Women in Russian old belief: religious practices and public imagination on the example of Siberian and Estonian old believer communities
Date
2023-12-01
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Abstract
Siinse uurimuse teema käsitleb üldisemalt naiste kasvavat rolli vene vanausuliste religioossetes praktikates ja kirikuelu juhtimises, keskendudes vanausulistele nii Eestis kui ka Siberis. Täpsemalt on minu tähelepanu keskmes pomoorlaste ja fedossejevlaste (Eestis) ning tšasovnilike (Siberis) vanausuliste kogukonnad. Vanausk on konservatiivne religioon oma karmide reeglitega soopõhise jaotuse kohta. Näiteks ei tohi vanausulised naised esineda kirikujuhi ega sõnakuulutaja rollis. Ometi on aga nii, et naised täidavad meestele pandud kohustusi. Lisaks eelnevale on vanausuliste hulgas keskmiselt rohkem naisi kui mehi, eelkõige just Eestis ja mõnes üksikus Siberi piirkonnas.
Selle kõigega seoses pean siinse uurimise esmärgiks järgmiselt: erinevate allikate (oma välitöö materjale, ERMi ja mõne Venemaal asuva arhiivi dokumente, rahvaluulelise ja etnograafilise märkmeid, vanausuliste käsikirju, jne) analüüsides, kirjeldada mille abil ja millistel asjaoludel leiab erinevates tegevustes (st jumalateenistuse läbiviimine, kirjutamine, välise vagaduse nõudmiste täitmine jmt) ellu viidud naiste agentsus väljapääsu vanausu konservatiivsest usuväljast. Minu uurimisfookuses on ka see, et kuidas erinevad sümboolsed ja sotsiaalsed hõõrumised, mis ilmnevad naiste rolli vanausuliste kogukondade elus suurenemisest, naiste agentusust ümber kujundavad ja naiste usupraktikaid mõjutavad.
Oma uuringute raames analüüsin, kuidas nõukogude antireligiossne poliitika, kultuuri ja majanduse moderniseerimine mõjutas vanausuliste kombeid. Selgus, et mida suurem mõju oli, seda rohkem muutus sooline tasakaal vanausuliste külades ebavõrdseks. Seni on nähtav, et sellistes kohtades on palju rohkem naisi kui mehi ning naised juhtivad palvelaid erinevalt meestest. Siinjuures võrdne tasakaal on säilinud vanausuliste külades, kus majapidamine langeb suures osas naiste õlgadele, sest mehed tegelevad jahinduse, kalapüügi ja teiste sarnaste tegevustega.
This study deals more generally with the growing role of women in the religious practices of Russian Old Believers and in the management of church life, focusing on Old Believers in Estonia and Siberia. More specifically, my focus is on the Old Believers’ communities of Pomortsy, Fedoseevtsy (both Estonia), and Chasovennye (Siberia). The Old Faith is a conservative religion with strict rules on gender division. For example, Old Believer women are not allowed to act as church leaders or preachers. In fact, women fulfill a lot of responsibilities instead of men. In addition to that, there are on average more women than men among Old Believers, especially in Estonia and some regions of Siberia. In connection with all this, I consider the aim of this study as follows: by analyzing various sources (materials from my fieldwork, documents from the Estonian Nationa Museum, some Russian archives, folklore and ethnographic notes, Old Believers’ manuscripts, etc.), to describe by means of what and under which circumstances female agency implemented in various activities (i.e., conducting the service, writing, executing the demands of external piety, etc.) finds the way out in the conservative religious field of Old Belief. My research also focuses on how the different symbolic and social frictions that emerge from the growing role of women in the lives of Old Believer communities are reshaping women's agency and influencing women's religious practices. As part of my research, I analyze how Soviet antireligious policy along with forced modernization of culture and economy affected Old Believers’ religious practices. It turned out that the greater the impact, the more the gender balance in Old Believer villages became unequal. So far, it is clear that there are many more women than men in places that were heavily influenced by Soviet modernization. An equal balance has been maintained in those Old Believer villages, where the household falls largely on the shoulders of women, as men engage in hunting, fishing, and other similar activities.
This study deals more generally with the growing role of women in the religious practices of Russian Old Believers and in the management of church life, focusing on Old Believers in Estonia and Siberia. More specifically, my focus is on the Old Believers’ communities of Pomortsy, Fedoseevtsy (both Estonia), and Chasovennye (Siberia). The Old Faith is a conservative religion with strict rules on gender division. For example, Old Believer women are not allowed to act as church leaders or preachers. In fact, women fulfill a lot of responsibilities instead of men. In addition to that, there are on average more women than men among Old Believers, especially in Estonia and some regions of Siberia. In connection with all this, I consider the aim of this study as follows: by analyzing various sources (materials from my fieldwork, documents from the Estonian Nationa Museum, some Russian archives, folklore and ethnographic notes, Old Believers’ manuscripts, etc.), to describe by means of what and under which circumstances female agency implemented in various activities (i.e., conducting the service, writing, executing the demands of external piety, etc.) finds the way out in the conservative religious field of Old Belief. My research also focuses on how the different symbolic and social frictions that emerge from the growing role of women in the lives of Old Believer communities are reshaping women's agency and influencing women's religious practices. As part of my research, I analyze how Soviet antireligious policy along with forced modernization of culture and economy affected Old Believers’ religious practices. It turned out that the greater the impact, the more the gender balance in Old Believer villages became unequal. So far, it is clear that there are many more women than men in places that were heavily influenced by Soviet modernization. An equal balance has been maintained in those Old Believer villages, where the household falls largely on the shoulders of women, as men engage in hunting, fishing, and other similar activities.
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Keywords
Old believers, Russian, Estonia, Siberia, communities, traditions, women, gender roles, religious behavior, customs, anthropology of religion