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« 2025. # 6 (186)

The Ethnology Notebooks. 2025. № 6 (186), 1462—1473

UDK 398.33/.431(477.87)

DOI https://doi.org/10.15407/

TRADITIONAL WORLD VIEW OF THE TRANSCARPATHIAN DOLYNIANS ON THE DOMOVYK: CALENDAR AND DOMESTIC RITUALS

REITII Halyna

  • ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7027-6668
  • PhD-student, SHEE «Uzhhorod National University»,
  • Department of Archeology, Ethnology and Cultural Studies;
  • Senior Researcher, Municipal Institution «Transcarpathian
  • Museum of Folk Architecture and Life»
  • of the Transcarpathian Regional Council,
  • Department of Scientific and Educational Work,
  • 33a, Kapitulna St., 88000, Uzhgorod, Ukraine,
  • Contacts: e-mail: halyna.reitii@uzhnu.edu.ua

Abstract. Demonological beliefs and representations are an integral part of people’s spiritual culture; consequently, their regional specificity is a matter of considerable scholarly interest. This article explores the figure of the domovyk (house spirit) within the folk worldview of the Transcarpathian Dolynians. The study focuses on the traditional demonology of the Dolynians and the complex of beliefs associated with the domovyk, paying particular attention to its calendar-related and everyday manifestations, as well as its local peculiarities compared with pan-Slavic traditions. The article aims to provide a systematic analysis of the functions, external characteristics, spatial localisation and ritual practices associated with this mythological figure.

The methodology is grounded in historicism and supplemented by field observation, typological, structural-functional and comparative approaches. It is based on field materials collected by the author during ethnographic expeditions to Dolyniany settlements and archival sources.

The article provides a thorough analysis of the multifaceted and ambivalent image of the domovyk, its connection with archaic ancestor and animist cults, and the persistence of these motifs in local tradition. Particular focus is placed on local nomenclature, visual and transformational features, spatial associations (e. g. domestic interior and household yard), and protective, economic and malevolent functions. It also addresses the figure of the domovyk as a «spirit of enrichment», alongside propitiatory rituals and apotropaic practices expressed in the calendar cycle and situational contexts. The study demonstrates the syncretism of pre-Christian and Christian elements which preserve the continuity of archaic thought patterns and reflect the distinctive worldview of the Transcarpathian Dolynians.

Keywords: domovyk, demonology, calendar rituals, domestic customs, apotropaic practices, Transcarpathian Dolynians.

Received 15.10.2025

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