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Keywords: sacrifice, memorial, ritual, funeral feast, the North Caucasus.
The research is focused on various forms of Caucasian memorial ceremonies, such as funeral feasts, sacrificial offerings, nourishment for the sake of the deceased, and compassionate food sharing. Fulfilling the aim of the investigation requires addressing a number of questions: what is a sacrificial offering; what sacrificial meals are served; within what time frame and in which manner the funeral feasts are conducted; what role does mutual assistance play in the rites; what traditional features can be observed in modern funeral feasts? The research is conducted within the frames of structural anthropology, gender studies, and ethnomethodology. The article is based on the conference paper on relevant issues of history, theory, and methodology of social work with the use of field materials from the North Caucasus and Abkhazia. The research is the cutting edge in systematization and generalization of the Caucasian culture. It underlines the exclusive role of funeral ceremonies among North Caucasians and reinforces cultural attitudes concerning the role of sacrificial offerings. Blood sacrifice is usually made by men whereas females were dealing with plant food only. The peoples in the regions have common attitudes towards time frames and forms of ritualistic memories which differ only slightly along ethnic and areal lines. Caucasian funerals are distinguished by common features:by the great number of people attending, by food superfluity, and by charity. Modern memorial ceremonies often manifest themselves in concrete events, such as public charities or providing one-time assistance by the state social services.
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