Sižets ATU 777: Par ebreju Stereotipu Latviešu folklorā

The article is dedicated to the problem of a Jewish stereotype (ethnocultural prejudices and perception of the Jews), spread among the non-Jewish inhabitants in Latvia nowadays - Latvians, Russians, Latgalians, Belarusians, etc. The Non-Jews constructed an image of the Jew in order to explain their “different” behaviour, language, festivities, food practices, their “other” culture and tradition. To show how the Jewish stereotype is being constructed and preserved in the local traditional culture, the folklore narratives have been examined. The article is focused on the universal subject ATU 777 named The Wandering Jew (ceaselessly wandering and unable to die as a punishment for blasphemy). The Latvian variations of this subject recorded in Latvian and Latgalian in 1920s-1930s are kept today at the Archives of Latvian Folklore (ALF). The image of the Wandering Jew manifests its folklore-related nature, as well as a strong connection to the Christian culture and religion.