DISAPPEARING WEDDING RITES OF PASSAGE IN UZBEKISTAN: MODERNIZATION AND FUNCTIONALIST PERSPECTIVES
Abstract
Weddings serve as ceremonial practices that mark significant life transitions and hold profound cultural significance across societies. Encompassing elements such as attire, rituals, games, and symbolic acts, weddings are a central subject within folklore studies. Amid ongoing social change, certain wedding traditions are abbreviated, transformed, or abandoned. This study identifies traditional Uzbek wedding customs that are gradually vanishing, examines the underlying causes of their decline, and documents these practices in their original forms. In-depth interviews were conducted with 14 participants from across Uzbekistan. Participants were selected based on specific criteria, including extensive knowledge of local wedding traditions and active participation in wedding ceremonies. Their diverse backgrounds and the regional spread ensured varied insights. The study evaluates wedding customs across pre-wedding, wedding, and post-wedding phases, identifying 16 traditional wedding (toy) rituals that were once widespread but are now increasingly obsolete. The findings indicate that the gradual disappearance of these customs reflects processes of adaptation to new social realities, including cultural transformation, reinterpretation, and reproduction, rather than representing an absolute loss.