Title: “Seeing off a Recruit”: The Ritual and Its Songs in the Udmurt Traditional Culture
Abstract: The rite of Seeing Off a Recruit is one of the most relevant Udmurt family rite traditions that is still performed. Conscription is of particular importance in the life of the Udmurt family and recruit. This article aims to study the songs performed in the rite, and more precisely, their functions of performance at different stages such as the symbolic patterns and items that build a connection between the rite songs and the rite itself. The ethnographic data collected is based on the tradition of the village of Chutozhmon, Malaya Purga District in the Udmurt Republic of the Russian Federation. Through analysis of the data, I construct a detailed description and scenario for the rite of Seeing Off a Recruit. The model for the rite is similar in all Udmurt traditions, although the song component is rather different depending on the village. The original songs and tunes used in the village of Chutozhmon are well preserved and create a complete picture of the rite, thus it has been possible to thoroughly research it.