The paper is a first study of the bathhouse rites connected with human life cycle, their distribution across the Vepsian settlement range, the various mechanisms of their introduction in the Vepsian cultural landscape. Comparative analysis has resulted in the conclusion that by far not all bathhouse innovations were adopted by Vepsian people. The selected elements were considerably modified by ethnolocal groups of Vepsians. Such modifications affected either the rite at large or its individual components. The innovation was sometimes transformed so profoundly that it was no longer perceived as such, and turned into an integral part of the ethnic cultural tradition.