RITUAL PRACTICES WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF ETHNIC AND SUB-ETHNIC INTERACTION (BASED ON THE FIELD TRIP MATERIALS COLLECTED AMONG THE BURYATS IN IRKUTSK REGION)

. Among the Buryats living in the Russian Federation there is a constant process of formation of identity and its rethinking. This is a two-way process: on the one hand, the importance of local and clan identity increases, on the other hand, different sub-ethnic groups consolidate into a single Buryat ethnos. Besides, there is a simultaneous process of invention of a new type of identity – the hybrid identity, equally common to various ethnic groups living in this territory (Buryats, Russians, Tatars). Ritual practices borrowed by these ethnic groups from each other play an important part in this process. The article is based on the data collected in 2010 and 2016 during the fieldwork in Osinsky and Bokhansky districts the Irkutsk region. The analysis mostly focuses upon (1) the influence of folk narratives and ritual practices on the identification and self-representation of the locals and (2) the influence of their self-identification of the locals on traditional narratives and ritual practices, which undergo some important changes.