WEDDING СUSTOMS IN DNIPROPETROVSK REGION: THE CURRENT CONDITION

Abstract

The article investigates the traditional wedding of the Dnipropetrovsk region as a complex element of the region’s intangible cultural heritage, encompassing not only ritual activities but also its musical component. Special attention is given to folk songs, their structure, functions, and symbolic significance at different stages of the wedding cycle: pre-wedding, wedding, and post-wedding. It is established that the songs perform not only musical but also social-communicative and sacred functions, maintain the emotional atmosphere of the participants, and contribute to the transmission of cultural knowledge from one generation to another. The article emphasizes the importance of preserving intangible cultural heritage both in general and in the local wedding traditions of the Dnipropetrovsk region. The historical and ethnographic prerequisites for the formation of the region’s wedding musical culture are examined, including the ethnic diversity of the population and the almost complete absence of a stable local tradition, as well as the influence of colonization, population migrations, industrialization, and urbanization, which resulted in the syncretic character of ritual and musical practices, combining elements of different Ukrainian regional models and local variants of song performance. The contemporary state of the ritual and musical tradition is analyzed, including the reduction of certain ritual elements, stylization, reconstruction, and revival through cultural and educational events, scholarly initiatives, and modern wedding practices. The article highlights the importance of systematic scientific documentation of wedding musical heritage for the preservation of local cultural identity and the development of regional cultural policy. The prospects for integrating musical traditions into the contemporary cultural space are discussed, contributing not only to the reproduction of the ritual itself but also to the promotion of Ukrainian musical culture. The results of the study can be applied in further ethnomusicological, ethnographic, and cultural research