Fire is one of the most important elements of the ritualculture of the Udmurts, a key, meaning-forming concept of a number of family-tribal, calendar-religious and occasional rituals . The rituals of handling fire and the ritual use of fire constitute a special branch of legal customs related to attitudes towards natural elements (as well as water, earth, air-wind). The participation of people in the fire element during its ritual functioning in kindling (birth), maintaining (life), extinction/extinguishing (dying) underlies the Udmurt traditional rituals, ideas and prescriptions described in the article. Saving human life under any circumstances is a matter whose importance is difficult to overestimate.

1. Importance Of Fire
Fire is one of the most important elements of the
ritualculture of the Udmurts, a key, meaning-forming
concept of a number of family-tribal, calendar-
religious and occasional rituals . The rituals of
handling fire and the ritual use of fire constitute a
special branch of legal customs related to attitudes
towards natural elements (as well as water, earth,
air-wind). The participation of people in the fire
element during its ritual functioning in kindling (birth),
maintaining (life), extinction/extinguishing (dying)
underlies the Udmurt traditional rituals, ideas and
prescriptions described in the article.
Saving human life under any circumstances
is a matter whose importance is difficult to
overestimate.

2. Do you know what role fire played in
human evolution?
Presumably, Homo erectus was the first to use
natural fire 1.5 million years ago, but all evidence for
this is controversial. Man began to actively,
constantly and reliably use fire about 400-300

3. thousand years ago. The use of fire is not unique to
humans: some modern savanna chimpanzees follow
steppe fires, collecting animals that died in the
fire. But only humans can make fire. But there is also
no consensus about when this happened. Sapiens
used fire throughout their development, but were
they the first to learn how to make it?
Thanks to fire, people were able to thermally
process food, develop activity at night, heat their
homes and protect themselves from predators. You
can also remember slash-and-burn agriculture,
which was common in Europe since the Neolithic
era. With this method, the forest was set on fire, and
cultivated plants were planted in the vacant space,
fertilized with ash. But in addition to its role in social
evolution, fire had a direct impact on the structure of
some organs of modern man.
Food cooked over fire is softer and does not require
chewing for a long time, unlike, for example, raw
meat. This led to a decrease in the size of human
jaws. Cooking food made it easier to digest, which
helped shorten the length of the intestines, which in

4. turn helped in increasing brain size. Both the long
intestine and the large brain require a lot of energy
to maintain their functions. It is difficult for the body
to maintain both of them, so the resources freed up
from the reduction of the intestines can be directed
to feeding the brain. Such changes did not occur
immediately; it took several tens of thousands of
years.

5. Following are some ways to uses
fire:
Light of fire
Firelight is a phenomenon where fire emits light as a
result of processes occurring within it. Depending on
the type of fire and the conditions of its combustion,
the light of the fire may vary.
For example, when burning wood or coal, the light of
the fire comes from the radiation of ultraviolet rays,
which cause the particles of smoke and soot to
glow. This light can have various shades, from
yellow to red, depending on the composition of the
smoke and the temperature of the fire.
When burning gas or kerosene, the light of the fire
can also be quite bright, but it has a different
character. Gas and kerosene contain many carbon
atoms that can glow when burned. This glow occurs
in the infrared range, so the light of the fire has a
reddish-orange tint.
In addition, fire light can be used for various
purposes. For example, the light of a fire in a
fireplace can create a cozy atmosphere in a room,
and the light of a fire in a kitchen helps cook food
and control its temperature.

6. Warmth of fire
The heat of fire is the energy that is released when
the state of a substance changes. When a
substance changes from a solid to a liquid or gas, it
gives off heat. This happens because the molecules
of the substance begin to move faster and interact
more strongly with each other, which leads to an
increase in energy.
When heat is transferred from fire to an object, that
object becomes hot. If an object is in contact with
fire, heat is transferred through conduction. If the
object is located at a distance from the fire, heat is
transferred through radiation and convection.
The heat from a fire can be used for various
purposes, such as heating rooms, cooking food,
drying things, etc. However, if the combustion
process is not controlled, the fire can become
dangerous and lead to a fire. Therefore, it is
important to follow safety rules when working with
fire and not leave it unattended.
Speed of fire spread
Fire spread rate is the speed at which a flame
spreads through a combustible material. It depends
on many factors:
 Air temperature and humidity. The higher the
temperature and humidity, the faster the fire spreads.

7.  Type of combustible material. Different materials burn
at different rates, for example wood burns faster than
stone.
 Presence of wind. Wind can speed the spread of fire
as it carries burning particles over long distances.
 Using special fire extinguishing agents (water, foam,
etc.). These products can slow the spread of a fire or
even extinguish it completely.
Chemical properties of fire
Combustion of various materials
Combustion is a process in which combustible
material is oxidized by atmospheric oxygen,
releasing heat and light. Combustion can occur
under various conditions, such as open flame,
chemical reaction, explosion, etc. In this context, let
us consider in more detail the combustion of various
materials.
1. Wood: is a flammable material that burns when in
contact with an open flame or in the presence of
oxygen in the air. When wood burns, it produces
smoke and toxic gases such as carbon dioxide and
carbon monoxide.
2. Paper: Burns quickly and easily, producing a lot of
smoke and heat. When paper burns, it primarily

8. releases carbon dioxide, but other toxic gases can
also be released.
3. Fabric: Burns slowly, producing smoke and
heat. When tissue burns, it primarily releases carbon
dioxide and other toxic gases, but organic
breakdown products can also be released.
4. Plastic: Burns slowly and produces a lot of
smoke. When plastic burns, it mainly releases toxic
gases and decomposition products of organic
substances, such as formaldehyde and benzene.