Dukhovnye stikhi

[Daniel Rancour-Laferriere]

3 Feb 06

Thanks to those of you who have pointed to a few non-Russian sources 
about dukhovnye stikhi in Russia (and in Ukraine - Ukraine is not 
Russia, of course, although there are many Russian speakers and 
"surzhyk" speakers in Ukraine, and there are many there who identify 
themselves as Russians, or who are not sure whether to identify 
themselves as Russians or as Ukrainians - see: V. Tishkov, 1997, 
_Ethnicity, Nationalism and Conflict in and After the Soviet Union: The 
Mind Aflame, London: Sage Publicatons, p. 20).

Still, my impression is that there is an overall resistance on the part 
of Western scholars to probe (let us call it) East Slavic popular 
spirituality.  What do ordinary believers there believe (and have 
believed in the past)?  How do ordinary believers feel (and how have 
they felt) about what they believe?  Are these questions best left to 
East Slavs themselves, or should Western scholars exert more effort in 
this area?

Regards,

Daniel Rancour-Laferriere

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