Lecture. Pagan traditions and song rites of Belarus

Irena Kotvitskaya, ethnomusicologist and folk singer from Belarus, presents rare field-material of the living singing tradition from her country of origin. Belarus is a country where even today you can witness pre-Christian rituals associated with the cycles of human life and the solar year. Songs are one of the important codes of these ceremonies, sung by a special “archaic” voice and performed only by women – who preserved this unique sound up until today.
Using video, images, and audio recordings collected on her many trips around the country, she presents a historical narrative of this little known territory, song by song.