Hunting customs, beliefs and prohibitons (based on field materials from Zhytomyr Polissia)

Customary norms, taboos, folk knowledge iand worldviews related to the hunting industry are considered on the basis of expedition materials from Luhyny, Novohrad-Volynskyi, Yemilchynskyi and Korostenskyi districts of Zhytomyr region. Field materials that illustrate the main provisions of the article are given.The goal of the study is to study the traditional hunting customs, beliefs and prohibitions that have formed in Zhytomyr Polissia.The methodological basis of the study are the methods of historical sciences, the principles of objectivity, complexity, historicity, systematics; methods of analysis and synthesis, typological, comparative-historical. The ethnological method of field surveys on the author's questionnaires was applied; information was collected by the cluster method.The scientific novelty of the article is that for the first time in the Ukrainian ethnological literature it covers the customs, rituals and prohibitions concerning firearms, success in the craft of Zhytomyr Polissya. The beliefs associated with the first shot from a new rifle, the causes of its “damage” and the main ways of “correction” are analyzed. The degree of preservation in the region of ancient beliefs about the prohibition of a woman's contact with hunting equipment and the customs of ritual purity of the hunter has been clarified. The attitude of modern hunters to ancient rituals is shown. The degree of preservation of beliefs in theold woman, a woman with a “bad eye”, empty buckets, as well as a cat and a hare. Preservation of some signs of successful hunting is noted, among which - not to wash and not to shave, prophetic dreams. Prohibition of seeking God’s help in the craft and observance of customary hunting norms is substantiated. The customs connected with the ritual shooting of hunters on certain days of the folk calendar are analyzed.Conclusions. Hunting, as one of the oldest forms of economic activity, has accumulated numerous customs, rituals, worldviews, folk knowledge and norms of customary law. They have changed with the development of society and the changing role of craft in the livelihood system. While preserving ancient beliefs and customary norms in the people's memory, it has been found that modern hunters consider the acquired production experience and knowledge to be the main guarantee of the success of hunting. It has been found that modern hunters consider the acquired production experience and knowledge to be the main guarantee of the success of hunting preserving ancient beliefs and customary norms in the people's memory.