Food Symbolism in the Karachay-Balkar Matchmaking Ritual

The types of food representing the ethnocultural model of the Karachay-Balkarian rite of matchmaking and reflecting the peculiarities of the ethnos’ worldview are revealed. Based on the works of the famous Karachay-Balkarian ethnochoreographer M.C. Kudaev, it is shown that semantic increments to the meanings of national dishes objectify various characteristics of both the groom and the bride: physical condition, age, financial status, mental properties, etc. Attention is drawn to the fact that while maintaining some stable figurative and aesthetic components in the modern family creation rite, there is a transformation
and loss of significant ethnospecific components due to new socio-historical conditions and life practices.