The Content, Poetic Structure and Function of Erzya Mordvin and Seto Laments

Abstract

Abstract: Lament is a folklore genre and source of ethnological research in international folklore studies, cultural anthropology, and ethnology.

The Mordvinians are made up of two ethnic sub-groups, the Erzya and the Moksha. This article compares the common and distinct features of the poetic structure of the lament culture of two related peoples, the Erzya and the Seto, and explains the religious and cultural-historical reasons for possible similarities and differences.

I. Smirnov, H. Paasonen, A. Hämäläinen, U. Harva, M. Yevseyev, V. Mokshin, G. Kornishina, and
T. Devyatkina have written about earlier Erzya Mordvin laments. They studied the cultural history of the Mordvins (Erzya and Moksha) as well as the customs and beliefs related to laments among the Mordvin and other Finno-Ugric peoples.

In the Estonian context, the topic of lamentation — including Seto lamentation — has been studied in several small-scale projects by theologians, archaeologists, folklorists, and ethnologists (J. Kiivit,
M. Kõiva, M. Kõivupuu, M. Lang, A. Lintrop, M. Mikkor, A. Moor, P. Paenurm, T. Paul, V. Sarv, J. Sootak, Ü. Tedre, H. Valk, Ü. Valk, A. Viires).

The poetic language of laments, the range of human emotions they express, and their imaginative imagery allow us to appreciate laments as works of art in which pain has been transformed into art.
V. Sarv writes that, in addition to their poetic and musical value, funeral laments also hold 15 The Content, Poetic Structure and Function of Erzya Mordvin and Seto Laments great emotional significance. Here we see both past and present customs, family structure, the nature of family relationships, and religious beliefs.
Lamentation is a fully-fledged part of the song repertoire, sad, beautiful, and instructive (Sarv 2000: 5).

This article describes the functions and content of these laments, how they are observed today in Erzya villages: what is traditional, what is urban, which laments have survived over time, which have faded away, and why. A partial comparison is made with Seto laments, as Erzya funeral laments share many common features and motifs with corresponding Seto traditions.