Russian Ritual Specialists in Karelia
Texts and History: Journal of Philological, Historical and Cultural Texts and History Studies January 1, 2021 N. E. Mazalova
In Karelia, Russian ritual specialists (sorcerers) are complex figures combining archaic demiurge and trickster traits. Their power comes from secret knowledge, often transmitted through the teacher's saliva and urine. The sorcerer's main function is performing maleficium (porcha), causing harm through a mediator that steals a victim's vital force, leading to weakness and death. Wedding maleficium, persisting through the twentieth century, reinterprets archaic rites of passage: the wedding symbolizes temporary death and rebirth into a new social status. The sorcerer's harmful actions at weddings actually introduce the couple into this state of temporary death. The healer's secret knowledge of incantations (zagovor) aims to restore order from chaos and bodily integrity, often at the cost of the healer's own health through adopting the patient's sickness.