“Ritual narration”: Practices of cultural memory transmission in sacred landscapes

Abstract

Sacred landscape is a dynamic phenomenon. That is why buildings or natural objects situated in one location can be lost due to various circumstances, including the passage of time. Nevertheless, a confessional group usually continues visiting such places despite churches or holly springs being ruined. History and certain beliefs regarding the place must be preserved for the sake of maintaining group identity. That is why different mechanisms of transmission of cultural memory are used to support the process. We call one of these mechanisms “ritual narration” a narrative about a lost sacred landscape, its history and the miracles that happened there, which is reproduced orally during the pilgrimage. This article considers such a mechanism, using as an example Siberian Old-Believers.