Two Expeditions: In Search of the Karsikko Tradition in the Pudozh Region of Karelia with Konstantin Loginov
From 1998 to 2013, the author of this article participated in seven expeditions to the Pudozh region of Karelia and to Lake Vodlozero together with Konstantin Kuzmich Loginov, who studied this area as an ethnographer for many years. The most memorable were the first and the last expeditions, which are discussed in the article. The main objective of both expeditions was to detect and study the Karelian tradition of karsikko (from the Karelian word karsia , which means “to cut branches”). Karsikko are special signs on trees that served both practical and religious mythological purposes. The latter function was most prominent in old cemeteries, of which we also intended to make an inventory. The 1998 expedition, which Loginov organized and guided, turned out to be surprisingly rich in collected material. It opened up a whole region of Eastern Europe for further study. The trip to the river Vodla was much more “intimate”, and our tasks were more modest. First of all, we had to confirm the existence of the karsikko tradition there. Although this tradition was already well studied in the neighboring territories, it could have different features, since each area was special and could surprise with details. As a result, the field research performed at the end of the 20th - beginning of the 21st century covered most of the Pudozh region and the neighboring Kenozero. It confirmed the ubiquitous existence of the karsikko tradition in this region.