Присвоение исторических ландшафтов в процессе конструирования новых сакральных пространств в контексте региональной политики идентичности ; Appropriation of Historical Landscapes during the Construction of New Sacral Spaces in the Republic of Mordovia through the lens of Regional National-identity Policy

Abstract

В статье анализируется процесс сакрализации мест проведения современных неоязыческих эрзя-мордовских обрядов в контексте конструирования особой этнонациональной эрзянской идентичности и её адаптации к целям пропаганды этнорегиональной идентичности жителей Республики Мордовия. Показано, каким образом процесс «возрождения» дохристианских верований служит целям легитимации современных политических проектов и сопровождается творческой трансформацией традиционных религиозных практик и их экспансией в места, являющиеся историческими памятниками, посредством этнополитической мифологизации. ; The text analyzes the process of construction of new neo-pagan Erzya-Mordovian rites on the ancient historical and archeological sites. The author uses the socio-anthropological approach proposed by Christoph Wulf. She proposes that the new rites create a new cultural identity through the performative functions of their actions.The author divides the "ozks", traditional collective Erzya-Mordovian praying, into three categories: 1) religious, taking place at the ancient pagan sanctuary; 2) political, performed with participation of the highest authorities of Mordovian republic; and 3) historical, which take place on archeological and historical sites. The author depicts in detail the most important "ozks"-type events, which are regularly performed folk-festivals such as "Erzyan' Lis'mapria" in an ethnopark nearSaransk, and "Osh-Pando – the legends of the motherland" performed at the Saininskoye archeological settlement in 2013 and 2014. She emphasizes that the latter is not connected to ancient Mordovian culture but rather is associated with ancient Ugrian peoples.The author focuses on the new aspects of these rites. They are created to attract tourists to historical sites that are related to the history of Erzya-Mordovian people. The ancient sanctuaries with good road infrastructure leading to them are used for contemporary ozks-es. There is a division of labour between political authorities and ethnic entrepreneurs. The former group distances themselves from pagan aspects of the festivals and creates a historical "myth of the autochtonity of the Erzya-Mordovian people on the land of the republic." The latter group reconstructs and practices the neo-pagan rites and does not speak much about historical events due to the potential for inaccuracies in the retelling. The so-called Renaissance of pre-Christian beliefs helps to legitimize these contemporary political projects and is followed by the creative transformation of traditional religious practices. These rites create a new ethnopolitical mythology connected to historical sites in theRepublicofMordovia.