BLESSING
BLESSING is a folklore genre connected with magic from a good word to correct a person’s or people’s life in a positive way. It is mostly uttered by elderly people. B. are dedicated to the crucial events in life (birth of a child, giving aname moment, wedding, newly married couple visiting elders to have their B., etc.) There are also wedding B. given to a bride or a groom: “May your children live in a great clan and village!” (Bashk.), etc. B. were also said at the different stages of a wedding ritual by the Eastern Slavic peoples of RB. Parents would bless the groom and bride with an icon, bread and salt during the wedding in church, then the newly married couple would receive a B. while special songs were sung, the couple would be sprinkled with hops, grain, small coins, candies. B. were sung before the baking of wedding karavay bread (see Karavaynitsa): “Bless, oh Lord, / and Father, and Mother, / to bake a karavay/ for my child. / Bless, oh Lord” (Ukr.). B. uttered before a journey were also popular: “If you must go, go inspired, if you see your companion – come to him!” (Bashk.); “May your guardian angel be your companion on your way”, etc. B. are widely used in modern practices of Bashkortostan peoples, they are even included in ethnic prayers and holidays (see Inlyin day, Nauruz, Trinity, etc.) B. poetics use the names of deities and canonized saints (Vedyava, Inmar, Khyzyr Ilyas, etc.).
F.G. Galieva, R.A. Sultangareyeva
