Paper short abstract:

The present paper provides an analysis and interpretation of the tradition of Latvian masked processions as a kind of Latvian folklore ritual practice, paying special attention to the evidence and explanations of their participants, religious and sacred elements, social aspects of masking.

Paper long abstract:

The first historical records of Latvian masked processions date back to the 17th - 18th centuries and provide general characteristics of this tradition as a component of Latvian peasant primitive culture. In the context of the formation of Latvian folklore studies in ethnographical descriptions of the 2nd half of the 19th century, masked processions are valued as a part of traditional folk culture. Descriptions of masked processions, along with other folklore and ethnographical materials, constitute a part of the formation of national collective identity. The present paper provides an analysis and interpretation of the tradition of Latvian masked processions as a kind of Latvian folklore ritual practice, paying special attention to the evidence and explanations of their participants, religious and sacred elements, social aspects of masking (educating role of masks, constructing social roles of gender).

P. Bourdieu's social theory concept habitus is used that makes it possible to locate and describe a certain discourse of practice that provides an opportunity to interpret social practice from the standpoint of those who implement it. The notion habitus denotes the segment of theoretical reality based on narratives of the investigated group members about the practical sense of the events; its object of interpretation is memories and narratives of participants of the events or habitus about the sense (most often - a ritual one), aims and tasks of the practice, feelings and motivation, impact and resonance towards the surrounding environment (nature, cosmos) and social environment.