Symbolics and Functions of Autumn Festival Ritual Food of the Karachay-Balkar People (the XIX - Early XX Century)
The paper analyses symbolic functions of the Karachay-Balkar ritual food associated with autumn holidays at the end of the agricultural year. The study covers the period from the XIX till the beginning of the XX century. Scientific originality of the research lies in the fact that the traditional Karachay-Balkar food is considered as a special kind of sacred food. The conducted analysis allows concluding that seasonal food rituals have an economic basis, clearly reveal human dependence on seasons and climate, represent specificity of ethnic worldview. Ritual food is not just food, but an offering to the God, lords of the elements and ancestors. This ritual serves to ensure fertility, happiness and welfare.