GENERAL AND SPECIAL IN THE STRUCTURE OF OSSETIAN RITUAL WEEPING
The present article is dedicated to the ritual weeping of Ossetians in the aspect of its genre and compositional structure. It discusses the types and basic motives of Ossetian funeral lamentations and their links with the cult of interment, with ideas of Ossetians of the afterlife.
 It analyzes the nature and content of the Ossetian weepings, their functional characteristics and purpose. It identifies traits of improvisation, as well as its role in the ritual weeping.
 Functions of such causes as ritual and magical, emotional and ethical are clarified in the definition and content of the Ossetial weepings. Lost magical value of the ritual and its transformation into a traditional rite and the expression of personal distress and sorrow in connection with the loss of a loved one are traced. In the article the ritual lamentation of Ossetians in the aspect of its genre and compositional structure are analyzed.
 We consider the functional features of mourning crying, the role of improvisation and its characteristic features.