К проблеме „Своего” и „Чужого” - образ еврея в белорусской сказке

Belarusian taleThe article considers the character of the incomer as a constituent part of the ethnic self-image of the nation. The story is about the image of Jew as seen with eyes of Belarusian peasantry as imprinted in tales collected by folklorists on the verge of the 19th and 20th centuries. It is represented by „the Mine Foreigner” living in the same life and financial conditions as a Belarusian peasant, from one point, and different form a Belarusian due to another ethnic and confessional membership and the relevant customs, from another point. The character of Jew in Belarusian tale is defined through binary oppositions mine vs. foreigner, wealth vs. poverty, cunning vs. naivete, etc. Cultural necessity of foreigner inside his/her own nation is defined by two functions, the function of comparison (and relevant specification of own identity) and function of complementarity as soon as he/she posesses skills that aboriginals do not posess. Differences between the Mine Foreigner vs. Foreign or Another characters are stated.