TRADITIONAL MEDICINE IN THE SOUTH RUSSIAN ETHNO-CULTURAL AREA (NAMES OF DISEASES, HEALER TYPES)

Abstract

This article is dedicated to the analysis of two aspects of the Russian traditional medicine: names of the treated diseases and specific characteristics of traditional practitioners. The issues addressed in the article are of particular relevance due to the need to improve our knowledge about characteristics of this phenomenon of folk culture, including its regional specifics —in this case, typical of the Russian population attributable to the South Russian ethnographic group. The methodological foundation for the research is based on the etymological analysis and comparative-historical and structural-functional approaches. The research reveals that the nomination of diseases in folk speech was based on different principles: indication of organs of the body with pain sensations, external manifestations of the disease, the nature of pain sensations, etc. Most of these names are etymologized from the modern Russian language, but some of them have deeper roots. In most cases, people suffering from different diseases preferred to turn to recognized healing experts, which were mostly represented by the "lower" class of specialists of the sacred: "old wives", "old men", "aunties", etc. At the same time, in the popular consciousness, some total strangers (often wandering healers), rather than local practitioners, were considered especially "strong" in treating diseases. Materials of this article have a definite value for better understanding of the essential characteristics of Russian folk culture, and they can be used in large-scale studies on the traditional culture of the Russian ethnos or for teaching Russian ethnography disciplines.