Пчалярскiя замовы беларусаў: склад, матывы i вобразы
Belarusian bee-keeping incantatory phrases: composition, motifs and images

Summary/Abstract: The article is dedicated to the analysis of Belarusian bee-keeping incantatory phrases, which have not got researchers’ attention yet. Although this group of phrases is not numerous, they make up one of the first and best known written collections of incantatory phrases in Belarus. A brief overview of the experimental data enables to conclude that this functional group has a clear pragmatic focus on bees’ protection and their profitability. On the content-motif level there is an organic intertwining of archaic views on the bee and housekeeping in general and Christian component. In the texts the author surveys Belarusians’ attitude to the bee as a God’s bug, a creative role of God and the saints, the status of an apiary as a sacred place, the image of a beekeeper as a mythological owner of bees. Numerous parallels between Belarusian, Ukrainian and Russian manuscripts suggest a wide Eastern Slavic beginnings of the manuscripts on bee-keeping.

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