E-mail: kle-zemer@mail. ru
St. Petersburg, Russian Federation
PhD (History of Arts), independent researcher, ethnomusicologist, member of St. Petersburg Union
of Composers
It seems that taste sensations are universal. Taste is considered to be one of the main primary categories underlie the knowledge of the world. Claude Lévi-Strauss sought to find the fundamental units of myth. He believed that the appeal to the attributes of things, drawn from everyday experience (e. g. tastes and smells), prevents us from mistakes. But in different cultures they are perceived differently. Northern people consider that fatty foods are delicious, southerners prefer pungent tastes.
There are some levels of awareness of taste: 1. an immediate physical sensation; 2. denomination and description of the taste (as well as some flavoring generalizations); 3. formation of the taste code in which the same epithets serve a people as conceptual tools for the formation of abstract notions.
Some peoples link the taste and color perception — white or dark. In different cultures some specific types of food can be associated with certain rituals (e. g. with a wedding). In some situations, sense of taste has a connection with the perception of meaning, and comprehension is equivalent to the eating.
Epithets “sweet”, “bitter”, “sour” etc. are often used metaphorically. But in some cases a certain taste (“bread and salt” or “sweet”) is perceived as desirable or even as vital, and in other culture this taste can have a negative connotation. Knowledge of the taste codes of the culture can help us to understand its folk texts (proverbs, songs, tales) as well as its literature.
Agapkina T.A. (2002) Mifopoeticheskie osnovy slavyanskogo narodnogo kalendarya. Vesenne-letniy tsikl [Mytho-poetic basis of the Slavic folk calendar. spring-summer cycle]. Moscow. In Russian.
Arutyunov S.A. (2001) Osnovnye pishchevye modeli i ikh lokal’nye varianty u narodov Rossii [Basic food models and their local variants among the ethnoses of Russia]. Traditsionnaya pishcha kak vyrazhenie etnicheskogo samosoznaniya [Traditional food as an expression of ethnic identity]. Moscow. Pp. 10–17. In Russian.
Bayburin A.K. (2001) “Nel’zya..., no esli ochen’ nuzhno” (k interpretatsii sposobov narusheniya pravil i zapretov) [“Forbidden… but in extreme need…” (towards interpretation of breaking rules and prohibitions]. Trudy fakul’teta etnologii [Transactions of the Ethnology faculty]. Issue 1. 2001. Pp. 4–11. In Russian.
Bayburin A.K. (2004) Zametki o kulinarnoy simvolike: «peresol» [Notes on the culinary symbolism of oversalting]. Studia Etnologica: Trudy fakul’teta antropologii [Studia Etnologica. Transactions of Anthropology faculty]. Issue 2. 2004. Pp. 4–13. In Russian.
Bayburin A.K. (2005) Etnograficheskie zametki o yazyke i slove v russkoy traditsii [Ethnographic notes on language and word in the Russian tradition]. Antropologicheskiy forum [Forum for Anthropology and Culture]. 2005. No. 3. Pp. 381–397. In Russian.
Bayburin A.K. (afterword, comm., text prep.) (1996) Velikorusskie zaklinaniya. Sbornik L.N. Maykova [Great-Russian incantations. L.N. Maykov’s collection]. St. Petersburg. In Russian.
Begisheva A. (2009) Chuvstvovat’ rukami [Feeling via hands]. Geo. Nepoznannyy mir: Zemlya [Geo. Unknown world. The Earth]. 2009. No. 5. Pp. 40–41. In Russian.
Blagutina V.V. (2010) Anatomiya vkusa [Anatomy of taste]. Khimiya i zhizn’ [Chemistry and life]. 2010. No. 10. Pp. 34–38. In Russian.
Borinskaya S.A. (2008) Moloko, alkogol’, griby, a takzhe geny i narody [Milk, alcohol, mushrooms, as well as genes and ethnoses]. In: Kirpichiki: fol’kloristika i kul’turnaya antropologiya segodnya [Bricks: Folklore Studies and Cultural Anthropology Nowadays]. Coll. Papers in Honor of the 65th Jubilee and 4 Decades of Scholarly Activity of Sergey Yu. Neklyudov. Moscow. Pp. 78–86. In Russian.
Borthwick F. (2000) Olfaction and taste: Invasive odours and disappearing objects. The Australian Journal of Anthropology. 2000. No. 11. Рp. 127–140. In English.
Chukhina A.A. (2007) Rodil’nyy obryad Arkhangel’skogo severa: soderzhanie, struktura i lokal’nye osobennosti [Maternity ritual of the Arkhangel’sk North: structure and local features]. Traditsionnaya kul’tura [Traditional culture]. 2007. No. 3. Pp. 66–75. In Russian.
Dal’ V. I. (1880–1882). Tolkovyy slovar’ zhivogo velikorusskogo yazyka [Explanatory Dictionary of the Alive Great-Russian Language]. In 4 vol. St. Petersburg; Moscow. In Russian.
Dorofeev D.Yu. (2015) Lichnost’ i kommunikatsiya: Antropologiya ustnogo i pis’mennogo slova v antichnoy kul’ture [Personality and communication. Anthropology of oral and written words in antiquity culture]. St. Petersburg. In Russian.
Dronova L.P. (2010) Sladko-solenyy vopros [Sweet-bitter question]. Etimologiya [Etymology]: 2006–2008. Moscow. Pp. 101–106. In Russian.
Fedotova E.Ya. (2016) Svadebnyy pir Samsona: est’ ili ne est’? [Samson’s wedding feast: to eat or not to eat?]. In: Pir — obraz schast’ya. Obrazy trapezy v bogoslovii i kul’ture [A feast is the best allegory of happiness. Feast images in theology and culture]. Moscow. Pp. 21–41. In Russian.
Gol’din M. (comp.), Zemtsovskiy I.I. (ed.) (1994) Evreyskaya narodnaya pesnya: Antologiya [Jewish folk song: an anthology]. St. Petersburg. 1994. In Russian, Yiddish and Hebrew. Gor’kiy istochnik [Bitter spring-well]. Khimiya v istoriyakh: elektronnyy sayt [Chemistry in stories: web-site]. URL: http://www. quicklyremont. ru/index. php_p=12&pp=360. html (retrieved: 17.12.2016). In Russian.
Ivik O. (2014) Eda drevnego mira [Food of the ancient world]. Moscow. In Russian. Kalandarov T.S. (2008) Napitki u narodov Pamira: budni i prazdniki [Beverages among the ethnoses of Pamir: mundanity and holidays]. Khmel’noe i inoe: napitki narodov mira [Intoxication and other: beverages of the ethnoses of the world]. Moscow. Pp. 249–273. In Russian.
Khazdan E.V. (2015) Izuchenie znakov kantillyatsii v Rossii, Evrope, Amerike [Studies on cantillation signs in Russia, Europe, America]. Evreyskaya rech’ [Jewish speech]. St. Petersburg; Jerusalem. 2015. No. 4. Pp. 10–39. In Russian.
King Ph.D. (2012) Surrounded by bitterness: Image schemas and metaphors for conceptualizing distress in classical Hebrew. London. In English.
Krinichnaya N.A. (2001) Russkaya narodnaya mifologicheskaya proza: istoki i polisemantizm obrazov [Russian folk mythical prose: origins and poly-semantics of images]. In 3 vol. Vol. 1. Bylichki, byval’shchiny, legendy, pover’ya o dukhakh “khozyaevakh” [Bylichka memorates, byval’shchina fabulates, legends, beliefs about guarding spirits]. St. Petersburg. In Russian.
Kuz’menko P. (comp.) (1998) Kreshchenie. Venchanie. Pogrebenie. Posty [Baptism. Nuptials. Funeral. Fasts]. Moscow. In Russian. Latkin N.V. (1890) Krasnoyarskiy okrug Eniseyskoy gubernii [Krasnoyarsk circuit of Yenisey province]. St. Petersburg. In Russian.
Lavrent’eva L. S. (1992) Sol’ v obryadakh i verovaniyakh vostochnykh slavyan [Salt in rituals and convictions of the Eastern Slavs]. In: Iz kul’turnogo naslediya narodov Vostochnoy Evropy [From the cultural heritage of the ethnoses of the Eastern Europe]. St. Petersburg. Pp. 56–61. In Russian.
Levi-Stros K. (1999) Mifologiki [Mythologiques]. In 4 vol. Vol. 1. Syroe i prigotovlennoe [Raw and cooked]. Moscow; St. Petersburg. In Russian (transl. from French).
Lipinskaya V.A. (2001) Adaptivno-adaptatsionnye protsessy v narodnoy kul’ture pitaniya russkikh [Adjustive-adaptation processes in folk nutrition culture of Russians]. In: Traditsionnaya pishcha kak vyrazhenie etnicheskogo samosoznaniya [Traditional food as an expression of the ethnic identity]. Moscow. Pp. 18–40. In Russian.
Listova T.A. (2005) Obryady i obychai, svyazannye s rozhdeniem detey. Pervyy god zhizni [Rituals and customs, related with childbirth. The 1st year of life]. Russkie [Russians]. Moscow. Pp. 500–517. In Russian.
L’vov A. (1999) Zagadochnaya smokovnitsa [Enigmatic fig-tree]. Novaya evreyskaya shkola. Al’manakh [New Jewish school. Almanac]. St. Petersburg. 1999. No. 6. URL: http://lvov. judaica. spb. ru/teana. shtml (retrieved: 26.02.2017). In Russian.
Maimstvalishvili E (2014) Gruzinskie evrei [Georgian Jews]. Stranitsy istorii i kul’tury evreev Gruzii (po sledam ekspeditsii 2013 g.) [Pages on history and culture of the Jews in Georgia (on the traces of field expedition 2013)]. Moscow. Pp. 19– 32. In Russian.
Marshak S.Ya. (1923) Skazka o glupom myshonke [Silly mouseling’s tale]. Moscow; Petrograd. In Russian. Migranova E.V. (2008) Migranova E.V. Traditsionnye bashkirskie napitki [Traditional Bashkir beverages]. Khmel’noe i inoe: napitki narodov mira [Intoxication and other: beverages of the ethnoses of the world]. Moscow. Pp. 284–311. In Russian.
Mify narodov mira: Entsiklopediya [Myths of the peoples of the world: Encyclopedia] (1991). In 2 vol. Vol. 1. Moscow. In Russian.
Mlotek E., Mlotek J. (comp.) (1988) Pearls of Yiddish song: favorite folk, art and theatre songs. New York. In English.
Morozov I.A., Sleptsova I.S. (2004) Krug igry. Prazdnik i igra v zhizni severnorusskogo krest’yanina (XIX–XX vv.) [Game circle. Holiday and game in the life of the Northern Russian peasant (the 19th — the 20th centuries)]. Moscow. In Russian.
Nikiforovskiy N.Ya. (1897) Prostonarodnye primery, pover’ya, suevernye obryady i obychai, legendarnye skazaniya o litsakh i mestakh [Vernacular omens, belief-legends, superstitious rituals and customs, legend narratives about persons and places]. Collected in Vitebsk, Belarus by N.Ya. Nikiforovskiy. Vitebsk. In Russian.
Novikov Yu.A. (ed.) (2005) Po zavetam stariny: Mifologicheskie skazaniya, zagovory, pover’ya, bytovaya magiya staroobryadtsev Litvy [According to comarts of the antiquity: Mythological tales, incantations, beliefs, magic of everyday life of the old-believers of Lithuania]. St. Petersburg.
In Russian. Olson L., Adon’eva S. (2016) Traditsiya, transgressiya, kompromiss: Miry russkoy derevenskoy zhenshchiny [Tradition, transgression, compromise: Worlds of the Russian village woman]. Moscow. In Russian
Ol’man A. (2010) Molochnaya trapeza v Shavuot [Milk meal on Saturday]. Lekhaim. 2010. May, No. 5 (217). URL: http://www. lechaim. ru/ ARHIV/217/olman. htm (retrieved: 24.01.2017). In Russian.
Pavlycheva E. (2015) Gor’kie vody Merry [Bitter waters of Marah]. URL: http://radiovera. ru/gorkie-vodyi-merryi. html (retrieved: 18.12.2016). In Russian.
Propp V.Ya. (1996) Istoricheskie korni volshebnoy skazki [Historical roots of the fairy tale]. St. Petersburg. In Russian.
P’yankova K. V., Sedakova I.A. (2014) Sol’ [Salt]. In: Slavyanskie drevnosti. Etnolingvisticheskiy slovar’ [Slavic Antiquities: Ethno-linguistic dictionary]. In 5 vol. Vol. 5. Moscow. Pp. 113–119. In Russian.
Reytenfel’s Ya. (1905) Skazaniya svetleyshemu gertsogu Toskanskomu Koz’me Tret’emu o Moskovii [Tale about Muscovia for his Highness Duce of Toscana Kosmas the 3rd]. Moscow. In Russian (transl. from Latin).
Sedakova I.A. (2007) Balkanskie motivy v yazyke i kul’ture bolgar. Rodinnyy tekst [Balkan motifs in language and culture of the Bulgarians. Maternity text]. Moscow. In Russian.
Sedakova I.A. (2014) Sladkiy [Sweet]. In: Slavyanskie drevnosti. Etnolingvisticheskiy slovar’ [Slavic Antiquities: Ethno-linguistic dictionary]. In 5 vol. Vol. 5. Moscow. Pp. 33–39. In Russian.
Smit Dzh.E. (2009) Pyatiknizhie: aktual’nyy kommentariy dlya sovremennogo chitatelya [Torah: actual comments for contemporary readers]. N. Novgorod. In Russian (transl. from English).
Snegirev I.M. (1839) Russkie prostonarodnye prazdniki i suevernye obryady [Russian vernacular holidays and superstitious rituals]. Issue 4. Moscow. In Russian.
Sumtsov N.F. (1996) Simvolika slavyanskikh obryadov [Symbolic of Slavic rituals]. Moscow. In Russian.
Utegalieva S.I. (2013) Zvukovoy mir muzyki tyurkskikh narodov: teoriya, istoriya, praktika (na materiale instrumental’nykh traditsiy Tsentral’noy Azii) [Sound world of the Turkic peoples’ music: theory, history, practice (exemplified in instrumental traditions of the Central Asia)]. Moscow. In Russian.
Voronina T.A. (2004) Zernovye v povsednevnoy, prazdnichnoy i obryadovoy zhizni russkikh [Cereals in everyday, festive and ritual life of the Russians]. In: Khleb v narodnoy kul’ture: etnograficheskie ocherki [Bread in folk culture: ethnographic essays]. Moscow. Pp. 101–138. In Russian.
Zhukovskaya N. L. (2008) Napitki “belye”, napitki “chernye” — sakral’naya antiteza v pishchevoy traditsii mongolov [Beverages “white” and “black” — sacral antithesis in food traditions of the Mongols]. In: Khmel’noe i inoe: napitki narodov mira [Intoxication and other: beverages of the ethnoses of the world]. Moscow. Pp. 371–385. In Russian.