SLFK 215, September 30, 2003
Last lecture &endash; common traits of Russian religious sects
Traits specific to certain sects
For all of the groups we have seen
Seeking the spiritual realm
Rejecting things of this world
Things of this world often seen in terms of flesh
They manifest their intent in terms of:
Rejecting reproduction/sex &endash; the Skoptsy
But Rasputin suggests seeking salvation THROUGH sex
Rejecting wealth &endash; the Holy Fools
But the Skoptsy see nothing wrong with having wealth
Reject creature comforts &endash; all the ones who wander, though not all groups or
individuals do
Some reject creature comforts in an extreme fashion
The Stolpniki and the Holy Fools
Last lecture &endash; showing that rejection of flesh and the body is a central Skoptsy tenant through analysis of cloth as symbol
Connected to bread and to the body
Use of bread and cloth in ritual
Both seen as sacred items in their own way
Contact magic of the cloth parallel to contact magic with other transitional entities
The body between time of death and burial
Puty and dead water in contact with it
Cloth treated same way
Contact magic in US
Wanting contacting with politicians, sports stars, movie stars
Avoiding contact with beggars, underclass
The cooties of early adolescence
Skoptsy white hanky can thus be read as a symbol of what they see as their bodily purity
Pick up with cloth and discuss other Skoptsy symbols and traits
Cloth as an extension of the body seen in Sten'ka Razin stories
He is the Russian Robin Hood
A bandit hero who stands up to the tsar
He is credited with magic abilities
Unlocking locks and escaping from prison
Magic transport (explains how he eludes imperial troops)
Creation of a boat by drawing one on a prison wall
Making cloth (the garments of his followers) bullet and sword proof
Already told story of magic cloak
He also has a bad trait and this is related to the Skoptsy
He supposedly accumulates a treasure
He gives to the poor after robbing the rich
But apparently he keeps some for himself and this is bad
Story of his being unable to die
The old man who finds Sten'ka Razin's treasure
Story with the icon
The torments of Sten'ka Razin
In a sense, if Skopsty and other sects are people who are trying to escape this world, Sten'ka Razin is precisely a person who is punished by being forced to do what these guys don't want &endash; stay in this world and stay in it way beyond his time
Mentioned treasure and damnation with the wealthy who become Iurodivye
So how come the Skoptsy can accumulate wealth and possessions if they want to rid selves of all ties to the world?
Question of passing it on to children
Or they have gotten rid of worldly things big time and thus other worldly comforts okay
Stories ABOUT the Skoptsy &endash; avoided by Engelstein
The wealth is gotten through a pact with the devil and is cursed
Stories of treasure and how to get it
Item of clothing &endash; as a sacrifice of sort
More straight forward sacrifice of a "head"
So &endash; Skoptsy have made a sacrifice to get their treasure
From their point of view, they having made the sacrifice, wealth is okay
From the point of view of outsiders, they have made a pact with the devil to get it
Note the "seal" major and minor
Skoptsy as healers
They have mastered the flesh and can help others with problems of the flesh
And this is not just things to do with sex; this is all problems of the body, like regular sickness and illness
Heeling by contact
Recall the epistles and the relics (1st, 2nd, and 3rd class)
I gave parallel with items in touch with another figure in transition &endash; the body between death and burial
Khlesty &endash; another section
Mentioned in the Rasputin documentary
Translation &endash; the Flagellants
Their family and home life is more ordinary, more like the way Old Believers did (though Skoptsy life is pretty ordinary and traditional on the surface &endash; just that one big difference)
What is distinctive about them is their service
During this, they supposedly drive themselves into a frenzy
It is ecstatic (literally out-of-the-body) state which is supposed to bring them closer to God
They pass out
They feel they are possessed by the Holy Spirit
How they do this &endash; not so sure
Well, the name applied to their sect gives you a good idea
In beliefs about them,
Once they drive themselves into and ecstatic state by abusing their bodies and inflicting pain, they then do other ecstatic things, like engage in group sex
Do they? We don't really know, until someone does a study
Things like this were totally impossible in the Soviet period
Now being done more and more
Western scholars like Engelstein and Russian scholars like Panchenko
The techniques of ecstasy
In a sense, the Skopsty were practicing one
The monks in the cells, the Stolpniki, and the iurodivye had a milder version
When you experience extreme pain, you get a massive endorphin release
Go into an altered state
People who cut selves and feel better as a result
Piercing and tattooing
Practice of physical pain to relieve pain is wide spread
Or to get other, psychological benefits
The Sun Dance
People who crucify selves at Easter
Wounding self in head, back
Vision quests with various deprivations &endash; including sensory
Analogous to monks in cells
Used by John Lily of Altered States fame
Excessive heat and cold &endash; which is why fever can lead to hallucinations
Rhythm &endash; motion, chanting
The technique of the Whirling Dervishes
What would happen to some minstrels and their audiences
It has to be the older recitative, not the more modern, song-like melodious performance
Closely related is certain breathing techniques, esp. those that lead to hyperventilation
You do not get excess oxygen
Rather &endash; oxygen starvation
Milder versions &endash; athletic activity and being in "the zone"
Yoga and what yogis can do and have done
The standing on one foot for hours
The guy who rolled something like 1000 miles
You could argue that ALL of our groups and individuals are seeking an ecstatic state
Display &endash; if the person performing the act achieves an ecstatic state, why do it in front of others?
Audience achieves a milder version
And sometimes not so mild
Whirling Dervishes in Erzurum
Kid on snake-handling tape
One of the things I was after with the begging questionnaire was reaction
Feelings engendered by observation