Чешкият обред "Пътят на кралете" и функциите на словото в него
The Czech Ritual "The Road of the Kings" and the Functions of Speech in It

Summary/Abstract: Every folk ritual reflects a moment of transition in the life of the community - a change in the social relations or a change, connected to the process work and its results. "The road of the kings" is a Czech calendar ritual with an obviously initiation character. Since it is not very popular, the author gives a brief description of the ritual along with her observations on the role of speech in it. The fact that the ritual belongs to the calendar connects it to the idea of the cyclic recurrence of life. The reproduction of the myth of the dying and resurrecting deity is aimed at the magical activating of the productive forces of nature. The speech in the ritual also contributes to that, performing a magic-producing function by means of denominating welfare, fertility, abundance. The author's attention is focused on the role and functions of the ritual speech. The semantic level of the ritual helps the analysis of the verbal component. In the context of the ritual the speech appears to be a means of communication in both vertical aspect (living - dead, mortals - deities) and horizontal aspect (between the ritual persons). Besides, speech also performs regulative and normative functions in society and plays an important role in the processes of socialization. The impact of speech on the continuity of the ritual is due to the belief in its magical power and its ability to influence nature and social life, to contribute to the welfare and the safety of the socium. This multitude of functions of the verbal component is achieved owing to the wealth of language and to the symbolic aspect of the different speech expressions.

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