To browse Academia. The article is devoted to the rite of funeral of women with mouldings from the graves of the Vetluga-Vyatka interfluve of the IX — early XIII centuries. The research is based on 25 graves from the Mari monuments, the similar graves from the sepulchers of Mordva and Muroma are used for the comparative analysis. The graves of women with castings are considered against the background of the Mari funeral rite in the Middle Ages.
Certain peculiarities are explained with the help of ethnographic and folklore data. The comprehensive approach to the analysis of the funeral rite allowed us to make a conclusion that the women buried with mouldings not only were moulders, but they also carried out certain rites connected with the protection of family and kindred.
