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Ritual and Demonology Assigned Written Work:
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Find the Domovoi Activity
Assigned Jan 22/Due in discussion section week of Jan 26
Examine the digital replica of a house in the village of Iavorivka. Look at the one that is part of the Ukrainian Village Project because that is the one with background information as well as the QuickTime 3-D model. You can access this version off of my faculty page: http://faculty.virginia.edu/kononenko. The URL is http://cti.itc.virginia.edu/~nkm/. Read the background information. Now go to the house that is on our course web page. Using the background information on the Village Project and Ivanits, find the domovoi. The domovoi does not exist in the model that is for public use. He is present only in the house that is on our course page. Tell us where the domovoi is and why. Your answer should be one paragraph long.
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Response Paper 1
Assigned Jan 26/Due Feb 5
Please articulate the system of place spirits:
Discuss the domovoi in the context of other place spirits. Why does he
have more names and more multiforms than any other spirit? Please compare
him to both the other farmstead spirits and to the spirits of the forest,
field, and river. Why is he, of all place spirits, most closely
associated with the cult of ancestors?
Your response paper (you are responding to Ivanits) should be short,
approximately 1-1 1/2 pages long, typed and double-spaced. It is due Thurs. Feb 5.
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Response Paper 2
Assigned Feb 9/Due Feb 19
In the article on daily life and holidays in the Siberian village, Minenko
says that a peasant's reputation was extremely important and that being
considered honest was central to maintaining a good reputation. A little
bit later in the article, she gives a number of instances where being
deceitful or duplicitous was considered acceptable. Outline the
characteristics of an honorable and honest peasant. Then discuss the
instances where being less-than-honest was acceptable. Finally, explain
this apparent contradiction by finding common features among the people
who could be "cheated" and the instances where duplicitous behavior was
allowed. Connect to material already covered in our course, specifically
the treatment of space.
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Response Paper 3
Assigned Mar 26/Due Apr 8
Select EITHER the incantation on p. 93 of Ivanits, Russian Folk Belief, OR
the description of the egg ceremony on pp. 115-116 of the same book.
Analyze according to Bogatyrev. Which of his magic principles apply?
How? Please remember that not all of the principles will necessarily
apply and that it is unlikely that one and only one of the dichotomies
that he sets up will be the operative principle.
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