Songs in Honor of the God of Thunder and Lightning in the Adyghe Ritual “Shchyble Udzh”
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Abstract
“Shchyble udzh” (dance in honor of Shible) is a cult-ritual act of the Adyghe devoted to the god of thunder and
lightning Shible commanding people’s lives and death. The ritual was performed by everybody regardless of their
sex, age or social position. Addressing the divine force endowed with might passed through the supplication songs
and dances and was accompanied by sacrificial rites. Shible, a divinity regarded in a non-personalized way, does not
possess a finished visually determinate image or symbol. Personifying the mysterious force of elemental nature, it
received merely a verbal description in the prayer songs designated for it. In the songs the mythological image of
Shible’s double, Yela, makes its appearance, as well as the name of the prophet Elijah.
The article examines songs performed in the rites of the Adyghe, “Shchible udzh” – “Yeleh,” “Uo Yeleh, uo Yeleh,
Yeleritsoppai!”, “Yeleh, Yoleh…”, which appeared as a direct address to the divinity and carried out the function of ritual
purification. The stable indications of their performance, the dramaturgy of the ritual, the makeup of its participants,
etc. are determined. The marked functions of songs addressed to the god Shible, as well as their transformation and
bifunctional significance in the rite of invocation of rain “Hyentseguasheh” are studied.
Keywords: folk music of the Adyghe, Shible, Yela, Yelari-tsoppai, Khantseguasha, the Adyghe rite in honor of the
god of thunder and lightning, the Adyghe rite of the challenge of rain.
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