The book examines the processes of loss and destruction, reproduction and broadcast of texts, plots, rituals in traditional culture. The sections of the monograph written by folklorists, ethnolinguists and ethnographers show how the loss of cultural knowledge occurs, as well as what remains as a result of oblivion - various reduced, "fragmented" forms, which in some cases gradually disappear from tradition, and in others - serve as material for the birth of new forms and in a transformed form continue to exist in culture. The publication is intended for specialists in the field of folklore, ethnography, cultural studies and everyone interested in folk culture.