Russian Maslyanitsa
Current political map of Russia. (www.nationalgeographic.com)
Abstract
Russian Maslyanitsa, a combination of older pagan traditions and more modern Christian customs, is a celebration closely related to carnival. Although the festival varies from region to region, it is celebrated commonly by the mass production of butter-soaked, blini, thin pancakes representing the hot sun in the summer. Although Maslyanitsa is a pre-lent festival, much of the symbolism of the festival has less to do with Christian preparation for lent and more to do with the much older pagan traditions. Regardless, like carnival and other pre-lent celebrations, the festival helps increase social solidarity in Russia .
mmm...bliny.
These treats are enjoyed by all during Russian Maslyanitsa. (www.beavton.k12.or.us
)
A
giant straw man representing the winter. The russians later burn this
statue and say goodbye to the cold (weather.mirror01.iptelecom.net)
Introduction
Maslyanitsa, literally butter week, is celebrated before lent in Russia with dancing and stacks of pancakes, and is a means to say goodbye to the long winter and welcome a hot summer. This combination of pagan celebrations and pre-lent Christian traditions makes for a perfect example of Russian syncretism. The celebration helps to increase nationalism and social solidarity in Russia .
Context of Russia
Russia is a massive country that consumes nearly all of Northern Asia . Consisting of 6.6 million square miles of land, it is the world's largest country (kidport 2004). The landscape in northern Russia is frozen tundra and forest dotted with many lakes, being in the Arctic Circle . Russia has mountain ranges also, namely the Ural and Caucasus mountains. These mountainous areas take up at least 25,000 square miles of Russian landscape (kidport 2004). Beginning at the Western border of Russia , the North European plain extends into mainland Russia . These Grasslands are very fertile (kidport 2004).
As massive as the country itself, Russia 's turbulent history begins in the ninth century. The Vikings created a Russian dynasty in Novgorod . This land, conquered by the Mongols 1240 and then later obtained by Ivan III in the 15 th century, was forged into the first Russian state by Ivan IV, “the terrible” (Ziegler & Partner 2003).From 1689 to 1917, Russia was expanded east and west by Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, and Alexander II (Ziegler & Partner 2003). After WWI, Nicholas II was killed and after a power struggle, the communist Bolsheviks took power. The U.S.S.R was dissolved in 1991 by Boris Yeltsen. Vladimir Putin became president in 1999 and is the current president of Russia (Lukin 2004).Origins of Maslyanitsa
Experts believe that Russian Maslyanitsa dates back to a pre-Christian sun-worshiping pagan society. The earliest documentation, though, dates back to the 1600s. Letters were written by foreigners describing the pre-lent festivities (Matloff 1999). Maslyanitsa literally means “butter” in Russian. This name is appropriate because the traditional pancakes are covered in melted butter, the theme of the week generally being to consume as much fat as possible before lent. (Russian.net)
Performance
The tradition begins ten days before Maslyanitsa, when Lark shaped rolls are consumed. Then, as the celebrations begin, thin pancakes, or blini, are fried and consumed in mass quantity throughout Russia . The blini are made in a countless number of ways. Buckwheat blini, conventional wheat flour blini, or sourdough blini, the tasty treats are eaten with a variety of toppings, melted butter being the traditional flavor (Sokolov 1993). They can be topped with anything desirable, from fish and caviar, to cheeses and jams, so long as it isn't meat. It is usually tradition for the men to consume excess meat in the home on the night before Maslyanitsa (Matloff 1999).
The actual celebration of Maslyanitsa varies a great deal from region to region in Russia . Role-reversing costumes, masked parades, blini filled sleigh rides and gift-giving are rife throughout the Russian cities (Matloff 1999). Some families celebrate by making a doll and dancing around it (Hos-McGrane 1999). A common conclusion to the week of festivities is to construct a large dummy or straw man (as seen in figure 4) then burn it (Russian.net)Artifact
A customary doll that is made by russian families make and dance around. (ruswinter.50megs.com)
Interpretation
Prognosis for [name of celebration]
Although the traditions of Maslyanitsa pre-date the spread of Christianity in Russia , today it is celebrated all across the nation. Families come together. people eat, drink and dance in excess. Even schools have celebrations for the Children. Although many celebrate in preparation for lent, they also recognize the pagan rituals behind their food and dance (Matloff 1999)
Conclusion
Maslyanitsa is an excellent example of syncretism in modern celebrations. The blend of Christian tradition and pagan rituals produces a celebration that, even today, helps the social solidarity and increases nationalism of Russia . The festival is a way for the Russian people to start the year feeling revitalized and free from the burdens of the harsh winter.
Internet References Cited
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Hos-McGrane
1999 Maslyanitsa in Russia
http://www.internet-at-work.com/hos_mcgrane/holidays/olga.html
An informative page centered around Maslyanitsa with a first person account of the celebration.
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Kidport
2004 Russia Geography
http://www.kidport.com/RefLib/WorldGeography/Russia/Russia.htm
Page contains small informational paragraphs and stats about the geography of Russia
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Lukin, Alexander
2004 A Short History of Russian Elections' Short Life
http://www.gwu.edu/~ieresgwu/AShortHistoryofRussianElectionsShortLife.htm
A more specific version of the election history of Russia in the last 40 years.
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Russian.net
2004 Russian Festivals Maslyanitsa
http://www.russian.net/maslyanitsa.htm
A small page with some basic information about Russian Maslyanitsa -
Ziegler & Partner
2003 Short overview of Russian History
http://studyrussian.com/history/history.html
A very informative page that summarizes the history of Russia very convinently.
Peer-Reviewed References Cited
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Dorson, R. M.
1982 Material Components in Celebration. ATH175F Online Readings
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Gmelch, G.
2000 Baseball Magic. In Anthropology . E. Angeloni, ed., pp. 181-185 McGraw- Hill/Duskin, Guilford
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Herlihy, P.
1991 Joy of the Rus': Rites and Rituals of Russian Drinking. Russian Review . 50(2):131-147
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Horowven, J.
1980 Origins of Festivals and Feasts
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Ickis, M.
1966 Book of Religious Holidays and Celebrations
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Matloff, J.
1999 Binging on Hot Buttered Blini in Frigid Moscow . Christian Science Monitor . 91(47): 17
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Solokov, R.
1993 Sunfood. Natural History . 102(5):82