Бялото платно като обредна вещ в сватбата (върху материали от съвременни и традиционни сватби)
The White Cloth in the Wedding as a Ritual Object (On Materials of Modern and Traditional Weddings)

Summary/Abstract: Objects have dual nature, because every object can be used both as a object and as a sign. Any object made artificially has utalitarian and symlolic features and can potentially be used both as an object and as a sign. In this way the history of objects can be presented as a movement on the scale of semiotics. So objects of the present day can be discussed in various aspects: in their relationship to the objects of what has been referred to as traditional culture, as bearers of the family memory, as exponents of social relations. From this point of view, the white cloth could be discussed as a ritual object operating in the present-day wedding, and can be compared to the cloth in the traditional wedding. In the present day the white cloth is an object of utilitarian purpose, but when operating in the sphere of ritual practice, it acquires emblematic features. The cloth, which in the present-day wedding is spread out in the restaurant to welcome the newly-weds, could be compared to its usage in the traditional ritual, at which the bride passes on a white string or belt when entering the bridegroom’s house. Both in the contemporary and in the traditional wedding, this ritual object could be interpreted in a social context as a metaphorical expression of the kinship link in the family. On the other hand, it could also be regarded a symbolic element in the rite of passage.

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