PRIGOVORY

PRIGOVORY is a genre of family household ritual folklore. They were uttered as a kind of a game as they are rythmic, rhyming poetic texts. Functionally they are similar to zaklichkas but the difference is in addressee and addresser. P. were performed by adults and they are addressed to different participants of weddings. E.g., the matchmakers from a groom coming to the bride’s house uttered: “You have got a she-dove, we have got a he-pigeon – let us be a family”, “We have got a lamb-runner, you have got a female lamb. And two lambs are already a couple” (Voskresenska village, Arkhangelskiy district) etc. P. were said at “buying” a bride, “buying off” places for a bride and a groom, etc. A groomsman used P. more than other wedding members. Thus, arranging guests seated at the tables according to the degree of kinship, etc., a groomsman asked for a blessing “to have their meal and have a great feast”; “Sweet parents, /Our newly married, / They need a lot: / For an awl, for soap, / for banya construction. / Help with all / that you can: / One can give a pig, / One can give a lamb, / One can give a hen” etc. Nowadays the functions of P. at weddings are performed by poetic instructions, reinterpreted traditions of ancestors for those who celebrate a wedding. The poetical structure of P. mostly contains repetitions like anaphora, allegory, metaphor and other means of expression. It exists in folklore of many peoples.

I.E. Karpukhin