The concept of a clean and unclean body — an example of Udmurts

Abstract

The article examines the poly-semantic concept of cleanliness in traditional Udmurt practices in respect to religious, ritualized and daily life, focusing on the defi nite object of a human body. The idea of cleanliness is directly connected with the notion of purity. The "unclean" or "dirty" body is a symbolic phenomenon, and its semantics can be revealed in context. Cleanliness is an important virtue, and maintaining the cleanliness of a body is not an individual but a controlled common social duty. In the tradition of the Udmurts, the sauna was and still is a very important part of daily and ritual life. It is understood that in the sauna one is cleaned physically and spiritually. The act of bathing in the sauna means also purifying morally. Special cleansing and purifying regulations are required before calendrical and commemorative rituals. The sauna also has a role in rituals connected to birth and death. The article gives a brief survey of several rituals around the notion of cleanliness and purity.