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Humanitarian sciences in Siberia

2016 year, number

CONSTRUCTION OF THE RELIGIOUS LANDSCAPE OF THE VILLAGE OF RAFAYLOVO, TYUMEN REGION

E.E. Ermakova
Tyumen State University, 6, Volodarskij str., Tyumen, Russia, 625003
Keywords: Рафайлово, религиозный ландшафт, почитаемый источник, почитаемый камень, Rafaylovo, a religious landscape, worshipped water source, holy water, revered stone

Abstract

The article analyzes mechanisms of creating the sacred landscape, including the worship of a water source and a revered stone. In the Trans-Urals and Siberia some “holy places” remain understudied, while relevant materials are to be introduced for scientific circulation. For the purposes of a systematic presentation the object of research are the mechanisms of creation of the religious landscape. The subject of research is the specifics of veneration of a water source and a stone in the village of Rafaylovo in the Isetsky district of the Tyumen region. The research is based on the published sources and field data (oral reports, interviews, discussions, participant observation) collected in 2012-2013. Analysis of field data collected in the peripheral rural areas reveals specific practices of the religious worship of shrines. These practices developed under the conditions of the secondary cultural landscape formed by the resettling population in the territory of the Trans-Urals. Furthermore, the research materials, which include the new sacred objects, demonstrate the new ways of sacralisation of natural objects. Analysis of the above materials leads to the conclusion, that the sacred landscape is actively being created in the territory of a historic religious center. In Soviet times the village of Rafaylovo was completely devoid of Christian symbols (the sacred markers). Nowadays it is re-acquiring them owing to the active participation of the locals, especially the head of the local religious community. In order to improve the sacred status of the territory in the process of “new colonization” a water source and a stone (a fragment of the Holy Dormition Cathedral of the Simonov Monastery) were added as new objects of worship. New religious symbols form a new image of the sacred landscape, which is purposefully constructed thanks to the adequate strategy developed by the stakeholders, and especially by the Russian Orthodox Church, which is typical for the whole territory of Siberia.