Dynamics of Traditions in Modern Society on the Example of Funerary Rituals in Ossetia

This paper is devoted to the study of sociological features of funeral rites. The focus of the study is made on changes in funeral rites, occurring together with the progress of globalization and urbanization in societies. The study of ritual changes helps to understand how rituals function, how does traditionalism fit into a market and why do people tend to support certain traditions and reject others? The decision of the set goal - to reveal changes in funeral rituals in the conditions of modern Ossetian society - implies a phased study of the basic ethnosocial elements of funeral rituals. Such elements in the framework of this study were the practices of funeral rites, their functions, changes and role, which plays a reciprocal exchange within the framework of these rituals. Using the qualitative methodology, it was possible to reveal that within the framework of the Ossetian society the changes in the rituals develop in two directions: on the one hand, some rituals and norms become inaccessible, but nevertheless, we cannot say that the ritual disappears: the funeral becomes more and more mass and more expensive, the infrastructure adapts to making funerals more comfortable, and all channels of the media and digital media are used to disseminate information related to this social institute.