local community. The study aims to identify the conditions and mechanisms for the preservation of archaic beliefs and the entry of innovations into the traditional sphere. The nature of the holiday held in honor of midwives, which is also widely celebrated in the Balkans (primarily in Bulgaria), today does not have a narrowly oriented sexual or gender orientation, but is closely related to fertility. All available options for motivation and scenarios for holding a holiday come from the common root of festive rituals, which is based on the desire to glorify a woman’s ability to bear children. The research, based on the author’s long-term field observations, carried out from 1998 to 2022 both on the territory of Ukraine and Russia, and in the Balkans, allows us to conclude that the Albanians of Budzhak and the Sea of Azov, whose ancestors migrated from the Balkan Peninsula and the islands of the Archipelago in the last quarter of 18th (modern Rostov region) — the beginning of the 19th century (present-day Odessa and Zaporozhye regions), retained the same beliefs and ritual, as well as magical practices, which were largely unchanged from the time of their residence in the area of exodus. The analysis of these practices will help us understand a way to preserve traditions.

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