The Bridegroom’s Banya Ritual in the Context of the Karelian Wedding Tradition

This study used ethnographic data and folklore sources to reconstruct the bridegroom’s banya (bathhouse) in the context of the Karelian wedding tradition. The study is necessitated by the lack of knowledge on the subject and the public’s constant interest in folk culture. Some elements of the wedding ritual are often used and redefined in modern ceremonies. The article aims to analyze the actional and verbal aspects of the bridegroom’s banya ritual in the temporal and spatial context, reconstruct the ritual, and present its functions. The study’s novelty lies in the fact that its results will contribute to uncovering new information about the wedding rituals of the Karelians. The study is of practical importance as its results can be used for educational and cultural work in Karelia. Methodologically, the reconstruction of the groom’s banya ritual is based on the systems approach, supported by the comparative historical method, the structural semiotic method, and holistic text analysis. The theoretical background for the study was provided by the works of international and Russian scholars, particularly the fundamental works of J. Surhasko, N. Krinichnaya, A. Stepanova, and L. Ivanova. The material for the analysis was ethnographic descriptions and folklore sources, especially wedding songs recorded by various local groups of Karelians. The earliest texts date from the late 19th century, while Karelian scholars recorded later versions in the first half of the 20th century. These sources have been published in a number of foreign and domestic anthologies. The analysis revealed that the bridegroom’s banya fulfilled the apotropaic and initiatory functions within the ritual and served as a place for the social status change of one of the most important participants of the ritual.