Romanchenko N. Mythological motives of wedding ritual of the Pravoberezhne Polissya

The dissertation is the first Ukrainian integrity folklore study of wedding songs of the Right-bank Polissya. It focuses on the mythological semantics of traditional motives and the nature of archaic laughter in the whole as it is mirrored in the wedding ritual. The main attention is paid to the transformation of the mythological motives. Investigation of archaic semantics of the different forms of laughter shows us functional specific of these forms in the culture of new times. This also shows us the continuity of tradition and the "hidden" sense of the texts which reveals in the ritual context. Laughter elements in wedding rituals and songs is closely linked with the archaic mythology, especially with the magic of fertility and the ideas of life in its opposition to the death.