PROHIBITIONS

PROHIBITIONS, taboo is a system of con­ cepts connected with the ancient pagan beliefs (see Animism, Hosts-spirits, Earth-Water, Totemism, etc.), is a minor folklore genre which regulates the life of a person, considers if it is acceptable to do an action. The genre is syncretic, it is connected with bylichka, myth, belief, signs, fairytale, legend, nasikhat and other genres. Their purpose is to harmonize the rela­tions  between  humans  and  the  surrounding world, people and society, to preserve health, welfare of a family and a clan. E.g., the most ancient cult P. are noticed in the “Ural-batyr” epic: Shulgan breaks the P. of his parents not to drink blood and appears to be on the evil side; “Syngrau­torna” Bashkir legend tells about a P. to sing the crane “song” as it brings unhappiness; “Sak­Suk” Bayt prohibits cursing – it can come true; it is prohibited to collect wild flowers – your life will resemble a flower's life; it is prohibited to comb hair on Palm Sunday – a witch can settle there; it is prohibited to kill swans, cranes and storks – your clan will be cursed, etc. There are household P. connected with economic activities of people: it is prohibited to swing your legs while sitting – your mother will die; to whistle at home, to place your chin on your hands – it attracts bad luck; to leave dirty dishes – evil spirits will have been there, etc. Legal P. are determined by social order: it is prohibited to treat animals and birds badly, to marry your relative up to the seventh degree, to speak bad about deceased people, women should not wear men's clothes, cross the road in front of a man, etc. Compositional structure is mainly based on parallelism, the first part contains P. of an action, the second part explains the reason and consequences. It exists in folklore of many peoples.