Silence as a Form of Ritual Behavior (Based on the Records of Kostroma Cultural and Linguistic Heritage)

Abstract

This article is devoted to the study of the functions of silence as a form of ritual behavior. Despite the fact that silence is related to certain close terms (having different types of relations with the former), such as taboo, deliberate omission, stillness, it is an independent concept of the folk culture requiring special attention. The article analyzes the Kostroma cultural and linguistic heritage and is based on the field records made by the Toponymic Expedition of the Ural University. The task of the study is to discover the situations where silence is mandatory, identify the functions of silence in various rituals and sorcery practices, and reconstruct the sense of prohibition on speaking and certain beliefs related to the idea of silence. Classification of records demonstrates that the area of silence involves yuletide rituals (fortune-telling, caroling), agrarian and cattle breeding rituals (end of reaping, cattle purchase and breeding), life cycle rituals (birth, wedding, death), protective rituals against disasters (e.g., fire) and some sorcery practices (jinxing and warding the jinx off). The following functions are identified: 1) a modelling function, where the imitative magic mechanism is implemented: the one to whom the ceremony is aimed at is silent in the same way the ceremony performer has been; 2) an incentive function, when the silence becomes an equivalent of a magic statement and guarantees performance of certain action; 3) an apotropaic function, the silence becomes some sort of protective charm; 4) a symbolic function: the silence indicates the transitional status of the ceremony participants. All functions are explained by the set of ideas of silence, i.e., its relation to another world, the underworld, on the one hand, or by the sympathetic magic mechanism popular in the folk culture, on the other hand. At the same time, a conclusion is made on the different “weight” of silence for the mentioned rituals and on the causes of such situations. For example, in the birth and infancy areas the weight is great, while being rare in wedding rituals.

Funding

The grant of Russian Science Foundation No. 23-78-10029 (https://rscf.ru/en/project/23-78-10029/) is gratefully acknowledged.

Received 11 February 2026

Revised 23 May 2026

Accepted 11 June 2026

For citation: Malkova, Ya. V., 2026. Silence as a Form of Ritual Behavior (Based on the Records of Kostroma Cultural and Linguistic Heritage). Slavic World in the Third Millennium, 21 (1–2), pp. 267–284. https://doi.org/10.31168/2412-6446.2026.21.1-2.15