It is a research by ethnographer and folklorist Pavel Vasilievich Sheyn (1826-1900), publ. In two issues: in 1898 and in 1900. Having started his work with folk material as an amateur collector, S. published a number of works in the second half of the nineteenth century. A part of his heritage was published after his death, but even the very first collections were highly appreciated by contemporaries.
This work is a collection of ritual songs, commented, as a rule, by assistant collectors (including, for example, A. A. Kotlyarevsky, but also by less known persons). In the beginning of the book, there are short sections of agrarian songs. The main part contains the wedding ritual songs collected from the Arkhangelsk and Vologda up to the Orenburg and Irkutsk Regions, i.e. all around Russia. In the regional sections they show the character of each song: for girls’ party, at the entrance to the house, when young people are raised, etc. The songs performed in each province are supplemented by the authors with detailed descriptions of the rites. The section ‘Rituals of funerals and memorials’ includes lamentations, grouped by deceased family members. And there are curious comments; for instance, in the preface concerning the Olonets Region the author notes that people regard death as ‘the will of God’, and they grieve in different ways: with heart or as a show.
Thus, the author shows the songs in the context of the rites and customs, as well as with the locality from which they were derived. Like A. N. Afanasyev, S. structured materials according certain topics. Later, that method was used by many folklorists. In total, this collection includes more than 1200 songs, the convenient classification of which makes the work an indispensable source for studying folk poetry.
The value of his works is not only in their thoroughness and quantity, but also, as S. A. Tokarev notes, in a variety of content, thanks to which his collections can be called ‘an encyclopedia of the folk spiritual culture’.