Elements of Religious Ritualism in Popular Medicine among the Izhma Komi of the Lower Ob Region

Elements of Religious Ritualism in Popular Medicine among the Izhma Komi of the Lower Ob Region

E.E. Ermakova.

In this article, medical culture and its functioning is analyzed both synchronically and diachronically on the basis of fi eld materials, collected among the Izhma Komi of the Lower Ob region from 2009–2010. Traditional medicine of the Izhma Komi was closely connected with religious rituals, in particular, with the practice of prayers and vows as well as the phenomenon of holy water and the world of objects and things. This study analyzes specifi c features of “intersection” between all these elements and medical culture (functions and semantics), and presents data on sacral topography, for example, on votive crosses and water springs, which play an important role in the religious practices of the Izhma Komi and are used for maintaining physical and spiritual health.

Keywords: Izhma Komi, popular medicine, religious ritualism, sacred topography.