Реферат: House and home in the world outlook of different cultures

5.4. The zone of the sacred.

This is the most important part in a Slavonic house without which it cannot exist. The red corner is one of the eastern corners of the house, namely the one placed diagonally to the stove. It has the status of a church altar. Its space is divided into two levels. On the upper level the icon is placed. The icon connects two walls: a long wall, symbolizing the hosts, and a short one which symbolizes the relatives of the wife and the daughter-in-law. Some sacred things (first hair of the children, church candles, holy salt, an Easter egg, etc.) are kept behind the icon and used in some extraordinary situations. The lower level is used to keep the results of a person`s activity. The first or the last sheaf is placed there and kept for a year as a symbol of a good crop.

Entering the house, every person should cross himself and take a bow to the icon to show the respect to the God and to the family. Only after that any talking to the hosts is permitted.

The place under the icon is sacred and there are strict rules as to the possibility to sit there. At the christening party the godparents sit there; at the wedding – the newly-married couple with the godparents on both sides; at the funeral ceremony the place at the table under the red corner is given to the oldest person present.

The icon must be handled with special care. It must not be stolen, burnt or used for any non-ritual aims. Old icons should be buried at the cemetery. It is preferable that every member of the family has an icon in honour of the saint whose name he has.

6. The difference in the attitude towards some objects.

Some objects used in a house may get different attitude towards themselves as a result of the cultural differences. Such commonly used things as a table and a mirror have acquired the greatest ritual meaning of all the objects in a house and become subjects to many regulations in Belarusian and Chinese cultures. In Madagascarian culture, though, these objects are not so important as they are not used. People eat on a mat near the stove instead of a table and do not have mirrors in the house as they are said to have come from evil spirit who wants to make people selfish and destroy close relationships which are characteristic of Malagasies. That is why only two cultures will be compared in this respect, Belarusian and Chinese ones.

6.1. A table.

For Belarusians the table is the symbol of prosperity of the family. It should be covered with a white table-cloth. People should never eat at an uncovered table, otherwise the family will lose its wealth. It is forbidden to sit on the table as it is the place for food which is considered sacred. The table should be cleaned after every meal for evil spirit not to eat what is left. Still, on the remembrance days the table should be left with the food for a night so that the souls of the ancestors could come to eat. A wedding table should have Г- or П-form. The guests should be placed facing each other. A funeral table should have the form of a straight line. Nobody should sit at the far ends as this table symbolizes the road leading the soul to the other world, so no one should be on its way. A rule for everyday life is that one should not bang with the tableware. It is believed that this sound worries the ancestors.

In Chinese culture the table is one of the main places where Chi accumulates and if the rules are not followed, then the positive energy Chi can turn into the negative energy Sha Chi. The dining-table should be large. If it is oval or octagonal – then all other furniture in the kitchen should be rectangular or square and vice versa. The tableware should be round or octagonal. The colour of the table-cloth depends on the part of the world; that is if the table is in the southern part of the kitchen, the table-cloth should be red; if it is in the northern part – blue; in the eastern – green; in the western – white. If any plants are placed on the table, they should have round leaves. The colour of the flowers is determined by the same rules as those used for choosing the colour of the table-cloth.

6.2. A mirror.

In Belarusian culture mirrors are thought to be the channels connecting people with the other world, that is why they are often used in fortune-telling. A mirror is a strong protector from evil eye, so small mirrors are hidden in the pockets for the sake of one`s safety. Broken mirrors should not be looked in – they should be buried. Children under a year should not be shown into the mirror. If there is a dead person in the house, all the mirrors should be curtained for the death not to look for another victim. When there is a party in the house, all the mirrors should be washed after the guests leave. This is done to wash away bad energy.

In China mirrors are said to have a property of doubling the qualities of the objects reflected, both good and bad ones. So one should make sure that only useful objects are reflected in the mirror. Mirrors should be placed in such a way that the bed and the main door do not reflect in them. Mirrors should be large enough in order not to ‘cut’ the top of the head of the tallest member of the family, otherwise his health will be hampered. Mirrors composed of pieces should not be used either for the same reason.

Thus one can see that usual objects acquire ritual meaning in the popular culture. Moreover, their meanings and predestination differ greatly depending on a certain culture.

In conclusion I would like to say that though the rules of popular culture are not considered so important in the modern world, they should not be disregarded. One never knows what can happen in future. That is why these rules may be useful to a person: they can be resorted to as a means to avoid any future troubles, because everyone knows it is better to prevent problems than to handle the after-effects. One can notice the tendency towards leading life in some exotic way. More and more people nowadays furnish their houses according to Chinese, Indian or other popular traditions. This is not bad if one knows the tradition of one`s own culture, because one can notice not only differences but also some points of opposition in the rules stated above. It is better not to risk and at least avoid ambiguous situations especially if it concerns one`s house – the place where a person spends the best part of life.

References

1. Корочанцев В.А. Мадагаскар – остров загадок.// В.А. Корочанцев. – М., Дрофа, 2003. – 384с.

2. Котович О.В., Крук И.И. Золотые правила народной культуры.// О.В.Котович, И.И. Крук. – Минск, Адукацыя i выхаванне, 2008. – 592с.

3. HobsonWendy. Simply Feng-Shui for home, office and garden.// Wendy Hobson. – London, Foulsham, 1998. – 288p.