E-mail: etnomus@mail.ru Tel.: +7 (812) 644-99-88 3,
letter “A”, Teatralnaya sq., St. Petersburg, 190068, Russian Federation
PhD in Arts, Аssociate Professor, Honored Worker of Culture of the Russian Federation, Professor, Ethnomusicology Department, St. Petersburg Rimsky-Korsakov State Conservatory
This article examines the traditions of zhgons — wool carders (sherstobity) from the Makaryev district in the Kostroma region. Sherstobity are artisans that specialize in manufacturing of felt wool clothing and shoes. The article considers them as a closed social group and for the first time describes their history and organizational principles as well as the customs and rituals associated with the process of felt wool manufacturing. One of the main focuses of this article is zhgon argot, the social dialect of this particular group of Kostroma sherstobity. The article offers an overview of the dictionaries and studies of zhgon argot. Based on new, unpublished research material, the author examines the role of zhgon argot and the contexts in which it is used. The way in which zhgon argot functions in sherstobity folklore is examined through the study of chastushki. Materials for this study were collected during a folklore expedition conducted by the St. Petersburg Rimsky-Korsakov State Conservatory in the Makaryev district of Kostroma region in 2009; they are housed in the archives of the Conservatory’s Folklore and Ethnography Center (collection № 253). Publications from the 1920s about the history of seasonal work and sherstobity in Russia were also used as source material. The results of this study are of interest to folklorists, ethnographers, anthropologists, and linguists.
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