East Slavic Etiological Tales and Legends. Encyclopedic Dictionary

The dictionary of plots and motifs of East Slavic etiological tales and legends represents a compilation of materials related to folk etiologies - the area of folklore-mythological knowledge about the creation of the world, the formation of natural and cultural objects, the development of social institutions. An important aspect of folk etiologies is the belief not only in the possibility of changes and transformations of all elements of the universe but also in the conversion of one object into another.
The materials collected in the dictionary allow for the analysis of plots, motifs, and set of characters characteristic of the entire East Slavic area, for specific national traditions (Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian) or for regional traditions, as well as to highlight universalities and rarities, archaic and innovative elements in the system of folk etiologies.
In addition to the dictionary, the publication contains a bibliography presenting the main collections of East Slavic etiological texts and studies dedicated to specific plots and folk etiologies as a whole.
The book is aimed at folklorists and a wide circle of readers interested in Slavic folklore and traditional folk culture