LABYRINTH AS AN ELEMENT OF SACRED SPACE

Abstract

The study is devoted to the concept of the labyrinth: etymology, interpretation and typology as a component of the sacred space. The purpose of the study is to clarify the definition of “labyrinth” as part of sacred geography and sacred landscape science, to analyze the spatial arrangement from the standpoint of the liminal component of the sacred space. To analyze the labyrinth as an element of sacred space, landscape science, historical-geographical, ethnic-ecological and eniological scientific approaches were used. The revival of interest in the history, functioning and development of the labyrinth as an element of the sacred space contributed to an active exchange of ideas between historians, cultural scientists, theologians, geographers, and landscape designers, which caused a surge of interest in this topic at the beginning of the 21st century. The historical and geographical analysis of labyrinths was carried out in separate works of foreign geographers, theologians, and cultural experts. Most of them do not always note the difference between separate approaches to the interpretation and etymology of the term. In these studies, rather little attention was paid to the typology and analysis of the structure of the labyrinth from the point of view of geography, which necessitates a systematic study and the formation of appropriate models. The article analyzes the interpretation of the “labyrinth”: man-made, architectural, sacred / taphal / liminal, eniogeological, semiotic, metaphorical, literary. The authors proposed a typology of labyrinths based on a spatial, genetic and morphological approach. In the spatial type, it is proposed to distinguish labyrinths according to height differentiation: ground, underground, transitional. According to the genesis, subtypes of labyrinths in the composition of the sacred space are distinguished: natural (underground complexes of caves and galleries), natural-anthropogenic (sacred modified complexes of galleries and caves), anthropogenic or manmade (labyrinths in churches, made of turf, “Trojan cities”). A morphological typology of labyrinths with subtypes: serpentine linear, concentric circles, spiral, cross-shaped is proposed. The application of the proposed interpretations and typologies of the labyrinth as part of the sacred space will deepen connections in the interdisciplinary areas of geography, theology, philosophy, cultural studies and will allow to expand the theoretical and methodological base of sacred geography.