Customs and traditions of the peoples of the Kuban briefly. Alloy of different peoples

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Family customs and rituals of the inhabitants of the Kuban

Section 1. The system of traditional family folklore

Section 2. Modern family rituals and holidays

Section 3. Historical and genetic connection of calendar, family and non-ritual folklore

Bibliography

Section 1.The system of traditional family folklore

The Zaporozhye Sich were a brotherhood free from family ties. The familyless "orphan" was in the lower layer of the community, and in the top command. There were many of them among the settlers who rushed to the Kuban. Military prowess, democracy, commitment to the freemen were considered the priority values of "chivalry".

In the first decades of colonization of the region, the number of men in the mass of immigrants prevailed. To ensure population growth, the military administration was forced to take drastic measures: it was forbidden to give brides and widows "to the side." There were also economic incentives. Thus, the size of land allotments directly depended on the number of men in the family.

Relations in Cossack families were determined by the specifics of the border region and class traditions. In addition to military service, the main occupations of the male population were agriculture and cattle breeding. Only a few farms worked part-time by seasonal fishing. A characteristic manifestation of the isolation of the Cossack life is marriages, concluded mainly in their own environment. It was considered shameful to enter into kinship with non-residents. Mixed marriages with representatives of other social and ethnic groups became common only in the Soviet years.

Patriarchal families, for the most part, consisted of 3-4 generations. Such a picture was observed, first of all, in the linear villages. Incentive for education big family was the unwillingness to split the property and property. The undivided family, which consisted of parents, married sons and their children, retained the specific features of the age-old way of life: a common economy, collective property, a common fund, collective labor and consumption. The older man supervised the household work, represented the interests of the family at the meeting, managed the family budget. The survival of the family depended entirely on him. The younger members of the family meekly obeyed the elders.

According to the provision on military service, men from 20 to 45 years old were required to serve “in a hundred” for one year, and to be on benefits for the other. The establishment had its pros and cons. The Cossacks who left for the service, who did not have a father and brothers, left the household in the care of their wife. Without a man, the economy fell into decay. The current situation was beneficial for those who lived in a large family. The two brothers were never enlisted at the same time. While one was in the service, the other worked for the benefit of all.

In the 70s of the XIX century, this order was abolished. Now the Cossack, who had reached the age of twenty, was obliged to serve five years in the border service, in order to then go on benefits. In this situation, there was no holding power in preserving the family. After the service, and sometimes even before it, the brothers began to divide the property. The power of the father was also shaken. If earlier he could punish his son by not allocating anything from the common household, now the sons, relying on the force of law, shared with their father on an equal footing. After the partition, he remained in his father's house younger son. Older brothers chose new estates for themselves or divided their father's yard. All this gradually led to a violation of the way of life.

Events of family significance - weddings, homelands, christenings, funeral and memorial rites, "entrances" (housewarming), seeing off for service, took place in accordance with established customs, brought revival to the monotonous rhythm of working life. In the wedding ceremonies of Russians and Ukrainian groups living in the surveyed area, as well as in many other elements folk culture, there is much in common. This is explained by the fact that in the Kuban tradition many features that are characteristic of all Eastern Slavs have been preserved.

Marriage ties tied the spouses throughout their lives, divorces were practically not known. For girls, the age of marriage began at sixteen and ended at twenty-two or twenty-three. The guys got married from the age of seventeen - eighteen. During this period, young people were called brides and grooms. When choosing a couple, the financial situation, physical health, and only then the appearance were decisive. The unwillingness to start a family was perceived by the community as an attack on the foundations of life and public opinion condemned.

For the traditional wedding ritual, the unrecognizability of liminal beings is obligatory - the transition of newlyweds from one social group to another. The idea of the newlyweds as chthonic beings and their "impurity" at the turning points of life was expressed in dressing in new clothes, and for the bride also in isolation from others. By the beginning of the 20th century, the moment of isolation acted in the form of hiding the face, which can be considered as protection from hostile forces and, at the same time, as a temporary stay in the other world.

There are episodes in the Kuban wedding ceremony that require a special talent for improvisation. One of them is matchmaking, the results of which were not always known in advance. Going to the bride's house, the matchmakers were not sure that they would receive the consent of the girl and her parents. To achieve favorable outcome affairs, it was necessary to be able to manage an impromptu performance, set the pace for the action, correct the mistakes of the performers, introduce the collective game into the mainstream of tradition. The art of wishful thinking gave rise, in all likelihood, to the saying - "breshet like a matchmaker." The dialogue was descriptive. Retreated only after the third refusal. The return of the brought bread served as a sign (in the Black Sea villages there is also a pumpkin). Mutual consent was sealed with a handshake.

In the Black Sea villages, the initial episode was called zaruchiny (zarucheny), arranged in the bride's house. Treating the hosts with a drink was accompanied by an offering of scarves, towels, and money. The pre-wedding acquaintance then took place in the groom's house and was called "rozglyany" among the Black Sea people, "look at the zagnetka" (a shelf at the mouth of the oven, where they put dishes with cooked food) among the Cossacks of the line. Thus, the mother and father of the girl wanted to make sure that their daughter would not feel the need for someone else's house. The meeting discussed the material costs of each of the parties.

Then the matchmaking moved into a new stage - the future father-in-law asked for a reprimand (drink, snacks, gifts for the bride). The next episode of the traditional wedding - singing - took place in the bride's house, where relatives and youth were invited. The peculiarity of this component of the wedding complex was the glorification of all those present, starting with the parents of the bride. The verbal texts of the game songs, which young couples called, are maximally coordinated with the actions of the performers. Songs in isolation from the game lost all meaning. A typical example of the game song "Soon I'm going to Raskitay-gorod for a walk." A guy representing the “husband” came out of the circle, bowed to the “wife” to the singing of the choir and presented a gift. The young couple kissed and left the circle, the next one took its place. Wedding games served to prepare young people for the transition to new social roles. For married couples, glorification was an act of social recognition.

Magnificent songs were sung first to the bride and groom, "uncle", then to single guys and married men. The unmarried were called together with the girls, the married with their wives. The peculiarity of such songs is in exaggeration, idealization of the appearance and actions of the objects of magnificence. When describing the groom and single guys, their beauty was emphasized. In the assessment of a married man, the richness of the attire was indicated. At the same time, specific symbolism was used: the groom appeared in the form of a “warrior”, “clear falcon”, the bride - “doves”, “tappies”.

In wedding glorifications, psychological parallelism is often used when comparing or contrasting images of nature and the main characters. The motif of magnifying the master's house as a tower is widespread. Such ideals of the common people as physical and moral beauty, prosperity, and a strong family were reflected in the praise songs. Most of the songs are positive in nature.

An unfriendly tone sounds in the words addressed to the father-in-law and father, who "drank away" his own daughter

The theme of malevolence in the relationship between a young daughter-in-law and mother-in-law is reflected in the song “Daesh mene, mi batenko, young”, built in the form of a dialogue between a father and daughter. Among the traditional laudatory songs, there are texts built in a question-answer form with a detailed characterization of the character. There are contaminations of several compositional forms. An example of the mosaic way of arranging verse fragments is the variants of the praising song “What a barrel rolls along a hillock”, performed in one case by a married couple, in another by a guy and a girl. Contamination of motives is carried out on the basis of plot, emotional and lexical relationship.

By the beginning of the 20th century, such a specific component as “vaults” began to disappear from the wedding complex. Describing the wedding in the village of Kavkazskaya, A.D. Lamonov noticed that vaults were arranged only in the families of old-timers. The ritual took place in the form of a joke game, during which the groom had to recognize his bride among the girlfriends, hidden by headscarves. The concealment of faces and the sameness indicate a connection with the other world. The game ended with "bargaining"; at the end, his "merchant" kissed the bride three times to the singing of the girls. On the vaults, the bride and groom publicly called the new parents father and mother.

The next episode of a traditional Kuban wedding is a "bachelorette party", at which craftswomen gathered to help collect a dowry. During the work they sang long songs. Farewell songs almost did not differ from non-ceremonial song lyrics. The wedding song is particularly dramatic, in which the deceased parent gives the last instructions to his daughter on the eve of the wedding:

Oh, bow down, my child, stranger stranger

Let's give a little bit of cheese

Another ritual lyrical song “Subbotonka, nedelinka, like one day” is close to her in her emotional and psychological mood, setting the bride on a benevolent relationship with her husband’s mother:

Oh, I'll call "svekrushenka", that and ne gozhe,

Oh, I'll call it "mother," soapy good.

In old wedding songs, there is a motif of the return of a dead mother from the underworld to send her daughter to the crown.

At the bachelorette party, as in other episodes of the wedding complex, protective measures were taken: the bride's girlfriend ("light") throughout the evening sat in the red corner, holding a candle in her hands, set in a bunch of cornflowers. The peculiarity of the Kuban party was that the groom came to it with the "boyars" and presented the bride and relatives with gifts. The youth sang and danced to the music.

In the Black Sea villages, there was a custom to carry a dowry, usually even before the wedding. Ritual songs were sung along the way and at the entrance to the courtyard. The groom's father greeted the guests with vodka and snacks and redeemed every item. The guests called the bride and her new relatives. Having no magical significance, such songs contributed to the implementation of the rite.

Ritual songs and rituals accompanied the baking of cones and loaves. When kneading the dough, women hid three silver nickels (a sign of wealth) in it. Dough birds and three cherry twigs that adorned the loaf had a symbolic meaning. They were supposed to bring love and fertility. In order for the pastry to become “curly” (lush), women waved a broom three times from the bottom up, kissed, standing cross-to-cross and sang incantatory songs. A curly-haired man or boy was trusted to plant a loaf in the oven. (261, pp. 53-54) Dual faith, as a synthesis of pagan and Christian motives, is fixed in the custom of thinking about the fate of the young. With the help of three wax candles (in the name of the Holy Trinity), lit on a baked loaf, it was determined which of the newlyweds would live longer.

In progress historical development ritual singing was strongly influenced by folk lyrics, which affected the poetic content, composition and artistic style of the works. An example is the song folklore that accompanied the ceremonies of “inviting” the wedding train with clusters of red viburnum and blessing the bride. (261, p. 69)

An obligatory element of a traditional wedding is the bride's hair. According to folklorists, Russian wedding lamentation took shape in the 14th-15th centuries. The area of their existence included both Black Sea and linear villages. According to custom, the bride would vote early in the morning on the day of the wedding. Lamentations retained a connection with the spoken language of the area from which the settlers arrived and, most often, were rhythmically organized prose. If the bride was an orphan, she was taken to the cemetery to mourn her parents. The wedding could take place on the day of the wedding or a few days before it. Those who got married were not considered spouses until they got married.

An important role in the Kuban wedding was played by the ritual with hair. The girl's hairstyle consisted of one braid (sometimes two for the Black Sea Cossacks) and personified girlhood, free living in the parental home. To the singing of the matchmaker, the godmother and native mother loosened the bride's hair and braided the braid. The guests called the bride and girlfriends.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the bride's attire was influenced by urban fashion. The wreath began to be decorated with a light white veil and wax flowers. The traditional costume, consisting of a homespun shirt, skirt, apron and belt, was replaced by white dresses made of satin and silk. The dressed bride was seated at the table (“on the posad” - a pillow), the friends who were nearby sang sad songs. The father and mother blessed their daughter on a sheepskin coat turned inside out with fur. The bride voted.

On the day of the wedding, the ritual singing of women announced the gathering of the groom. (186, p. 257) In another ritual song, the women ask the mother of the groom to make “sim hundred tickets, sch chotyre” and decorate the boyars with them. A symbol of well-being and prosperity was the "dezha" - a tub for dough, around which the mother circled her son before sending her for the bride. The guests praised the groom.

The dialogue between the friend and the "guard" guarding the approaches to the bride's house was an actor's improvisation. The scene of “bargaining” for the right to enter the house and take a seat next to the bride only came alive when the improvisers found non-standard ways to solve the problem. The guards received money, "varenukha" (alcohol) and "bumps". The son-in-law brought “chobots” (shoes) to his mother-in-law, “harrow” (cookies) to his father-in-law. Each scene was accompanied by acting and singing.

On the route of the wedding train, all necessary protection measures were observed. They avoided passing along the road on which the whirlwind had risen. In order to protect themselves from damage and the evil eye, at every crossroads the bride and groom were baptized and read the prayer "May God rise again." After the wedding, the wedding train circled around the church three times so that the sorcerers would not turn everyone into “vovkulak” (wolves). A cleansing ritual was necessarily observed: at the gate, the newlyweds jumped over the fire, holding the ends of the scarf. The rite of shedding grain, hops, coins and the magnificence of the mother-in-law had a magical significance.

The wedding complex of the first day included the ceremony of "midwife" of the bride, performed by the married relatives of the groom. The newlyweds let their hair down, braided two braids or twisted it into a bundle like a woman, then covered it with a scarf or put on a “shlychka” (hat). According to custom, the bride had to throw off her headdress, but eventually resign herself. During the performance of the rite, a veil was held over her head. The custom was also observed of the young wife taking off her husband's shoes on the wedding night. Her husband lightly hit her on the back with a bootleg or a whip so that she would remember who was the boss in the house. The scene of a public demonstration of the virginity of the bride was accompanied by gunfire, ritual singing, the offering of a newlywed bottle of vodka and a cone with a bunch of red viburnum (a symbol of the transition to a new quality). Parents who did not watch their daughter were subjected to public disgrace: wearing a collar, they were led through the streets and brought a glass of vodka with a hole drilled on its side.

Most original genre wedding folklore reproachful songs or teasers. Ritual laughter is associated with the cult of fertility, with rituals of awakening vitality. In the context of a wedding ritual, laughter performs a communicative function and can be seen as a message sent from one subject to another. As a signal, it is expressed in speech, gestures, behavior and acts as a code behind which a certain meaning is hidden.

As part of the wedding ceremony, they can laugh at an individual and a group. In the Kuban wedding, it is customary to mock matchmakers, the groom, bridesmaids, boyars for their inability to behave in "society", and more often for stinginess. If in magnifications the participants of the wedding act as goodies, then in reproachful songs they appear as gluttons, drunkards, beggars. The main principle in creating song images is grotesque, exaggeration.

Wedding songs of a comic nature probably appeared as a result of the transformation of the ancient buffoons, who preserved traces of the sexual freedom of the pagans. There is no doubt that they were also affected by the influence of "pryspiv" (chorus). Teasers were performed in the episode of the arrival of the wedding train, during the feast and the collective dances of the guests.

The third day of the wedding - Monday - was a carnival spectacle of mummers. social significance wedding carnival consists in the inversion of social roles and the removal of prohibitions. Laughter, symbolizing health and well-being, not only sets the mood, but also mobilizes the creative efforts of carnival participants. Children laugh at the action, adults - at its semantic content and subtext. A traditional technique in a wedding carnival is "anti-behavior" in the form of travesty and ritual foul language.

According to tradition, guests disguised as gypsies and armed with clubs walked around the yards, stole chickens and carried them to the house where the wedding was played. A ritual was necessarily performed with the bathing of the young mother. The gifting of the newlyweds and the scene of the entry into the rights of the young mistress were accompanied by singing, sentences and the handing by the mother-in-law of the attributes of female "power" - a wooden shovel, a stag and a poker. The ritual dish is noodles made from foreign chickens and a sweet pie sprinkled with honey. On the last day, a stake was hammered at the threshold of the house. In the village of Bekeshevskaya, the wedding ended with “extinguishing the fire”: he set fire to a bunch of hemp together, threw it on the ground, and the guests trampled on it. As in the southern Russian provinces of Russia, this custom was little known in the Kuban.

At the beginning of the 20th century, regimental bands began to be invited to weddings, which, when meeting the newlyweds and congratulating the guests, played marching melodies and carcasses. In the midst of celebrations, rockets were fired.

Summing up, we note that the traditional Kuban wedding in the XIX - early XX centuries was a massive folk theater with ritual singing, incantations, dancing, playing musical instruments, disguise, ritual drunkenness and laughter. This side of the wedding was directly related to pagan customs. On the other hand, folk tradition absorbed the spiritual values of Orthodoxy. The marriage union was sealed with a wedding in the church. The organic combination of folk and Christian culture is the hallmark of traditional wedding ceremonies that existed among the Cossack population of the Kuban. Complex layers were also due to the peculiarity of the formation of the ethnic composition of the population, the direct interaction of cultures in areas of mixed settlement of peoples.

As a result of long-term historical contacts, under the influence of similar living conditions of the Black Sea and the Lineians, common features were formed in the wedding ceremonies of the East Slavic population of the Kuban. These include the customs of matchmaking, conspiracy, acquaintance of relatives, pre-wedding evenings, the participation of wedding rites in the ransom, the bride’s intercourse, the preparation of ritual food, the marriage bed, etc. The cheerful and cheerful nature of ritual games contributed to the convergence of South Russian and Ukrainian traditions and, at the same time, , distinguished from the North Russian wedding.

Under the influence of socio-economic and cultural transformations in the first half of the 20th century, there was a gradual simplification, reduction and merging of ritual actions. The ancient religious and magical motives of the rite were rethought. Weddings became more and more entertaining.

Ideas about the transformation of beings into a qualitatively new state and the need to comply with measures to ensure this transition are directly related to childbirth rites. According to traditional views, a newborn and his mother are fraught with great danger to others, so childbirth was most often taken separately from the household or in non-residential outbuildings. Parturient women were also separated because they were afraid of damage and the evil eye. Assistance in childbirth was provided by midwives (in the Black Sea villages of the “baby puporizna”), they also performed the main ritual actions. Unweaving hair for women in labor, untying the belt, unlocking the locks had apotropaic significance. In special cases, they asked the priest to open the royal doors and serve a prayer service, and the husband to step over the legs of the woman in labor three times. The midwife lit the lamp and read prayers. If the newborn did not show signs of life, the grandmother loudly pronounced the name of the father. As soon as the child screamed, they said: "Grandma responded." The midwife called "place" by whistling and smacking her lips. As an amulet, it was worn around the neck against a fever. From the thickenings on the umbilical cord that connected the mother and child, the midwife wondered if the woman would have more children. Immediately after the birth, the grandmother performed ritual actions with the placenta: washed in three waters, rolled up and buried in a secret place. If the parents wanted to continue to have children, then the end of the umbilical cord was placed on top, if there were enough of them, the umbilical cord was at the bottom.

The protection of the life of the mother and child was ensured by preventive rites, which reflected the deep-seated views on the unstable state of the woman in labor and the baby, who are on the verge of the real and the transcendent.

The "unclean" must be cleansed with holy water. If the condition of the woman in labor was satisfactory, on the third day the "washing of the hands" was performed. The performance of the ceremony began with the offering of bread and salt. The stove damper and “nekhvoroshcha” (raw materials for brooms) served as ritual attributes, the woman in labor put her foot on them. The grandmother put hops into a cup of holy water and, holding the spoon with her left hand, poured it three times into the arms of the woman in labor, reciting a prayer. The woman drank from a handful (so that the milk would come), and then washed her face and washed her hands. For participation in childbirth, which, according to popular notions, was considered a sinful deed, it was supposed to be cleansed by the grandmother.

An obligatory component of the ritual is three bows to the images and to each other. The midwife received gifts and money for her work. The ceremony ended with kisses and words of gratitude.

The rite of washing hands had other variations. In Chamlykskaya, the stanitsa midwife asked the woman to put her right foot on the ax, poured holy water from a cup, raising her hands above the face of the woman in labor. Water first fell into the mouth, then on the hands and further to the elbow. With an ax, the grandmother made four notches in the form of a cross around the woman in labor. Everything was repeated three times and accompanied by a cross or "chop" from a water barrel, accidentally found in the Kuban, there was a custom to twist a child in the form of a spiral from the neck to the feet, "the shchob grew more evenly." The twine was a ribbon of canvas or cloth. The grandmother was the first to weave, hence the “midwife”, “midwife”.

The right to give a name to a child was assigned to a priest. Godparents (grandparents) were chosen, as a rule, from among financially secure and pious relatives. If the baby is early age died, then in order to avoid the death of subsequent children, godfather and godfather were asked to become the first comers. Husband and wife were not invited to be godparents, since according to church regulations, marital relations are not compatible with the concept of spiritual kinship. folk tradition extended to the prohibition to be the parents of their child. Sexual relations between godfathers were considered as incest. The godparents were considered the second parents, guardians and patrons of newborns. The recipients were responsible for spiritual development godchildren.

Before going to church for baptism, they wondered about the future of the child: the grandmother laid a casing on the floor, hid a scythe, pen, ink, a book, etc. under it. The godfather had to randomly pull out one of the objects. Taking the child in their arms, the godparents left the midwife money on a fur coat. To find out the fate of the baby, they used the hair cut by the priest during the church ceremony. The receiver rolled them in wax and lowered them into the font. There was a belief: if the wax sinks, the baby will die soon, if it remains on the surface, the newly baptized will live for a long time, if it spins like a top, life will be restless. At the end of the sacrament of Baptism, the recipients kissed three times.

According to custom, the godfather bought a pectoral cross for the baby and paid for the church ceremony. Kuma and the midwife were supposed to give a dress. The godmother bought three arshins of linen for the riska, in which she wrapped the baby after the font, and brought the towel to the priest.

At the baptismal dinner, the midwife played a leading role: she cooked and fed all those present with ritual porridge. The rite of "kuvada", based on the transferability of actions and states from one person to another, was preserved in the Kuban at the beginning of the 20th century. The relationship between father and child was presented as a scene in which the father had to outwardly resemble the role of a puerperal and experience some of the suffering she endured by eating salted and peppered porridge, which was unpleasant to the taste.

The rite of tonsure, performed on the anniversary of the child, should strengthen his mind and health. By cutting his hair in the form of a cross, the godfather, as it were, drove away the devil and protected the godson from sins. The cutting and dressing in new clothes were supposed to make him unrecognizable and inaccessible to dark forces. Sacredness manifested itself at a time when the former status was replaced by a new one.

A child was considered an infant until the age of seven. According to the concepts of the people, until that time, his sins lie on the conscience of the mother. Upon reaching a conscious age, the recipients had to explain to the godson the basics of the Orthodox faith, lead them to confession and communion.

In the theoretical understanding of the origin of funeral rites, most often the religious side is taken as the basis - belief in the afterlife, in the existence of a person's soul after his death. The concept of "cult of ancestors" is put on a par with the concept of "primitive religion".

Archaeologists associate funerary monuments with the peculiarities of the life and culture of the ethnic groups that once lived in a particular territory.

Attempts are being made to study funeral rites in connection with the human need for integration or reintegration.

As you know, any ethnic community is formed by three age strata: the elderly, the middle stratum (adults) and the younger ones (children, adolescents). The community also includes the dead, existing in the memory of living people, in the products of their labor, creativity, and unborn children. After the death of one of the members of the community, the social balance in it is disturbed. The higher the status of the deceased, the more unstable the system of relations within the group. As a result, a spontaneous or conscious desire arises for reintegration, for the replacement of the deceased with a certain symbol. It is assumed that rituals with the body, things, weapons, and the dwelling of the deceased arose from these representations. The primary meaning of burial customs was a semi-instinctive sense of social connection. Rituals are based on relationships between generations. The dynamics of these relations is expressed by the transition (replacement) of one generation by another, the preservation of cultural ties. With this understanding religious beliefs appear to be secondary. The motivation for the burial ritual is respect for the elder in the family, while the burial of children expresses parental love and care.

The theme of death is reflected in numerous signs, divination and signs. Among the common people there were numerous interpretations of prophetic dreams. To see a bloodied tooth in a dream meant that one of the relatives would die soon. Death was foreshadowed by a dreaming dead man, calling to follow him. Birds were considered harbingers of death - a raven, a cuckoo and a capercaillie, from domestic animals - a dog and a cat. If the deceased's eyes are open, it means that he is looking for a companion. Death without a body is invisible and appears before death in the form of a woman or a rider on a white horse. In the common people there were concepts of "difficult" and "easy" death. They wanted to die easily, surrounded by relatives and friends.

Death was considered good on Easter and Ascension.

The fear of the hostile power of the dead was supported by the idea of the "impurity" of his body and everything connected with it. With the onset of death, the deceased was washed so that he would appear before God in purity. Wudu was performed by women. Water was poured out where no one went, clothes were burned. Having dressed the deceased in a "deadly" shirt, they laid him face up on a table or on a bench. They tried to destroy its deadly effect by sprinkling it with holy water.

According to traditional folk beliefs, the human soul is immortal. Leaving the mortal remains and remaining invisible to others, she hears the cries and groans of her relatives. He stays on earth for two days and, accompanied by a guardian angel, walks around familiar places. Only on the third day the Lord calls her to heaven. Therefore, the funeral was arranged no earlier than three days later. Like the living, she needs food, hence the custom to put a glass of clean water and honey on the table so that the soul of the deceased bathes and eats sweets for forty days. Afterlife food helped the deceased to join the host of the dead. Meals of relatives during night vigils can be seen as a way to facilitate the transition of the deceased to a new state, as a symbol of the inevitable transition to another world.

The Kuban folklore of the East Slavic population illustrates beliefs in magical power words and singing in preventing the harmful power of the dead. Traditionally women lamented. The content of laments is not uniform, but, as a rule, the texts begin with a detailed appeal: “Whom did you, my dear, hope for? And who did you rely on? This is what the wife said to her late husband, worried about his intention to leave his home and leave her without protection. When the body was taken out of the house, the relatives cried loudly, which was regarded by those around them as a tribute of respect and love for the deceased.

According to the ethical norms of the common people, participation in the funeral was mandatory for the entire adult population, then the deceased would meet in the next world everyone who accompanied him on his last journey.

According to Christian ideas about the afterlife, after burial, the soul, accompanied by a guardian angel, given by God to every person at birth, flies to heaven and travels for forty days. After long ordeals, she appears before God, who decides where to send her - to heaven or hell. Paradise seemed to be a beautiful garden in heaven, hell was associated with the "lower world". Protective measures were bans on burials on the first day of Easter and on Christmas until supper.

The purpose of the memorial meal among the East Slavic pagans was to protect the living from the influence of evil forces and as a posthumous sacrifice to the dead. In ethnographic materials of the second half of the 19th century, it was indicated that its order was strictly regulated. The meal began with a ritual kutya and included alcohol. The stability of the ritual "feeding" of the dead was preserved during the wake on the day of the funeral and on other memorial days.

Family customs and rituals include those that accompanied the choice of a place for the construction of housing, its construction and habitation. Thanks to ethnographic descriptions, it is known that when laying a house, by analogy with a construction sacrifice, copper coins worth 3 kopecks were buried under the corners, and black wool was laid on the upper corners. For laying floors, the owner called relatives and neighbors and brought a cup to each. Matitsa was laid under singing. When moving to new house they took the brownie with them. Leaving him in the old house was considered unforgivable ingratitude.

The farewell to the service took place according to the same scheme as the pre-wedding fees. Rites with Cossack equipment and a feast had a sacred meaning. The parental blessing was expressed by the father, touching the icon of his son's head. Mother put on a consecrated cross and an amulet. The young wife, according to custom, saddled her husband's horse with her own hands and wailed, bowing at her feet. The Cossack bowed in all directions, mounted his horse and galloped to the village administration. After the prayer service, the priest sprinkled the recruits with holy water, and the column set off.

The study of regional material shows that traditional family folklore had a rather complex genre composition. Conventionally, it can be divided into two groups - verbal and musical. Verbal genres include incantations and spells. They facilitated childbirth and protected the mother and child from diseases. Conspiracies and sentences (wedding parables) were used by wedding boyfriends, matchmakers, young people and their parents. Prayers were performed over the deceased, women in labor and in the wedding ceremony.

Musical genres included ritual, laudatory, playful and reproachful songs, spell songs, wedding lamentations, lyrical songs with a wedding theme. Each genre has its own characteristics. Ritual songs accompanied the ceremonies. Magnifications praised the participants of the wedding. Game songs brought the bride and groom together. The teasers were amused by their unpredictability. Spell songs ensured success in business. The lyrical ritual folklore reflected the feelings and moods of the main participants in the wedding - the groom, the bride and their relatives. Wedding lamentations ensured a happy family life. The whole complex of family rituals was a complex dramatic action, where everyone performed his own role prescribed by customs and traditions.

Family ritual complexes were formed over a long period of time and served as a form of embodiment of the people's worldview. In the process of historical development, some elements of the rituals were rethought, while others were consigned to oblivion.

family household folklore rite

Chapter2. Modern family rituals and holidays

The formation of the Soviet state ritual took place in the 20s of the XX century and coincided with the beginning of the cultural revolution. The decrees “On civil marriage and the maintenance of books of acts of civil status”, “On the dissolution of marriage” proclaimed the principle of the independence of family relations from religion and their transfer to the disposal of state bodies. Since that time, the religious rites of baptism, weddings and burials have lost their legal force.

The historical analysis of the family and everyday folklore of the East Slavic population of the Kuban indicates that its content and genre composition have undergone changes during the years of Soviet power. Separate leaving subsystems were preserved, others were transformed, new customs and rituals appeared.

As before, matchmaking takes place with the participation of wedding ceremonies. The groom's mother bakes round bread. The relatives of the groom or the matchmaker are wooing - an elderly, experienced married woman: an aunt, an older daughter-in-law, a godmother. They marry the whole family.

The symbolic meaning of a sheepskin coat during the blessing of the son and tying the matchmakers with towels have been preserved. The protective meaning is contained in the prohibition to go anywhere on the way to the bride's house and tell strangers about their intentions. Ritual bread, in the rite of matchmaking, is used to guess the fate of the young: if the bride cuts the loaf evenly and smoothly, family life will be fine.

As before, the symbolic meaning of happiness and fertility is attached to poultry. The character of the daughter-in-law is judged by the behavior of the chicken, which is presented to the future mother-in-law during the matchmaking. If a chicken behaves calmly in a strange house, then the daughter-in-law will be complaisant and, conversely, a restless chicken portends trouble in the relationship between the mother-in-law and the young daughter-in-law.

In a modern wedding, there are no such episodes as conspiracy, singing, bachelorette party. Ritual songs that were called the young, parents, girlfriends and friends of the bride and groom disappeared from living existence. Forgotten are the ritual songs that accompanied the transfer of the dowry. They invite to the wedding with postcards, and close relatives and the elderly - with cones.

Two days before the wedding, a loaf is baked in the groom's house. "Giltse" (branch) is decorated with ribbons, clusters of viburnum and sweets. According to informants, ribbons are tied so that the life of the young is beautiful and rich, viburnum is a symbol of longevity and procreation, sweets promise sweet life. The relatives of the bride bake for the newlyweds a round kalach with patterns - “melon”. On the wedding table, this symbol of fertility stands in front of the young. The sign of unity is two wooden spoons and "bugai" (bottles of vodka), tied with red ribbons.

It is customary to arrange a "bachelor party", at which the groom says goodbye to his bachelor life. Bachelorette parties in the form they used to be, as well as the bride's nakedness, have gone out of use everywhere.

According to modern informants, the bride should be dressed by a boyfriend, because if married women touch her, the troubles and failures of their family life will pass on to the young.

The custom is observed that the newlyweds must hold on through a scarf. If earlier a scarf and a towel were considered as a means of transition to a new quality, now, according to the informant, the bride, as it were, "binds" the chosen one to herself. Hiding the face with a veil is regarded by us as traces of the belief in the need for temporary isolation of the bride from the outside world in order to protect her from the evil eye (evil spirits).

In the Black Sea villages, the preparations for the wedding train have not changed much. In the ritual, towels, a casing, scarves, and ritual treats for travelers are used.

The approaches to the bride's house, as before, are met by "guards". You can step on the threshold only after the redemption. In an effort to make the meeting of the young more spectacular, the girlfriends test the groom, for example, they offer grains of wheat to lay out the name of their chosen one, put gifts in the basket, answer a number of questions, etc. If among the guests there are older people or participants in amateur performances, magnificence is sung to the owners. The bride's relatives also enter into a dialogue. In the village of Novonikolaevskaya, the bride is taken out of the yard by her father. The symbol of fertility and wealth, as before, are hops, grain and small coins.

It has become a tradition after the official ceremony to lay flowers at memorials and cemeteries. The custom of jumping over a fire lit at the entrance to the house has been preserved. It is a tradition to place a plate on the path of a young couple. Whoever breaks it first will rule. By the number of fragments, they judge how many children the young will have.

The stewards of wedding celebrations practice giving young people a loaf with seven candles, meaning a family hearth. On the wedding table, the central place is occupied by the giltse. The cult of the plant power of the earth, embodied in the tree, has the meaning of a creative principle.

In the modern rite, the search for a bride can be interpreted as an obsolete belief in the need to isolate her from others. Girlfriends and friends of the young people participate in the joke game. The action ends with the ransom and return of the bride to the groom.

Until now, imitative games of farcical "marriage" with elements of travesty, the performance of comic songs of an erotic nature, accompanied by mischief, whistling and laughter, continue to be preserved. The climax of the impromptu carnival is the bathing of parents and erotic games. Symbolic marriages and orgies, planting a "garden-garden" can be regarded as a means of enhancing the productive power of nature and man.

In a modern wedding complex, the rite of "midwife" of a young wife is absent. Dressing young people in new clothes on the second day of the wedding reminds of its relic roots. Apotropaic meaning, in our opinion, is the driving of a stake at the entrance to the house where the last wedding is being played.

At present, the roles of wedding ranks have changed, and some have lost their significance altogether. In a modern wedding, matchmakers are often replaced by a toastmaster (steward). Toastmaster - a professional who directs the ceremonial according to a typical or specially written script. Typical scenarios are distributed by departments of culture and methodological offices of the RDC. In the civil ceremony of marriage, the bride's girlfriend is called the witness, and the groom's boyfriend is called the witness. The main participants in the ceremony learn the roles in advance. There is a lot of officialdom in a modern wedding. It is increasingly taking on the character of an organized event.

Attempts to keep wedding ceremonies on stage are made by rural folklore groups. The genre composition of the songs performed by the participants of amateur performances is quite diverse. The largest array is lyrical songs. The rite serves as a background against which the images of the main characters are revealed. The circle of the most characteristic plots is made up of the experiences of the bride and her mother on the eve of the wedding. Another group consists of lyrical works about mutual love. The groom appears in the image of a brave Cossack, the bride - a flying bird.

When comparing wedding and extra-ceremonial lyrics, common plots with similar vocabulary are found. There are sharp contrasts, for example, between dance and wedding songs, which have verbal texts that are close in meaning, but have different musical sounds. The moving tempo and the syncopated musical tune of the dance create a feeling of unrestrained fun. In a wedding song, the melodic pattern is successively alternating smooth ups and downs. Minor sound causes a feeling of anxiety and hopelessness.

Ritual songs performed during the dressing of the bride on the first day of the wedding, as a rule, are in a minor sound. The pine tree serves as a symbol of the humility of the bride. Ritual songs, organically woven into the course of the wedding action, precede and accompany it, creating an atmosphere of either sadness or fun. The content of the verses corresponds to the nature of the musical tune. So, the ritual of riding the parents in a wheelbarrow is a fun game, and therefore the singing is imbued with a major mood.

The glorifications of the bride and groom have disappeared from living existence, and today they can be heard only in stage performance. Such is the fate of the reproachful songs. At the same time, this genre is dynamically developing on the stage within the folklore tradition. An important role here was played by the fact that teasers are aimed at public performance and are designed for an immediate reaction of the listeners. Their execution is addressed to a specific addressee. Most often, couplets have four lines, which makes them look like ditties. Scorching songs are completely devoid of symbolic conventions and reflect life in real images.

The transfer of wedding folklore to the concert stage leads to a change in the conditions of its natural existence. What lives a full-blooded life in folk life, on stage must meet the requirements of stage performance. Only individual episodes of the wedding are selected, the number of rites is reduced. Verbal texts and musical tunes are processed, as a result of which the performance loses its improvisation. From the entire volume of folklore material, those works are selected that meet the tastes and expectations of the audience. The leading role in the concert group belongs to the leader. Having received special training in higher and secondary educational institutions, they contribute to folk art professional vocal culture, modernize the style. Starting from the 70s of the XX century, in the propaganda of ritual folklore, a pop direction has been outlined. Despite the imitation of the folk style of singing, such groups remain purely stage.

The main contingent of folklore amateur performances are older people born in the first third of the 20th century. An indispensable condition for the existence of veteran teams is the presence of performers from one village, farm or village. The defining feature of the repertoire is the works that exist in a particular area. In groups where there is no professional leader, the participants gravitate towards authentic folklore.

The children's and youth ensembles that exist in many, to a certain extent, imitate adult performers. The main form of work is the development of vocal and choral technique. The selection of the repertoire is carried out taking into account the degree of complexity of musical works and performing culture participants. Folklore amateur performances are characterized by a general trend: the rejuvenation of the composition of performers, the departure of older people, as a result of which skill is lost, the continuity of traditions is disrupted.

Rudiments of archaic ideas about a newborn are still expressed in superstitious signs and stereotypes of behavior, the main meaning of which is determined by concern for his health. Mothers, for example, are not recommended to cut their hair and be photographed before giving birth, otherwise the child will be born stillborn. You can’t step over root crops, comb your hair on Fridays, and sew, knit, cut at Christmas time and Easter week, otherwise the child will be born with a birthmark in the form of a patch, or the path to this world will be “sewn up” for him. Before birth, the baby is not sewn or bought anything, up to six weeks they are not shown to strangers (they can jinx it). It is dangerous to leave a baby carriage under the eaves of the house, as evil spirits can descend along the ramp. The belief in the protective power of sharp objects has been preserved.

In order for the child to grow strong, at the baptismal dinner, one glass is poured into the ceiling. Until he learns to speak, you can not kiss on the lips and feed the fish (may become dumb as a fish). You should not take the baby from the breast on the days of the memory of the holy martyrs. As soon as he takes the first independent steps, the mother should draw a knife between the legs (cut the fetters).

With the development of the system of obstetrics in the USSR, the rites of midwives disappeared. Pregnancy and childbirth are under the control of medical professionals. IN Soviet time the custom of naming after Orthodox saints. The choice of a name depends on the desires and tastes of the parents, and often fashion. Celebrating birthdays has become a practice.

Registration of the birth of a child is provided by the civil registry offices (registries). In settlements where they are absent, civil ceremonies are carried out by local administration bodies. The basis of the Soviet rite was the glorification of the newborn as a citizen of the USSR and congratulations to the family. The ceremony was led by a steward and his assistants. IN Soviet era many parents were afraid to baptize their children in the church, fearing persecution by ideological bodies. The rites of baptism were performed, for the most part, secretly. With the revival of the Orthodox faith, more and more people seek to baptize newborns, thereby introducing them to religion, to the church.

In the family and household complex, funeral and memorial rites are not more conservative and therefore have been preserved quite well. As before, the theme of death is found in folk predictions, signs, fatal signs. The onset of the hour of death is recognized by the appearance of dark spots, by the smell of the body of a dying person (“it smells of earth”). The interpretation of dreams is also widespread. So, if one of the deceased in a dream calls to himself, they say that this is to an imminent death. A bird flying through the window is a sign of someone's death. Foreshadows misfortune chicken, suddenly singing a rooster.

The unrecognizability of the dead is achieved by changing clothes: the old in dark clothes, the young in light clothes. The traditions of night vigil and ritual feeding are preserved. Currently, it is believed that the deceased should "spend the night" in his home at least one night.

To bury ahead of time means to be condemned by public opinion for disrespect for the memory of the deceased. In tradition, the custom is a ritual sacrifice in the form of money, which is used to buy candles and order a memorial service. Unction and burial of deceased relatives in church or at home has again come into practice.

They don't bury until noon. Precautions include the custom of carrying the body forward feet, trying not to touch the threshold or doorway to prevent the return of the dead home. Relatives cry loudly, openly expressing their grief. Before the funeral procession, it is customary to throw fresh flowers and evergreen branches of boxwood and arborvitae. Behind the coffin, first, relatives go, then the rest of the mourners. The attributes of the funeral rite are scarves and towels - pagan symbols of an easy road to the afterlife.

The modern civil ritual includes mourning music performed by a brass band, carrying a portrait of the deceased, pillows with orders and medals, as well as farewell speeches. There is still the custom of saying goodbye to the deceased relatives and throwing three handfuls of earth into the grave with the words: "Let the earth rest in peace." Often, an Orthodox cross and a portrait are installed on the grave at the same time.

“Feeding” the deceased during the wake and “breakfast” on the second day after the funeral are the remnants of ancient beliefs in the harmful power of those who have gone to another world. The traditional "food" of the deceased is bread, kutya, vodka. If clergy are present at the wake, then dinner begins with a prayer. The grave is “sealed” shortly after the funeral, but no later than the eighth day. They commemorate, as before, on the ninth, fortieth days, six months and a year later.

Until now, observance of mourning has not lost its significance, however, its terms have been reduced. Up to a year or more mourning clothes are worn by mothers who lost their children untimely. Widows observe annual mourning. Men wear dark clothes most often only on the day of the funeral.

In a modern civil funeral ritual, a religious component is optional. In the process of secularization of everyday life, religious traditions recede into the background.

Funerals, like other family rituals, have the function of uniting relatives and friends, and in rural areas, the entire community. Rites create a sense of the integrity of the family, clan, work collective. Participation in them is one of the traditional forms of communication and, at the same time, a means of transmitting traditions.

In the 20th century, there was a tendency towards the individualization of family life. The modern Russian family consists mainly of parents and their minor children. Separation of adult children has become commonplace. The initiative comes from both sides. The incentive to strengthen the process of family separation is the active migration of rural youth to the city. Neither the economic nor the housing problems that young people face when starting an independent life are not deterred.

Preserving a certain economic and cultural autonomy, parents and children join their efforts in achieving common material and economic goals. parent family acts as a link between members of the genus. The unity of relatives is manifested at crucial moments - the birth of children, death or marriage.

Multinational Krasnodar Territory

The multi-ethnic composition of the population of the Kuban is confirmed by dry figures. About what peoples inhabit the Krasnodar Territory, a complete picture is given by the results of the 2017 population census.

The main part, more than 80%, are Russians. About 4.5 million Russians live in both cities and rural areas.

Among the peoples inhabiting the Krasnodar Territory, there are almost 200 thousand Ukrainians and 40 thousand Belarusians.

Since ancient times, a large Armenian diaspora has been living in the Kuban, mainly in the cities on the coast: about 250 thousand people.

They prefer compact settlement along ethnic lines:

Germans - about 20 thousand;
Greeks - more than 30 thousand;
Adyghe - more than 19 thousand.

Representatives of Circassians, Moldavians, Czechs, Georgians, Bulgarians, Turks, Crimean Tatars, and Estonians live and work in the Krasnodar Territory. There are even individual representatives of the small peoples of the Far North and other states, such as the Eskimos and Assyrians.

A powerful flow of labor arrived in the Krasnodar Territory from Central Asia. Now Turkmens, Tajiks, Uzbeks, Kazakhs, and Koreans have found a second home in the Krasnodar Territory.

What other peoples inhabit the Krasnodar Territory? These are Mordovians, Ossetians, Maris, Finns, Lithuanians, Poles, Romanians, Lezgins. There are Arabs, Tabasarans, Udins, Laks, Yezidis, Kurds, Gypsies, Shapsugs, Jews and representatives of other nationalities in the Kuban.

The history of the settlement of the Kuban

You will not find such a diverse multi-ethnic composition anywhere else, except in the Krasnodar Territory. Why did this happen?

Archaeological data claim that people began to live on the fertile lands of the Kuban River more than 10 thousand years ago.

In the second millennium BC, the Circassians settled. Then the ancient Greeks created cities-policies on the Black Sea coast of the Kuban.

In the 10th century, the Slavs appeared, who founded the principality of Tmutarakan.

Resourceful Genoese merchants in the Middle Ages built fortresses-forts to secure trade routes.

The war with Turkey became a decisive factor: the Kuban region passes into Russian citizenship, and Empress Catherine II settles the Cossacks on the fertile lands - let them guard the borders.

After the abolition of serfdom in the middle of the 19th century, a stream of Russian and Ukrainian peasantry poured into the Kuban.

The phenomenon of subethnos - Kuban Cossacks

Among the peoples of the Krasnodar Territory, the Cossacks clearly stand out, which has no analogues in the world.

Don and Zaporozhye Cossacks sent to guard the borders of Russia, peasants who voluntarily or under duress came to develop free rich lands - all of them became the basis for the unique emergence of a sub-ethnos - Kuban Cossacks.

Linguistic traditions of the Kuban Cossacks

Formed from the South Russian, Ukrainian dialect with the addition of militarized expressions, this language is striking in its richness and richness of expressions. The Cossacks “hack”, stretching the sound “g”, and the sound “f” turned into “hf”. The middle gender is not popular in the dialect of the Cossacks; it is often replaced by masculine or feminine.

To fully immerse yourself in the style of the Cossack language, it is worth re-reading The Quiet Don. The traditional dialect that has survived to this day Kuban Cossacks distinguishes them from other residents of the region.

Household Cossack customs and traditions

The Cossacks hold fast to their traditions. And one of them is adherence to Orthodoxy, observance of religious customs. Cossacks all over the world celebrate Easter and Christmas, Spas and other church holidays.

Another good tradition among the Cossacks, which has come down to our days, is a respectful attitude towards the elders and the guest.

From childhood, boys in Cossack families learn to hold edged weapons in their hands - a saber. Masterfully handling weapons, riding a horse - such skills are traditionally passed down from generation to generation in Cossack families.

Adyghes - the original population of the region

Until the 18th century, the Adyghe people lived mainly in the Kuban. Ubykhs, Shapsugs, Bzhedugs and representatives of other tribes were called Adyghes. Another name for the Circassians is the Circassians.

Traditionally, the Adyghe people were engaged in cattle breeding, especially highlighting horses. Kabardian horses are still considered an excellent breed, receiving awards at various competitions and races.

Men forged weapons, women decorated scabbards with silver embroidery. The special attitude of the Circassians to the family has survived to this day - family ties are revered more than others.

Today, in the tradition of such peoples of the Krasnodar Territory as the Adyghe, the fashion for national clothes is returning again. Most often, it is sewn for festive events, such as weddings. On the bride in a long velvet dress, decorated with embroidery, her parents put on a beautiful belt, forged from silver or with gold stripes. Such an expensive belt is part of the girl's dowry. A small hat is put on the head, the hair is covered with a light veil. In this dress, the bride looks unusually elegant.

Modern Adyghe grooms are also happy to put on a traditional costume that emphasizes a man's appearance: Circassian coat, cloak, hat.

A wedding in folk costumes always arouses admiring glances, so young people in the Kuban are increasingly holding wedding celebrations in the national style, and even a casual passer-by can enjoy a magnificent spectacle.

Greeks in the Krasnodar Territory

What other peoples of the Krasnodar Territory have retained their national traditions? Of course they are Greeks.

Many Greeks live in cities, but about a third of the community is located in the villages of Kabardinka, Vityazevo, Gaverdovskoye, Pshada. Most often in the countryside, the Greeks are engaged in serving tourists, growing tobacco and grapes.

Over the past centuries, the Greeks of the Kuban have not lost their national customs.

For example, it is customary to dance wineman at a wedding. This is a beautiful dance involving 6 newly married couples. They hold lighted candles in their hands and dance around the newlyweds, finally accepting them into their circle. Such an interesting and colorful ceremony is becoming popular among other peoples of the Krasnodar Territory, who willingly adopt the Greek tradition.

Armenians - inhabitants of Kuban

Only in Krasnodar there are about 70 thousand Armenians. Krasnodar is also the center of the southern branch of the Armenian Apostolic Church. About 30% of Armenians live in Sochi.

An interesting tradition has been preserved among the Armenians - the holiday of Vardavar. Glad summer holiday allows you to pour water on everyone, regardless of status, and you can’t be offended.

Interesting traditions of the peoples of the Krasnodar Territory - a mixture of national dishes. Borscht and pita bread, hash and zapenka - all this can be served on the table in any Kuban home. However, Armenians often prepare national dishes, remaining faithful to culinary customs. For example, deer and chicken meat are combined in arganakk. Armenians cook excellent trout. Tourists are definitely advised to try meat nastypery and ksuch.

The multinationality of the Kuban allows each nation to preserve its face and at the same time take the best and most useful from others. Perhaps in many years a new universal nationality will appear in the Krasnodar Territory - the Kuban.

Traditions are something generally accepted, habitual, worthy. Traditions are then perceived as law when they become a way of life and are passed down from generation to generation. “It's hard to imagine what life would be like without holidays. Undoubtedly, something very dull, monotonous ... But the soul does not tolerate depressing monotony: it requires bright, flowery spots, a burning sun, a laughing sky, a song of a lark, the joy of life. All this gives a holiday,” said St. Basil (1878-1945), Bishop of Kineshma, canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church in 2000.

Rituals form the basis of all folk traditional (spiritual) culture. A rite is a set of customs and rituals in which any ideas or everyday traditions are embodied. A rite is a traditional procedure for performing any action - New Year's Eve, wedding, funeral. Ritualism rallied people, made up a single and indestructible way of life. It reflected the centuries-old experience of the people, a kind of ethics and aesthetics.

It is customary to divide ceremonies into calendar ones, associated with certain days of the year - cattle pasture on the field, harvest - and everyday ones - weddings, christenings, funerals, housewarming 1. The observance of religious faith by the Cossacks was a prerequisite for acceptance into the Cossack brotherhood 2 .

Holiday - a day specially celebrated by custom or church. There are calendar holidays and rituals that are fixed in time and associated with special, critical events in the life of nature and society. special group make up the rites of the life cycle, or family (household), associated with the life of an individual. Characteristic for the Cossacks and military holidays. All these holidays and rituals evolved over the centuries, accumulating the most important events in a person's life.

Calendar holidays, marking the change of seasons, concentrated around the winter (Christmas) and summer (Ivan Kupala) solstices, spring (Maslenitsa) and autumn (Nativity of the Virgin) equinoxes. All great holidays (Christmas, Easter, Trinity) were accompanied by a special ritual and lasted for several days. The traditional calendar rites of the Don Cossacks were formed during the XVIII-XIX centuries 3. In the period of early history, when the Cossacks were militarized male communities, there were practically no agricultural rites on the Don, since the economic sphere of life itself was absent, there was a strict ban on arable farming, and livelihoods were obtained exclusively by military craft.

As the Cossacks moved to a settled way of life and arable farming, along with the formation of a patriarchal family and a rural land community, a complex of traditional calendar rituals took shape, which supplemented the previously existing military rituals.

In the gradually emerging cycle of calendar holidays, ancient pagan and Christian views were closely intertwined; rituals associated with the period of male paramilitary communities and later - brought to the Don by new waves of immigrants. Closely intertwined and complementing each other, these customs and rituals reflected folk ideas about the relationship between the world of people and nature, the living and the dead, performed the most important functions of socializing youth, solidarizing the entire Cossack community.

The calendar holidays of the Don Cossacks have many features, since in the XVIII-XIX centuries. the Cossack remained both a professional warrior and a plowman-farmer. In almost every calendar holiday on the Don, the main organizing role was assigned to male groups.

The role of the Orthodox Church was very significant in the Cossack tradition. Orthodox priests took part in Shrovetide requiems in the old towns, in the so-called. "royal holidays", in the rites of prayer for rain, in seeing off and meeting the Cossacks from the service. Bypasses of courtyards by priests were carried out at Christmas, Epiphany and Easter. Big role in the life of the Cossack villages and farms, patronal (temple) holidays were played, which were celebrated very solemnly and magnificently. It was the Orthodox (first of all, the Twelve) holidays that structured the national calendar year and either crushed many elements of the former pagan tradition with their power, or were closely intertwined with them, enriching the holidays with new elements and meanings.

The very concept of "folk holiday" has absorbed both ancient (pre-Christian) ideas and the experience of the Orthodox Church. Moreover, over time, Christian traditions on the Don more and more crowded out pagan ones, highlighting and elevating the concept of a holiday.

The Orthodox Church calls holidays the days dedicated to the remembrance of any sacred event or a sacred person in the history of the Church in order to dispose the faithful to understand the meaning of the remembered event, or to imitate the life of the saints.

family traditions and customs

Until the end of XIX - beginning of XX centuries. the existence of a large family is characteristic, says A.P. Kashkarov 4 . The special social position of the Cossacks and the specific way of life contributed to its long-term preservation: the need to cultivate large land plots, the impossibility of separating a young family during service or before it began, and the relative isolation of family life. The Cossacks of the Don, Ural, Terek, Kuban troops had 3-4 generation families, the number reached 25-30 people. Along with large families, small families were known, consisting of parents and unmarried children. The head of the family (grandfather, father or elder brother) was the sovereign leader of the entire family, had sole power. This position was occupied by the mother in the absence of the owner.

In the life of the Cossacks, traditions of joint leisure activities are characteristic: meals after the end of fishing work, seeing off and meeting the Cossacks from the service. Almost all holidays were accompanied by competitions in felling, shooting, horse riding. A characteristic feature was the "death" games, which staged military battles or the Cossack "freemen". Games and competitions were held at the initiative of the military Cossack foreman (farm management, village).

Among the Don Cossacks, there was a custom to “walk with a banner” at Shrovetide, when the chosen “cottage ataman” walked around the houses of the villagers with the banner, accepting treats from them. At the christening, the boy was “consecrated to the Cossacks”: they put a saber on him and put him on a horse. The guests brought arrows, cartridges, a gun as a gift to the newborn (by the teeth) and hung them on the wall. Just like today, the most significant Orthodox holidays were Christmas and Easter. Patronal feasts were widely celebrated. A combined-arms holiday was considered the day of the saint - the patron saint of the army.

And the Ural Cossacks in the XIX century. among the festive amusements was an entertainment known among the Turkic peoples: without the help of hands from the bottom of a cauldron with flour stew (oalamyk) it was supposed to get a coin.

The authorities encouraged the Cossacks to become interested in choral singing, creating choirs, organizing the collection of old songs and publishing texts with notes. Musical literacy were taught in village schools, the basis of the song repertoire was old historical and heroic songs associated with specific historical events, as well as those that reflected military life. Ritual songs accompanied the holidays of the calendar and family cycle, love and comic songs were popular.

birth of a Cossack initiation into the Cossacks

Each newborn Cossack or Cossack, in addition to blood father and mother, had a godfather and godmother 5. The blood parents took care of the choice of godparents in advance. These were not supposed to be relatives (as is customary now). The godfather was chosen by the father - he must be a reliable person (kunak, one-sum, brother, etc.), from whom there was something to learn. It was he who first of all shaped the spirit of the Cossack. And an important factor and the godfather, and the godmother must be able to participate in the upbringing of the child - to live close to the godson (goddaughter). The godmother was looking for a blood mother from among her friends (preferably at least a little older than her age).

If a Cossack was born in the family, then the main burden fell on the godfather - he made a warrior out of a Cossack. The main task of the godmother in this case was to form in the Cossack an attitude towards the Cossack girl as a wife, mother and mistress. If a Cossack was born, then the godmother played the main role. She formed a Cossack woman from a girl, as a wife who knows how to wait, a patient mother and a kind housewife. The godfather in this case formed in the Cossack woman an attitude towards the Cossack, as a warrior-defender, as a husband, father and head of the family.

After the birth of the child, they were not particularly in a hurry to undress. To quickly teach him to move his arms and legs was not an end in itself. The child must first see and realize an object unknown to him, and only then touch, “pick by mouth”. In the future, the process of “saw-realized-did” accelerated. This is exactly what a Cossack does in a critical situation. And there is no panic and unnecessary movements, because first I appreciated it, and then I did it.

After the christening, the Cossack girl was given a saber (dagger) or a bullet (formerly an arrow), which is called “on the tooth”. And they watched his reaction: if he starts playing with her, the Cossack will be kind, but if he bursts into tears, there is something to think about. Further, they always tried to surround the little ones with exactly those things that were indispensable attributes of the life of the Cossacks.

When the Cossack was one year old, he was led to the first communion. In a year, the Cossack had a lot for the first time. For the first time they put him alone on a horse, put on his father's sword, his father took the horse by the bridle and led him around the yard. And another rite was performed in the year from birth. All the men of the family gathered and led the boy to the sacred place of their village (or farm). Among the Don people, it was called "the tract", among the Black Sea people, "round". Actions were taken there that made it possible to transfer the power and knowledge of the family to a new generation on a spiritual level.

The first steps in training and education were taken in the family. The whole system, if it can be called that, was built precisely on the tribal and comradely principles of existence. Until the age of 7-8, the Cossack girl lived in the female half of the kuren.

Military games outside the city and target shooting were the favorite pastimes of young people in their free time. These exercises developed accuracy in shooting, many of the Cossacks could knock out a coin between their fingers with a bullet at a considerable distance. Three-year-old children already freely rode a horse around the yard, and at the age of 5 they galloped across the steppe

At this moment, education came from both the female part of the family and from the male. It was based on visibility. And the main thing here is the personal example of the elders and the immersion of the boy in the appropriate environment. And what exactly did the Cossack habitat include for a Cossack? On the wall in the kuren is a father's (or grandfather's) checker. Whips at the door and in the hands of the Cossacks. Lampas, hats, caps on people close to the boy. Crosses and medals on the chest of a grandfather, father, uncle or godfather. Horses. Horses are everywhere, at their base, on the street, with neighbors, in the steppe behind the village. During this period, men watched how the Cossack was formed. Women were less and less allowed to lisp with him: “Do not spoil, women, a Cossack!” If somewhere he hurt himself and cried, then they taught: “Don’t cry, you’re a Cossack, but a Cossack doesn’t cry!” And then the Cossack girl gradually developed the conviction that what the elders sing about and say, they do, they do the same things. And it's all real. And he will do the same. Well, and, to everything else, playing on the street with peers. The games were well-established for centuries, and naturally aimed at the development of the Cossacks. Almost all of them passed under the supervision of the stanitsa (khutor) old men, who strictly monitored the behavior of each of the Cossacks. And in the event that someone behaved unworthily, the old men inspiredly instructed and corrected the negligent.

There were many games-exercises for the development of the Cossacks. Exercises are naturally not in the form in which we understand them. It's more of an exercise test. They revealed the presence of one or another quality or skill among the Cossacks. And the Cossacks did these tests-games, competing with each other (playing). And the Cossacks played these games almost all their lives. From the age of 12, a Cossack girl began to be led to a circle (descent) and other socially significant events. Its main task is to watch and remember. And at the age of 16, according to the readiness of the Cossack, a more serious test awaited him - basically it was hunting for a predator (wolf, wild boar, etc.). In addition, the Cossacks were trained under the guidance of experienced Cossacks. They gathered in a specially designated place on their horse and with weapons. Here they perfected fighting techniques, shot at a target at full gallop, chopped a vine with a saber, overcame obstacle courses on horseback, lifted objects from the ground at a gallop, rode while standing on a horse, learned to jump off a horse on the move and fly up again into the saddle, chop the flame of a candle on stand. They learned to swim across rivers with a horse, to crawl in a plastunsky way, to hide sentries. With lances at the ready, the Cossacks on horseback went on the attack with lava, hitting the reed effigies of the enemy with lances, while on the move they learned to hit the enemy on the move, throwing a lance like a spear. And when the day came for the exams, they were taken by the ataman himself and the Yesauls in the presence of the elderly. The ataman handed over rich weapons, decorated saddles, elegant bridles to the most distinguished ones. And the Cossacks greatly appreciated these first awards and kept them all their lives.

And after such upbringing and training, it turned out to be a “hardened Cossack”. True, there is one clarification: the “hardened” Cossack appeared in the third generation. Naturally, if the first and second generations were carefully prepared and survived in battles and battles. Before serving in the army, a young Cossack had to master at least: horseback riding with elements of horse riding, chopping vines with a saber, shooting from a rifle (lying, standing, kneeling, from a horse, including galloping), own a pike. All young men and adult Cossacks demonstrated their military skills at the general Cossack military holiday. The holiday went like this. First, a military formation (by fifty and hundreds). Then the removal of the banner, icons, centesimal flags from the temple and the liturgy - a church service. After that: speed racing and overcoming an obstacle course on horseback, horseback riding, demonstration of possession of weapons - a saber, a dagger, a pike. And at the end - a public feast for groups and families, mass festivities.

You can get acquainted with the Siberian traditions associated with the birth of a Cossack and his initiation into the Cossacks in the “Combat List of the Yenisei Cossacks” 6 . When a boy was born in the Cossack regions, it was always a great joy. There were high hopes for him. He is a warrior, a hard worker, and most importantly, a successor to the family. Therefore, the baby began to be brought up according to Cossack traditions almost from the cradle. At the age of nine months, the child was checked to see if he was really a Cossack. This custom was performed in the presence of the ataman. Various toys were laid out around the boy: girls' and boys'. Cossack items, such as a bullet, were also placed among them. It was joyful if a child chose a toy for boys or a military object of the Cossacks.

The second initiation was when the boy was three years old. On this day, after communion in the temple, his godfather and his own mother put the child on a horse and, with the blessing of the priest, circled him around the temple. And they said that as if here it is - yours, son. This is what you must protect. The baby was then handed over to the father. As if summing up: there was a sissy - he became a papa. Thus, the boy was initiated into the Cossacks. Later, in order to be considered a Cossack, it became necessary to take an oath. The unmarried Cossacks (who had taken a vow of celibacy) nursed the born baby, and when he had his first tooth, everyone would certainly come to watch him, and there was no end to the delights of these battle-hardened warriors.

The Cossack was born a warrior, and with the birth of a baby, his military school began. To the newborn, all the relatives and friends of the father brought a gun, cartridges, gunpowder, bullets, bow and arrows as a gift. These gifts were hung on the wall where the parent with the baby lay. At the end of forty days after the mother, having taken a cleansing prayer, returned home, the father put on the child a sword belt, holding the sword in his hand, put him on a horse and then returned the mother’s son, congratulated her on the Cossack. When the newborn teeth erupted, the father and mother put him back on the horse and took him to the church to serve a prayer service to Ivan the Warrior. The first words of the baby were "but" and "pu" - goad the horse and shoot. Military games outside the city and target shooting were the favorite pastimes of young people in their spare time. These exercises developed accuracy in shooting, many of the Cossacks could knock out a coin sandwiched between their fingers with a bullet at a considerable distance. Three-year-old children already freely rode a horse around the yard, and at the age of 5 they rode across the steppe.

The process of initiation into the Cossacks is usually described as follows: “This rite, which exists now, consists in the fact that, having waited for the first tooth to appear in the son, the father, putting a saber on him, puts him astride his saddled horse, and at that moment for the first time cuts his forelock." Then he returns it to his mother with the words: "Here's a Cossack for you!" To the newborn, all the friends and acquaintances of the father brought something to the teeth. This gift was certainly a military one: a cartridge of gunpowder, an arrow, a bow, a bullet, the grandfather gave a saber or a gun. By this rite, the boy was initiated into the Cossacks, he was recognized as belonging to the community of free sons Quiet Don: a warrior by birth and upbringing, a Cossack from childhood was taught to think and feel in a military way. The son, grandson and great-grandson of a serving Cossack, he was already a Cossack as a child.

In class culture, infant initiation was transformed into a rite of passage into the Cossacks. Officials usually took part in the ceremony. Initiation into the Cossacks took place at the age of six. On the Maidan, the Cossacks gathered in a circle. The boys were put on horses. Each of them had to ride a horse in a circle. Whoever could not stay in the saddle was consecrated to the Cossacks in a year. For those boys who rode in a circle and did not fall off the horse, initiation into the Cossacks began. The ceremony took place in a solemn atmosphere on the Maidan. For each of them, the ataman put on a ribbon of red cloth with the inscription: "Cossack of the Astakhov family." But before putting on the ribbon, the boys were put on horses by older Cossacks from their Cossack family. After putting on the ribbon, the ataman solemnly walked around everyone, congratulated those initiated into the Cossack, and greeted the old Cossack warriors.

Adolescent initiation occurs at the age of thirteen or fifteen. [...] Three-year-olds themselves drove around the yard, and five-year-olds fearlessly galloped down the street, archery, played money, went to war. The horse occupied a special place in the life of a Cossack, he was an indispensable companion of a Cossack on all paths of his life - both peaceful and non-peaceful. The very life of a Cossack sometimes depended on the knowledge of the habits of horses, the skills of handling them. The horse was a kind of intermediary between the Cossack and the Don - i.e. native land, native home, native family. In the Region of the Don Host, a real cult of the horse has developed, associated not only with the traditions of the ancient Russian combatants, but also with the way of life of the steppe nomads, from whom the Cossacks adopted many ways of handling a horse, who themselves often became Cossacks. Gradually, the sphere of education of boys expanded, it included elements of tracking, skills in handling weapons, hand-to-hand combat, overcoming water obstacles, etc. As a boy, the Cossack played aidanchiki on the stanitsa street, chasing his eyes, or, jumping and running, drove head over heels. As soon as he had enough strength, he already took a squeaker and went to shoot sensitive bustards, or galloped across the steppe, driving a herd that had fallen into a snowstorm. He crawled on his stomach, sneaking up on the beast, he swam across the Don, escaping from the Tatars, he knew that a miss from a gun for him was often death or captivity. He himself did everything that we now teach the Cossack in case of war, his teacher was a cruel, mortal danger, and this teacher is harsh! ...

The finale of teenage initiation can be considered "fun battles" between groups of teenagers in a village or farm. So, in the book “Donets” 7 we read: “At times, the entire childish population of Cherkassk advocated for the city, where, divided into two parties, they built reed towns. Wearing paper hats and firecrackers, with paper banners and crackers, riding on sticks, the opponents converged, sent archers or bully riders and, attacking, fought with such passion that they did not spare their noses; they cut with popular sabers, stabbed with reed peaks, beat off banners, grabbed prisoners. The winners, to the music of pipes and combs, with rattles or basins, solemnly returned to the city; from behind, bursting into tears, their heads bowed in shame, the prisoners walked.

On level ground, near the river, a large camp was set up, where for a month young children were trained in military affairs under the guidance of old men, in the presence of the chieftain. Some were taught to shoot at full gallop; others rushed at full speed, standing on the saddle and waving their saber, still others contrived to pick up a coin or a whip from a spread cloak. Fighters go out there; here a crowd of horsemen gallops to a steep bank, suddenly disappears and reappears, but already on the other bank

Youthful initiations were intended for seventeen-nineteen-year-old guys, called youngsters, which corresponds in meaning to the modern word “pre-conscription”. Two main events determine the nature of this initiation: training in summer military camps and a public competition of young Cossacks. The situation of the summer camp of young Cossacks is vividly presented in the following description: “when the census of “youngsters” was introduced, then all those who had reached the age of 19 gathered in a pre-designated place, on the best horses and in full armor. On level ground, near the river, a large camp was set up, where for a month young children were trained in military affairs under the guidance of old men, in the presence of the chieftain. Some were taught to shoot at full gallop; others rushed at full speed, standing on the saddle and waving a saber, still others contrived to pick up a coin or a whip from a spread cloak. Fighters go out there; here a crowd of horsemen gallops to a steep bank, suddenly disappears and reappears, but already on the other bank. The atmosphere of public competition is conveyed by the author of “Paintings of the former Quiet Don”: “from many villages young Cossacks gather in one place for a review. What to watch? - when no one taught them anything. And so the jumps began, shooting at the target, shooting at full gallop, felling and flanking. Inflamed with courage, entire villages of youngsters rushed into the river at full speed and swam to the other side with horses, ammunition and lances. They crumbled into lava, galloped against each other, embraced and fought on horseback. The chieftain summed up the results of the competition: “The chieftain gave elegant bridles, decorated saddles, and weapons to the most accurate shooters, the most dashing riders.” Youngsters in many villages took part in fisticuffs as instigators at their initial stage. They watched the subsequent course of the battle from the side. This was also a kind of school, because. fists developed courage, courage to walk on foot on the chest of the enemy and quick ingenuity in a Cossack to figure out who to bail out, who to crush in a dump.

Among the Orenburg Cossacks, it was customary to announce the birth of a son with a shot from a gun, as a reminder from the first minutes of life of the appointment of a newborn to be a warrior, defender of the Fatherland. When small children appear in a Cossack family, all Orthodox seek to immediately baptize the child, protecting him from the influence of evil spirits. Before baptism, the child was considered "unclean" and, as it were, "not quite a man," according to the saying: "A kitten, a puppy, a hare, and a Cossack girl will be born into the world of God." There was a belief that various dangers awaited an unbaptized baby. And if the newborn was very weak, then they did not carry him to be baptized to the priest, the rite was performed by the midwife, pronouncing the same words during immersion as the priest. According to Russian canons Orthodox Church Baptism is performed after the 40th day, when the mother is already physically strong and has the right to enter the Orthodox church after the priest reads a cleansing prayer over her. The Sacrament of Baptism is an event for which the Cossacks carefully prepare. First of all, everything necessary for Baptism is collected: a cross and a string on which the cross will hang. The white baptismal shirt, of course, is new, which the priest himself will put on the baby during the Sacrament of Baptism and which will be kept in the Cossack's house as a shrine. In addition, every Orthodox Cossack knows that for Baptism a large diaper or towel is needed, in which the child will be wrapped after baptism and handed over to the Godparents.

One of the essential conditions of the Sacrament of Baptism is godparents, or successors. According to the rules of the Orthodox Church, a baptized person needs one successor: for a girl - a woman, for a boy - a man. However, according to the old Russian custom, there are two heirs: the godmother and the godfather. Since, the heirs from the Kupel must necessarily be Orthodox people, believers who take on the responsibility not only to raise and educate their godson, but to educate him as a good Orthodox Christian. A huge responsibility fell on them, because the Russian people knew that the godparents would have to answer in court before God for their godchildren. The godparents tried to educate their godson in Orthodoxy, be sure to visit the temple, take their godsons and daughters with them, patiently explaining to them how to behave in church during worship on various days. Thus, the boundaries and differences between estates and peoples were erased. This is how friendship between peoples was brought up from childhood.

Since the Cossack estate included many peoples and nationalities who converted to Orthodoxy, it sometimes happened that one of the godparents became a representative of a different ethnic group, and the other was a Russian. They became spiritual relatives. They called each other cousins. "Have a bite." "Godfather and godfather - one Satan."

The family life of the Don Cossacks in the 18th century was peculiar. If in the seventeenth century a large number of Cossack marriages were concluded without the mediation of the church, then at the beginning of the eighteenth century Peter I forbade weddings and divorces according to Cossack customs and ordered marriages to be made according to church charters, strictly forbade concubinage.

At the beginning of the 18th century, Peter's orders began to penetrate the Don: the hostess was no longer forbidden to show herself to guests. However, the Cossacks continued to marry and divorce several times, and then Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, by a letter of September 20, 1745, forbade the Cossacks "to marry from living wives and fourth marriages." How did the rite of matchmaking and marriage take place among the Don people? Usually at first there were brides, when the groom with two or three relatives, under a plausible pretext, appeared in the bride's house. They sat, talked about different things, slowly looking at the bride. If the elders liked her, then, leaving, they pointedly said: “God willing, and she will love us!” A few days after the wedding, matchmakers were sent to the bride’s parents, who, having received their consent, beat their hands, exclaiming: “Good afternoon!” Then, before the wedding, there was a “conspiracy”, during which they had fun, drank wine and danced the dances of “Cossacks” and “Crane”. The day before the wedding, they looked at the dowry, celebrating, as the Cossacks said, pillows. And on the eve there was a "girl's party".

The wedding was celebrated on Sunday. The bride was dressed in a rich brocade cup and a brocade shirt. A high hat made of black smushkas with a red velvet top, decorated with flowers and feathers, was put on the head. Most best jewelry of gold, silver shone on her. The groom, also dressed in the best, having received a parental blessing, together with his friends and matchmakers, went to the hut of the bride, who was already modestly sitting under the images, waiting for her betrothed. From here, the young went to the temple. In his vestibule, the bride was prepared for the crown: taking off her hat, the girl's braid was untwisted in two, as married Cossack women usually wore.

After the wedding, the parents of the newlyweds met the newlyweds on the porch of the groom's house. Above their heads they held bread and salt, under which the newlyweds passed, showered with wheat mixed with hops, nuts and small money. Parents, having treated the retinue of the young, the newlyweds themselves were sent to the marriage room, from which they appeared only before serving the roast.

In the second half of the eighteenth century, the position of Cossack women changed: from now on, they could freely appear in society not only during major holidays, but also on ordinary days, although it was not approved if they interfered in men's conversation. Girls, however, could only be in the company of men at weddings, the rest of the time they had to be in the circle of friends or at home alone, doing sewing, working in the kitchen, playing flint, blind man's shoes, and bast shoes.

wedding ceremony 9

A wedding is a complex and lengthy ceremony, with its own strict rules. At different times, they were carried out by the Cossacks in different ways. In the old days, a wedding was never a display of the material wealth of the parents of the bride and groom. Three centuries ago, the wedding took place in a simplified manner. The Cossack covered the woman with a hollow outer garment, and then one by one they said out loud: “You, Fedosya, be my wife”, “You, Ivan Semenovich, be my husband.” After that, they became newlyweds and received congratulations from the ataman and the Cossacks.

The Cossack wedding at the beginning of the 19th century consisted of several separate parts: matchmaking, bridegroom, vaults, party, wedding. The age of 18-20 years was considered favorable for marriage. Weddings were held, as a rule, after the harvest (after the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos - on October 14 or Easter holidays - on Krasnaya Gorka). Usually a young Cossack started a conversation with his parents that he wanted to get married and asked for their consent. Parents were interested in who his bride was, and if she was loved by them, they began preparations for the matchmaking. First of all, they put things in order in the household, house, yard, so that they would not be ashamed in front of the matchmakers. After that, the mother and father dressed in a festive way, dressed up their son and went to the future matchmakers. In each Cossack army there were somewhat different, but in in general terms similar marriage ceremonies.

The Tertsy had such a custom: in front of the girl he liked, the Cossack threw his hat out the window or into the yard, and if the girl did not immediately throw the hat out into the street, in the evening he could come with his father and mother to woo. The guests said:

- Good people, do not be angry, my boyfriend lost his hat, you didn’t find it for an hour?

- They found, they found ... - the father of the bride answers,

- They hanged out, let him take it and no longer lose.

This meant that the matchmaking did not take place - the bride's parents were against it. To this the matchmaker could object: The thing is not ours, we will look for ours". And this meant that there was an agreement between the girl and the guy, and the groom would try to steal her. Somewhat frightened by this turn of events, the girl’s father shouted: “ Hey Mariana! Come on, give me a papakha, whose is it with us!"If a girl brought a hat and put it upside down (hereinafter she became the "Pawn" in which they put money for the wedding), this meant that she agreed to go for the guy, and the parents risked embarrassment, losing their daughter and offending the future son-in-law. If the hat lay on the table upside down with the cross up, this meant that the issue of marrying a girl was not agreed upon. These are the unfortunate groom's own fantasies.

-Well, guess!- strictly ordered the father to his son.

- Here you go!- Joyfully said the father of the bride.

- Your papa! Wear it to your health and don't lose any more! Such Cossacks have now gone scattered, we have lost almost half a yard of these dads!

In a good scenario, the guests were asked to undress, a snack and alcohol were placed on the table. During the meal, a conversation took place in which they agreed on the bride, but already in the groom's kuren.

About a week later, the bride's mother and father go to the groom's parents, where they inspect the household, rooms, get acquainted with the family of the future son-in-law. If the guests are satisfied, they are invited to call themselves matchmakers, to which they answer that it is still early. The father-in-law invites them with the words: “ Well, matchmakers are not matchmakers, good people please come to the table". The guests sit down at the table. They drink a glass, another. " Well, now you can be called matchmakers", - says the bride's father. Here they agree when to be vaults.

Usually a young Cossack started a conversation with his parents that he wanted to get married and asked for their consent. Parents were interested in who his bride was, and if they liked her, they began preparations for the matchmaking. First of all, they put things in order in the household, house, yard, so that they would not be ashamed in front of the matchmakers. After that, the mother and father dressed according to the festive, dressed up their son and went to the future matchmakers. In each Cossack army there were in general similar rituals of matchmaking.

During the vaults, the girls - the bridesmaids go out into a separate room, and in the upper room (large room) they stay and sit on chairs: her grandfather, grandmother, uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters and invited relatives. On place of honor the godfather and mother sit under the holy images. There are two rolls on the table, a salt shaker with salt. The arrived groom (with friends) is invited into the house alone, the bride is hidden in another room among her friends. The groom is invited with the words: And what do you guess who and where to look for?". The groom goes to the room where girlish laughter is heard and there he finds his chosen one, takes her by the hand and stands with her in the upper room in the middle of the room. Parents ask their children for consent to marriage. Answers follow: We do not leave the will of the parent. Agree". Then the fathers of the bride and groom beat each other on the hands. Everyone sits down at the table, eats and agrees on the day of the wedding. Since that time, the girl is considered to be a “drunk bride”.

After drinking until the day of the wedding, “Parties” or “overnight stays” begin in the bride’s house, where the groom, his friends and her girlfriends gather. During the night there are various games at the parties. At the sleepovers, the guys and girls vigilantly watched so that no one could fall asleep during the parties. Those who fell asleep were punished in various ways. Often, an old rag was sewn onto the backs of sleeping people, and in the morning they were “caringly” dressed, so much so that they would not notice this dirty trick. Walking along the village with the “goods” sewn on, the young Cossack could not imagine that everyone in the village already knew where he was and what he was punished for.

On the evening before the wedding day, the bride's dowry (made and colorfully decorated towels and bedspreads by the bride herself) is brought to the groom's house.

On the wedding day, the bride got up early in the morning before sunrise, went around her entire yard, mentally said goodbye to everything that was dear to her. The arriving groom is seated at the table next to the bride. The bride's parents bless and admonish the young. Then the young on a troika of horses go to church. After the wedding, the bride and groom go to the house of the bride's parents, where they are congratulated by her father and mother, followed by godparents, and then by the degree of kinship, the rest of those present. Then the matchmaker proceeds to twisting - "cutting the braid". When the matchmaker undoes the braid, the bride's brother takes a knife and cuts the braid with a blunt edge. A friend at this moment says: Wait, don't cut, we'll buy this scythe". And gives a few cents. " No, this is not enough' says the brother. The bargaining lasts until the brother is satisfied. Then the matchmaker braids two braids and the guests again congratulate the newlyweds. In a number of villages of the Caucasian line, young people were given gifts, while congratulating them with jokes and jokes. Often one could hear parting words: “ I give you silver so that there is good in the house". The young at this time stood and attentively listened to the instructions.

At the end of the gifts, the young were taken out of the room into the courtyard. The mother of the bride passed on the icon (usually the one she married herself) and her parental blessing. Then the whole procession went to the groom's house. On the threshold of the groom's house, the newlyweds were met by his father and mother, and behind him were grandfather, grandmother, and godparents. The father usually held the icon, and the mother held bread and salt. The young people were baptized three times to the icon, kissed it, and then treated themselves to bread. The mother showered the young with hops, silver coins, sweets, nuts, wishing the young abundance and happiness. Then the young people enter the house so as not to step on the threshold, so as not to lose their betrothed, and stand on a sheepskin coat, which is previously spread with wool up. Hops and a sheepskin coat were a symbol of contentment and prosperity. After that, the young and the guests sat down in their places. Congratulations to the newlyweds began, giving them gifts. Everyone spoke good words and gave from the heart what he could, depending on his financial situation. During the gifts, each of the congratulators asked to sweeten the alcohol with a kiss. It was an allusion to a long kiss.

The guests could sit and have fun until the morning, and the young people were sent to their room late in the evening, where the young people were to spend their wedding night. An icon was placed in it, a glass of honey, a cup of grain, where candles were placed without lighting them.

The second day of the wedding began with breakfast: the young wife invited all the guests to the table. Those guests who were late for breakfast were taken off their shoes, doused with water, rolled in a wheelbarrow. To avoid this, latecomers paid off with money, alcohol, sweets, etc. After parent's breakfast young husband dressed up as a bride and groom, put on a wheelbarrow and drove. Then all the guests went to the wife's parents.

Participants in the wedding procession often changed clothes: women in men's, and men in women's clothing. There were quite a few "gypsies" among them, who pestered passers-by with an offer to "tell fortunes", often went into the yards to "steal" chickens. In the old days, weddings lasted at least a week, 250-300 rubles were spent on them (the end of the 19th century), which was burdensome for Cossack families, but they had been preparing for them for many years, from the very birth of children.

Wedding traditions in the Kuban 10 had their own characteristics. The main form of marriage was contractual, but in the 18th and even the beginning of the 20th century, kidnapping (stealing) and marriage by escape occurred, despite the fact that young people were given a certain freedom in choosing a marriage partner (on the "streets", "gatherings", during festive festivities and summer night meetings of boys and girls during field work in the steppe), the will of the parents was decisive.

Matchmaking could consist of one or three visits of matchmakers, and could also include or continue with meetings of parents and relatives from both sides: Various kinds of brides are associated with them: “to look at the stove”, the groom’s household, etc. By the end of the XIX century. the number of shares following the matchmaking is reduced to a minimum, including due to their combination. Then there were gatherings, evenings or parties. Including the “hot evening” (on the eve of the wedding, wedding), “loaf rituals” - the preparation of ritual bread and other subject symbols. The same part of the wedding should also include the collection of the bride's retinue (druzhka, senior friend, girlfriend) and the groom's retinue (senior friend, boyars, senior boyar).

The forms of the invitation also varied. The bride could invite only accompanied by an older boyfriend, or she could - in the company of girlfriends with the performance of street wedding songs. The groom - accompanied by an older boyfriend (on horseback or on a ruler / cart) or accompanied by horsemen (boyars).

The actual wedding, which was played, as a rule, on Sunday, sometimes on Saturday or Wednesday, began with the dressing up of the bride and groom. The formation and decoration ("painting the train") of the wedding "train" took place at the groom's. This was followed by separate blessings in their homes by the parents of the bride and groom and the departure of the "train". Following the arrival of the groom and the "riders" to the bride's house, a series of ransoms followed: a gate, a place near the bride, "the sale of a braid." The groom's stay in the bride's house could be accompanied by gifts, the parental blessing of the bride and groom ("prince and princess"), dinner, gifts and actually seeing off to the crown.

The bride and groom went to the wedding either together, in one "carriage", as a typical fact, but they could also go separately - the bride in front, and then, sometimes on horseback, the groom. After the wedding, the young went to the groom's house, where they were met, blessed by his parents with an icon, bread, "sprinkling" (hops, sweets, money, nuts, sometimes wheat).

After the arrival of the bride and groom to his parents and the corresponding blessing rituals, a feast began, as a rule, without the participation of the bride's side, and the young were sent to the marriage bed.

During the feast, the gifting of the young could also take place, although the “gifts” traditionally took place on the second day of the wedding, after the “examination of the honesty” of the bride, mutual guest visits of the groom’s guests to the relatives of the bride and her relatives in the house of the young.

The inclusion of Cossack symbols and paraphernalia into the ritual gave its own special flavor to the Kuban wedding: a whip, a saber, horsemen during the invitation of guests and accompanying the groom (sometimes with swords drawn), a train, shooting at various stages of the wedding: during the movement of the “train ”, ransoms, during the transition of the bride and groom through the fire laid out in the gate, during the wedding night, etc.

The second, in other versions - the third day - this is the time of "quirks" and the end of the wedding, although the end could be delayed for a week due to the fact that the participants in the wedding, some "ranks", could invite guests one by one. The second and third days consisted of walking in a procession of mummers (“groom”, “bride”, “bear”, “Turk”, “gypsy”, “crane”, etc.), “gathering chickens”, riding, bathing, hiding , "burning" of parents whom the young ransomed, as well as gifts, as an option, and some other ritual actions.

The originality is also inherent in the wedding of an orphan: additional ("orphan") songs, the bride's hair in some linear villages, visiting parental graves, especially in the hairstyle: "braided" or half braided.

The inclusion of Cossack symbols and paraphernalia into the ritual gave its own special flavor to the Kuban wedding: a whip, a saber, horsemen during the invitation of guests and accompanying the groom (sometimes with swords drawn), a train, shooting at various stages of the wedding: during the movement of the “train”, ransoms, during the transition of the bride and groom through the fire laid out in the gate, during the wedding night, etc.

The wedding ceremony of those villages that only in the second half of the 19th century had the greatest number of features. were converted into villages, and the population was assigned to the Cossack estate. They contain traces of such rituals as the burning of a girl's "bed" (bride and bridesmaids), the remains of a bathing ritual, "driving a crane", etc. In general, by the end of the 19th century, the wedding rituals of the Kuban Cossacks were significantly unified.

Marriages of Siberian Cossacks 11 were concluded mainly within the same village, or they took a bride from neighboring villages located on their own line. They reluctantly related to representatives of other classes (they rarely married peasant women, even more rarely there were cases when a Cossack woman married a peasant).

Marriage by the will of the parents (“consensual wedding”) was common, but the mutual inclination of the young was also taken into account. As a rule, the father gathered a council of relatives in the house, where they selected a suitable “by breed” bride. Moreover, the Siberian Cossacks were evaluated not only for health, housekeeping, external data, but also for the ability to ride a horse, courage and “brisk disposition”. Sometimes parents agreed among themselves to marry their future children (lullaby conspiracy). There were also secret marriages among the Siberian Cossacks (kidnapping of the bride without her knowledge) and "runaway" (joint conspiracy of the young to run away, as the parents were against it).

The pre-wedding cycle of rituals began with matchmaking. The groom's relatives and godparents were usually chosen as matchmakers. Entering the house, the matchmakers were baptized on the icon and sat under the mother, which showed the purpose of their visit and was considered a good omen for a successful matchmaking. The matchmakers brought wine and a loaf of bread with them, put the loaf on the table and said: “We will have a roll for you on the table, and you give us a beautiful girl.” If the girl agreed, then she cut the bread and invited everyone to the table. Cutting bread brought by matchmakers as a sign of consent to marriage was also common in Little Russia, among the Kuban Cossacks and among Siberian Ukrainians. As a sign of refusal, they could give the matchmakers a watermelon or a pumpkin. Pumpkin ("garbuz") as a symbol of refusal is widely known in Ukraine and among the Kuban Cossacks.

The time remaining before the wedding was called "girls". The bride was considered a guest in the parental home, removed from all work, except for the preparation of the dowry. The Siberian Cossacks met the custom of “beating off the dawn”, when the bride was taken out of the gate “to cry at dawn” (the orphan was taken to the lake or to the cemetery).

Even in the first third of the XX century. among the Siberian Cossacks there were widespread beliefs about sorcerers who "spoiled the wedding." It was considered necessary to invite as a friend not only a cheerful, eloquent person who knows the whole course of the wedding, but also one who could ward off “damage” from the young and resist the sorcerer.

The main events of the first day of the wedding were the gathering of the bride to the crown with lamentations, the arrival of the "poezzhans" and the rites of redemption, the wedding, the transfer of the dowry to the groom's house, the meeting of the newlyweds from the church, the "twisting the young", donations. The young people were usually taken to bed by 12 o'clock at night. In some villages there was a custom to “warm the bed”.

On the second day of the wedding, ceremonies associated with checking the virginity of the bride (demonstration of a sheet, nightgown) were widely practiced. On this day, the young woman herself looked after the guests, demonstrating her thriftiness. For the same purpose, they forced her to “revenge rubbish”, into which gifts and small money were thrown. Many Cossack weddings were attended by mummers (gypsies, Kyrgyz, beasts, devils, etc., as well as men dressed as women and vice versa). They smeared their faces with soot, stole chickens from the homes of wedding guests, and boiled noodles out of them.

Every wedding day they rode horses, sang praise songs, scattered sweets and gingerbread along the streets. From the groom's house, the wedding passed to the bride's house, then they walked in turn with all the relatives. Thus, the wedding could last for two weeks or more. On the last day of the festivities, they heated a bathhouse, “put out a barn” - made a fire from straw and forced the young to jump over it. In some villages of the Siberian Cossacks, they made "taking into account the wedding" and burned it.

Seeing off service 12

For the Kuban Cossacks, a special place among the rituals of the life cycle was occupied by the ritual of seeing off to the service, which included several stages:

Preparation for wires - preparation of equipment, coordination of regulations with the village administration, material support for wires.
Actually seeing off - an evening meal, in which relatives took part - without fail godparents, sometimes young people. "Dinner" could last until the morning, accompanied by parting words from respected Cossacks who had served their time.
It was followed by breakfast, the main rituals of which were a parental blessing with an icon and bread, tying a towel crosswise and dressing the Cossack like a groom: a flower, handkerchiefs that girls pinned to his clothes, and first of all - the bride.

Then followed the farewell and ritual departure from the parental courtyard: through the gate, on horseback, which could be led by the bridle by the mother, the bride, or on foot, accompanied by parents and guests. This could be supplemented by “turning around” rituals: returning to the house for a short time, returning and biting off a pie, bread, the rest of which was returned to the holy corner, giving bread to the first comer outside the gate, throwing a towel or two towels on the road, etc., symbolizing happy road and return home.

After building on the stanitsa church square, the parting word of the ataman and, as an option, the Cossacks - the Knights of St. George, a prayer service, the Cossacks, accompanied by relatives and stanitsa, went to their destination with a farewell stop in some remarkable, familiar, "border" place of the stanitsa yurt - river, mound, tree. Here, with the offering of the obligatory cup, the final farewell took place.

Seeing off, starting with dinner and ending with the departure of the Cossacks, was accompanied by the performance of historical, military, dance and special "wire" songs: "Farewell to you, Uman's village", "The last day of none", "A tree is blooming in the garden", "You are Cossacks , Cossacks, etc.

During the blessing, seeing off, grandfather's, parental weapons could be handed over, protective prayers and amulets were used, incl. "native land", etc.

The second and subsequent send-offs had their own characteristics, including the war, which were inevitable in connection with the long Cossack service. But in any version of this rite, the idea of duty, readiness for death and the hope for a safe return to the parental home are clearly traced.

The return itself also had a ritualized character: the meeting of the “servants” by the villagers at the farewell place, thanksgiving word stanitsa ataman and old people, gifts from the stanitsa church and a prayer service, extended guest visits by relatives, to relatives and colleagues.

Funeral

A Cossack girl who died in her maiden years was carried to the cemetery only by girls, and not by women, and even more so not by men. This was a tribute to chastity and purity. The deceased was carried to the cemetery on a stretcher, the coffin was covered with a dark veil, and the girls were covered with white. The graves were dug deep. A niche was dug (equipped) on the side of the grave. Two or even three Cossacks set up the coffin there.

Not all Cossacks military campaigns and searches ended successfully. The return home of the dead soldiers was a tragedy for many families. I. I. Zheleznov in his 1910 book “Urals, Essays on the life of the Ural Cossacks” describes the return of the Cossacks from the campaign in this way 13 . The mother, not knowing about the death of her son, asks the passing Cossacks: Podgornov, my dears, where is Markian?» To this, passing by a hundred after a hundred, they answer: Behind, mother, behind!"And further:" ... when the convoy passed, the Cossacks, nodding their heads, said: " There, back home!“It was only then that the old woman realized that she was orphaned forever ...”.

According to legend, the Ural Cossacks had such a custom. Before the arrival of the Novgorodian ushkuin Gugni on Yaik, going on a campaign, the Cossacks abandoned their wives, and brought new ones from the campaign. Ataman Gugnya saved his wife, but did not bring a new one, and from this same Gugnikh there appeared permanent wives. The Cossacks call her great-grandmother Gugnikha and, on occasion, raise a glass to her 14 .

In this regard, the custom of the Don Cossacks, which is called the "white scarf", is interesting. Returning to the village from a campaign or after the war, not all Don Cossacks were sure that their wives behaved flawlessly in the absence of their husbands, so they stocked up on white scarves. When the Cossacks drove up to the village, some wives came out of the people meeting them and fell prostrate before them. “A cry escaped from the female breast: forgive me, my lord! And the Cossack guessed what was the matter. Startles, sobs. Jealousy has already crept into the heart ... A firm, tanned hand, which has slain more than one enemy life, puts a white handkerchief on the head of the guilty. The Cossack lightly touched his wife's head with his foot. No, he says, there is no trace of the past. Shame is covered by my forgiveness!” Would anyone dare to remind her of her old sins! - the husband will stand up for his wife with his chest, defend her honor, as the valiant Cossacks generally know how to defend 15.

The funeral rites in the Cossack culture underwent a number of changes: from the mound to the grave tombstone and the cross. In folklore, the grave of a warrior is dug with a weapon, perhaps the cause of death and the role of the weapon as an intermediary with the other world are indicated here. In the funeral rite, there are no particular differences in the male and female burial. Except that a weapon could be put in a man's coffin if he was a hunter. The departure of a warrior from the world of the living to the world of the dead was accompanied by a feast, with military competitions, and a prayer service. The grave in an allegorical way of expression is represented by the wife or bride of the buried. There is a song, extremely common in various forms, where a Cossack sends a horse to his parents to tell them the news of the fate of his son and orders him not to say that he was killed, but tells him to say that he got married, took a grave in the field - a red maiden.

The symbolism of the transition from one world to another is associated with weapons, a river, often the Danube, with a bridge. The departure of a warrior requires the destruction of an invisible barrier between the worlds. He is carried to the bridge or, more often, to the crossing by a faithful horse, which the Cossack gives at the crossing for moving to the other side.

In Zaporozhye, when a Cossack-reveler died, they put a bottle of gorilka in his coffin, with which he was lowered into the grave, and a white flag was put up over the grave of a sober comrade, the emblem of the impeccable purity of an obsolete knight. In the Starocherkassk Museum-Reserve, funerary bottles are stored in the fund, which were placed in the graves of the Cossacks. It is known that weapons were placed in the coffin of the Cossack, during the funeral of the Kuban Cossacks, a hat, a dagger and a saber were placed on the deceased, on top of the banner that covered the coffin. At the donets, a saber crossed with a scabbard was nailed to the lid of the coffins.

Weapons, a horse, a life-giving cross (sprouted cross) were traditional components of funeral military rituals. The installation of a flag, or a town hall with a flag on the grave of a Cossack, is characteristic of both Zaporozhye and Don Cossacks. Similar rituals are also found among the highlanders of the Caucasus.

In the Kuban, the Kuban Cossacks have their own funeral rituals 16 . Making a coffin, laying and carrying out the deceased in the courtyard, accompanying rituals: candles, bread, water, wheat, honey. Ritual sitting of relatives at the coffin. Exit from the yard and tying gates, gates / vents. Bandaging and order of movement in the cemetery; dressing ritual: men - with towels, women - with handkerchiefs. The sequence of the movement of the funeral procession: a cross tied with a towel or scarf, a coffin lid with bread on it, a coffin with the deceased, relatives and those taking part in the funeral. Stops and rituals associated with spreading and folding towels at doorsteps, gates, crossroads, etc. Farewell actions at the cemetery.

The memorial part included a commemoration (on the first, ninth, fortieth day and on the anniversary), the distribution of things of the deceased and visiting "graves on parental days", incl. at the farewell, the first Sunday after Easter.

Funeral and memorial rites were distinguished by features: dead unbaptized children - they could be buried under the threshold, under a fruit tree in the courtyard, without a cross; those who died “not by their own death” were buried outside the cemetery or in the cemetery, but in a special place with a commemoration only for the Trinity; special "wedding funerals" - those who died before marriage, etc.

The natural death of a Cossack warrior at home suggested burial in a Cossack costume and with a dagger, the hat was placed on the right side at the shoulder. During the war, most often the burial took place at the place of death. And in such cases, the horse and things of the deceased were returned to the widow. If it was possible to bring the body of the murdered Cossack, then during the funeral, after the coffin, his horse, covered with a cloak, was led.

Orthodox traditions 17

The Cossacks have always united around the church, creating their own village parish. The Cossacks have a special attitude towards Orthodoxy, they are distinguished by a special religiosity, it is not for nothing that the Cossacks are called "warriors of Christ." In the hour of mortal danger, the understanding that life is given by God, and only God can take it away, makes the Cossack, who prayed fervently to his patron saint, not only sincerely believing, but also fearless. True saying: "There are no atheists in battle." The basis of the Cossack worldview, philosophy of life, even if it was the "philosophy of war", was Orthodoxy. But Orthodoxy is not in an absolutely canonical sense, but in a direct, personal relationship. human soul and the Creator, and with an admixture of pagan worldview associated with the Higher forces of nature emanating from the water and the steppe. Faith was considered as a perfect spiritual state, standing above consciousness, with nothing, not comparing, only saying: “Either there is faith, or it is not!”.

The main holidays celebrated by the Don Cossacks are calendar church holidays.

Christmas time began with the celebration of the Nativity of Christ (January 7) and lasted almost two days until the Epiphany (January 19). The believers prepared for the celebration of the Nativity of Christ by a forty-day fast. The eve of the holiday was held in a particularly strict fast. The day of the Nativity of Christ was also called Christmas Eve, because. according to the church charter, on this day it was supposed to eat sochivo (wheat with honey, or sweetened with sugar - “kutya”). Throughout Russia, on Christmas Eve, they did not eat until the first star, but the preparation for this holiday was slightly different, from each other, according to the customs that existed in the area. In the North Caucasus, on the eve of a great holiday, in a red corner, under the icons, on a clean tablecloth, on a bunch of hay or straw, there was a bowl with boiled grains of wheat, sprinkled with honey and sprinkled with raisins (also kutya). With the appearance of the first star in the sky, after the prayer, they ate kutya, and after it the most modest dinner.

Maslenitsa. Maslenitsa refers to the transitional holidays associated with Easter. Shrovetide is celebrated on the last week before Lent, which lasts 7 weeks and ends with Easter. The name "Shrovetide" arose because this week, according to Orthodox custom, meat is already excluded from food, and dairy products can still be consumed - that's why butter pancakes are baked. The celebration of Maslenitsa was timed to coincide with the day of the spring equinox. The rituals that were held at that time were aimed at expelling winter and welcoming spring. "Shrovetide", made of hay or straw, smartly decorated, dressed in a Russian women's costume, was burned on the main square to the songs and dances of the inhabitants of the village. The main celebrations held by the Cossacks during Shrove Week were held from Thursday to Sunday. The Cossacks dressed smartly and took part in festive festivities: riding down the ice slides, in fisticuffs. The inhabitants near the lying villages, opposite ends of the large village, could fight with each other. They prepared seriously for the battle: they took a steam bath, ate bread and meat - in violation of the pre-Lenten ban, because they believed that they gave strength and courage.

Easter. Preparations for the Easter holiday begin with Lent. After all, it is he who is the period of spiritual and physical purification. Great Lent lasted seven weeks, and each week had its own name. The last two were especially important: Palm and Passion. After them followed Easter - a bright and solemn holiday of renewal. On this day, they tried to put on everything new. Even the sun, they noticed, rejoices, changes, plays with new colors. The table was also updated, ritual food was prepared in advance. They dyed eggs, baked paska, roasted a pig. Eggs were painted in different colors: red - blood; yellow - the sun; blue - sky, water; green - grass, vegetation. In some villages, a geometric pattern was applied to the eggs - "pisanki". The ceremonial pasca bread was a true work of art. They tried to make it tall, the “head” was decorated with cones, flowers, figurines of birds, crosses, smeared with egg white, sprinkled with colored millet. According to the legend of our ancestors: paska is a tree of life, a pig is a symbol of fertility, an egg is the beginning of life, vital energy. Returning from the church after the consecration of the ceremonial food, they washed themselves with water, in which there was a red "krashenka" in order to be beautiful and healthy. They broke the fast with eggs and Easter. They were also presented to the poor, exchanged with relatives and neighbors.

The playful, entertaining side of the holiday was very rich: driving round dances, playing with eggs, swings and carousels were arranged in each village. Swinging had ritual significance - it was supposed to stimulate the growth of all living things.

Easter is a bright and solemn holiday of renewal. On this day, they tried to put on everything new. Even the sun, they noticed, rejoices, changes, plays with new colors. The table was also updated, ritual food was prepared in advance. They dyed eggs, baked paska, roasted a pig. The ceremonial paska bread was a true work of art. They tried to make it high, the “head” was decorated with cones, flowers, figurines of birds, crosses, smeared with egg white, sprinkled with colored millet

Easter ended with Krasnaya Gorka, or Seeing Off, a week after Easter Sunday. This is "parents' day", commemoration of the dead. Attitude towards ancestors is an indicator of the moral state of society, the conscience of people. Cossacks have always treated their ancestors with deep respect. On this day, the whole village went to the cemetery, knitted scarves and towels on crosses, arranged a funeral feast, distributed food and sweets “for a memorial”.

In mid-June, the sun reaches its highest point in the sky. This time is called the summer solstice. The sun turns to winter and the days begin to tumble. This day comes on June 24, and they call it Midsummer Day. The very word "kupala" is consonant with the word "bath" - immerse in water. By tradition, this holiday is associated with the ritual of mass bathing in the river and dewy grass. The Cossacks believed that on the night of St. Ivan, the shortest of the year, the main miracles are performed. At this time, horses were not allowed into the field. Burning grass was placed on the windows, which did not let evil spirits into the hut. According to legends, you can’t sleep on this night, because the evil spirit is completely unbelted. The Cossacks lit a fire that night, bathed in rivers and springs. It was believed that water on this night has the same power as fire, delivering from everything evil, harmful, unclean. Cossack youth in festive attire gathered near the river, lit fires, arranged round dances. And then, holding hands, they jumped in pairs over the fire. It was on this day that it was necessary to stock up on medicinal plants. Plants should be plucked at the dawn of Midsummer - before the dew dries. Many on this day were looking for the cherished fern flower, which, according to legend, blooms only once a year - on this summer night on the eve of Ivan Kupala. It was believed that if you see him, then any desire will be fulfilled.

Cossack holidays 18

To see and understand in more detail how the Cossack holidays were traditionally held in the Kuban, the book of V.F. Nikitin "Traditions of the Cossacks". Almost every house sang Cossack songs. On patronal feasts, according to an old custom, a common dinner was held in the village hut after the prayer service. Everything that is most delicious was brought to him. The Cossacks adored "varna" - a mixture of vodka, honey, dried fruits, raisins, grapes, pears, apples, boiled with ginger and other spices. In addition to her, vodka, beer, honey, liqueur, mash went with a bang.

According to one version, they were accepted into the Cossacks only after the initiation ritual: the candidate must drink a bottle of vodka (1.23 liters) in one gulp and walk along a long log. They drank from "Mikhailiki" with a capacity of 3-5 of our glasses. After the meal, the Cossacks started to dance, played cards, smoked nasal pipes, bawled songs, fired from cannons and, of course, had fun with fisticuffs.

After the next military campaign, the Cossacks walked around the Sich, talking about their exploits. Behind them they carried buckets of "drunken drinks", with which the good fellows treated the oncoming ones. Cossacks were forbidden to drink alcohol during campaigns. Those who broke this law were punished by death. After a common dinner, the Cossacks broke into bands and celebrated at home for three days. There was also a custom to invite old people (from among the most deserved ones) to the house for refreshments.

By Christmas they slaughtered wild boar, lamb, geese, turkeys. They prepared sausages, jelly, pies and pies with meat and fruit fillings. The Christmas table was supposed to reflect the idea of prosperity, abundance, well-being. The main ritual food was kutya / kutya, which was prepared from barley, wheat, later - from rice, and in some villages of Karachay-Cherkessia - from corn, as well as dried fruit uzvar.

During the supper, dinner on the eve of the Nativity of Christ, with the appearance of the first evening star, at the beginning they broke the fast with kutya. In some villages and families, children were forced to crawl under the table and imitate the cries of domestic animals: cluck, crow, flick, run, etc. The Supper is a family dinner. Married sons with their children came to the parental home. Lonely neighbors were invited.

A device for the dead ancestors was placed on the table. In some villages, they opened the door and called them to the table. The owner, and if he was not there, the hostess was invited to the table of Frost, and sometimes the brownie. The ritual of inviting Frost is quite variable in form, and in content it is the same throughout the former Kuban region. In the text of the invitation, a request was made not to freeze people, animals, or plants.

The wearing of the evening meal (kutya, pirozhki) was carried out by children, adolescents of both sexes, young couples on the evening before Christmas. In some villages, the supper was carried to grandfathers, grandmothers, parents, incl. godfather. In others, not only relatives, but almost all residents on their edge. An important point was that, having tasted the brought kutya, pies, the owners added their own instead. This was done in every family, which contributed to the renewal, strengthening of social ties, held together by ritual food.

On Christmas Day, January 7, at dawn alone and in companies, mostly boys, men went from house to house to "praise Christ." The ritual could consist only of a verbal text (“Your Christmas, Christ our God ...”, “Christ is born ...”, etc.) or included theatrical biblical scenes related to the birth of Jesus Christ.

On the evening of January 7, caroling was performed. At first, children walked, and later adults, mostly girls and married women, joined in this action. This idea was fully manifested in the decoration of the New Year's table. It had to be plentiful and varied, so that "the year would be full." “Everything was on the table. Be sure to bake a special "bread". In some families, they tried to fill the table with food, high bread, so that the owner was not visible. Or the owner specially sat down on a low bench, bent down. Straw or hay from under the Christmas kutya was laid under the tablecloth in a number of villages - "to live richly." Frost could also be invited to the New Year's meal.

Seeing off the old year, they shot, lit fires, guessed. IN new year's eve fruitless fruit trees could "scare" with an ax. New Year's morning is associated with the ritual of coming, meeting the first visitor in the new year, and one of the key New Year's rites - sowing / sprinkling. Most often they were combined, because. the walk of the sowers, boys, youths, men, began early in the morning, and it was they who turned out to be the first visitors to other people's houses. According to traditional ideas, a man was supposed to be the first to come to someone else's house in the coming year, which promised the owners good luck, prosperity, and health.

Sowing could be preceded by the rituals of “pulling the forelock” of the sower, “putting on the threshold on a fur coat”, “sitting of the sowers on the bed”, “clutching”, so that the chickens rush, so that the matchmakers come to the house, so that everything is done in the household. Sowed mainly in a holy corner, but they could scatter grain around the room, on the owners. Cereals or legumes were used: wheat, corn, peas. Winter Christmas time ends with Baptism (January 19).

On the eve of Epiphany, a strict one-day fast was observed, which ended either with the appearance of the evening star, or, in other families, after the first blessing of the water, which took place at about two in the morning in the church. The second water blessing, Jordan / Ordan / Jordan, took place on the river at dawn.

They returned home with consecrated water and, first of all, they sprinkled, baptized, putting crosses, a farmstead, a house, family members, the whole household with chalk. In some villages, at the same time, a solid chalk line was drawn outside the house - so that tall hemp would grow, so that nothing would scatter from the house, so that chickens would rush well, etc. Before the consecration of the water in the river, if there were frosts, a cross or several crosses were cut out of the ice, and an altar was made. Crosses could be painted, incl. beet red kvass. As a rule, at the moment the priest lowered the cross into the water, those present released doves, shooting was carried out, those who wished, in some villages only the sick, bathed.

The Epiphany table was not inferior to the New Year's in abundance. The obligatory dishes were kutya, uzvar, the preparation and transfer of which to the holy corner, and then to the table, was accompanied by the same actions, words as at Christmas. Hay, straw, bread from the Epiphany table were placed in the nests of poultry, fed to domestic animals, mainly a cow. The rest of the kutya could be given to the bird.

The spring period of the calendar, in comparison with the winter holidays, demonstrates an “inverted” model. If the winter cycle began with a fast and ended with a strict fast on the eve of Epiphany, then the central part of the spring block was Great Lent, and the beginning (Maslenitsa) and the end (Easter) were “non-fasting”, “fast”. The term "meat eater" is not used in this case for two reasons. Firstly, for the Kuban it is uncharacteristic, excluding a purely church tradition. Secondly, Maslenitsa, not being, strictly speaking, a fast, due to the predominance of dairy food in it, did not apply to a meat-eater either.

Maslenitsa was based on obligatory ceremonial food (dumplings and pancakes or, in some villages, only pancakes or only dumplings), knitting blocks, mutual guest visits, playful, entertaining moments (including dressing up) and, perhaps most importantly, the rite of "universal forgiveness", falling on the last day of Maslenitsa. The playful, entertaining side of this holiday occupied a significant place, an integral part of which was riding from the hills, on horseback, if the weather allowed, and even “driving a Mare”, “Goat”, with the performance of timed songs. In some villages of the Kuban, the resettlement tradition of burning an effigy was preserved.

The most significant in social and spiritual terms was the final rite before Great Lent - the forgiveness of sins, "forgiveness day", "forgiveness Sunday": they asked each other for forgiveness for all the obvious and implicit offenses caused to others in the past year.

Great Lent predetermined severe restrictions on food, and these restrictions were sought to be observed by the Cossacks who were in the service and even were being treated in hospitals. "Strictness" was also manifested in the prohibitions on holding ordinary youth meetings and festivities. Moreover, fasting meant not only food, entertainment, but also sexual prohibitions in relations between spouses.

Among the most significant dates was palm week/ Palm Sunday. Whipping willow people, especially relatives, and domestic animals with a wish for life and health was the main motive of this ritual.

During the period of Great Lent, there was a Meeting / Meeting. According to the popular worldview, it was the meeting of Winter and Summer. When meeting on this day, one of the girls was called Winter, and the other - Spring. Between them began a comic struggle. Depending on who won, they judged whether there would be a long winter or an early spring.

The Lenten complex also included such a feast as the Forty Saints / Forty Martyrs / Magpies. On this day, they baked special cookies, as a rule. In some villages, at the same time, crosses were also baked from dough. A coin was baked into one of these ritual products, and the one who got it was considered lucky.

Maslenitsa was based on obligatory ceremonial food, knitting stocks, mutual guest visits, games, entertainment moments and, perhaps most importantly, the rite of “universal forgiveness”, which falls on the last day of Maslenitsa. The playful, entertaining side of this holiday occupied a significant place, an integral part of which was riding from the hills, on horseback, if the weather allowed.

The final week of Great Lent was called passionate, terrible. It singled out clean Thursday, the day when it was necessary before dawn, “until the raven bathed its children”, to swim and clean up, “clean out” the dwelling, and Passionate, terrible Friday. On the passionate, associated with the torment of Christ, his crucifixion, they went to church for the vigil. They came home with a lit candle. Some with a burning candle climbed "to the mountain", the ceiling of the dwelling to look at the house owner. On Friday and Saturday of Passion Week, they were busy preparing for Easter: they baked paska, dyed eggs. One of the significant in terms of meaning and severity of prohibitions, the holiday - the Annunciation - could also fall on the fast. On this day, a strict ban was introduced on any work, and especially on the slaughter of livestock, "shedding of blood."

The main ideas and rituals were associated with the sun (“the sun is playing”), water (from that day on it was possible to swim, in some villages they consecrated water in springs, walked through the fields: “They watered the fields, poured themselves over so that there was a harvest, so that it would rain ”), a cuckoo (begins to cuckoo), a chicken and an egg (“before the sun”, chickens were removed from the perch with a poker so that they sat down and “clucked”; the egg laid by the hen that day could not be placed under the hen - a cripple would be born); with witches (activated on this holiday and “milking cows”) and cows, which were especially carefully guarded, were closed on this day.

The largest and brightest holiday of the calendar circle is Easter. Easter ended the fast and opened a new period of time. Therefore, a plentiful table was prepared for this holiday: pigs were slaughtered, sausages were made, large holiday pies were baked. However, the central place on the table and in ritual and ceremonial practice was occupied by paska, tall, round, decorated ritual bread, and “krashanki”, “pysanky”. They, as well as consecrated fat, broke the fast. There are a lot of restrictions associated with them. They, incl. pieces, Easter crumbs, egg shells, used in agricultural rituals, folk medicine, etc.

During Easter, cams, cue balls and egg rolling were arranged, various games were held. In a number of villages, special Easter round dances were led, swings were installed. The Easter bell ringing also created a festive mood. A significant part of the Easter time was devoted to guest visits. These days, right up to the Ascension, they greeted each other with the words, - Christ is Risen (e)! Truly risen!

Easter is also a time of communion between the living and the dead. For the latter, during the breaking of the fast, they put a little egg, a special device on the table, and invited (by name) to break the fast. In some villages on the first day of Easter, visiting graves was practiced, with “Christ-making” with the dead, rolling on the grave or burying in it Easter eggs. In other villages, on the contrary, a ban on visiting cemeteries was observed, because. it was believed that "the parents at this time are at home", among the living.

In the middle of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, there was also a military uniform for celebrating Easter. On the second day of the holiday, the clergy of Yekaterinodar and the Cossacks walked around the military cathedral "with saints." The officers carried the banners of all regiments, and the officers carried smoking maces. All military regalia were exhibited on the church square.

A significant date in the calendar was Seeing Off / Seeing Off - a collective visit to cemeteries and commemoration of parents. In some villages in the past, they were performed on Krasnaya Gorka (the first Sunday after Easter). Mostly on the Monday or, more rarely, the Tuesday after the Easter week. The central link of the Seeings is the commemoration of the dead, leaving food at the graves, memories and “talking” about the dead, with the dead, distribution of food, sweets “for remembrance”, a collective meal. Seeing off is considered both as seeing off Easter, and as seeing off the dead, who return “to themselves” on this day. After returning from the cemetery in the old villages, horse races, horse riding, and festivities were arranged in the past.

The spring period of the calendar also includes the beginnings of important agricultural activities that had a ritual and ceremonial design: plowing, sowing, the first pasture of cattle into a herd.

Before the first trip to the field in some families, a collective prayer was held at home. Grain from the previous harvest or those seeds that were used by the "sowers" on New Year. Only men went to the field. They could also attract girls, but not women, as chauffeurs.

Plowing and sowing began at dawn with a prayer or its short form: “Lord, bless!” In some villages, after the first furrow, they sat down here on the field for breakfast.

The Trinity is full of rites and rituals. A key place in the Trinity rites is occupied by plant symbolism. Herbs were also used: thyme, oregano, wheatgrass, "multicolors", which were sprinkled on the floor, paths smeared with clay in the yard, decorated window sills. The stanitsa churches were also cleaned with greenery. Vegetation, as a rule, was kept in the house for three days, and then collected and burned, or one branch was preserved (from a thunderstorm, for cattle pasture), fed to thinness, put in nests for chickens, used in folk medicine, magic. Obligatory food by the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century on the Trinity was scrambled eggs, eggs (in some villages they were painted green), sweet drinks.

On Ivan Kupala, the celebration was limited to serving in the church, work bans and some beliefs. Going in search of a fern flower, they observed the relevant norms: do not talk, do not turn around, walked reading special prayers, at midnight, etc. In some villages and in the 20th century, a branch decorated with flowers, wreaths, ribbons was used as a symbol on Ivan Kupala. The guys made a fire and tried to take the bathing suit from the girls. Having selected a tree, they threw it into the river.

In most villages there were more than simple form Kupala: weaving wreaths with subsequent divination on them about marriage, life-death, lighting fires and jumping over them. At the end of the holiday, Kupala wreaths were most often taken to cabbage - so that the heads were large. They could also be used for other purposes. On this day, the ritual of riding on the beds with a bow or trampling onions could also be performed - so that a large one would be born. At the same time, the participants, more often children, had to hold their hands behind their heads. In many villages, the water in the river was blessed on this day, and from that day until Ilya it was officially allowed to swim.

At the end of summer and autumn there were also so-called thunderous / formidable / strict holidays. Among them is the day of St. Ilya. In addition to the ban on work, it was believed that from that day on it was impossible to bathe in water sources.

There were few especially revered autumn holidays and they almost did not have their own folk ritual expression. During the first Savior, poppy seeds, honey, and salt were consecrated. In some villages, on this holiday, they consecrated water in natural sources, threw flowers into it and bathed. "Apple Savior" was the main one, during which flowers, apples, and honey were also consecrated. From that day on, everyone was allowed to eat apples, incl. women whose newborn children died unbaptized. In everyday Orthodoxy, both Spas were associated with the commemoration of the dead, dead ancestors. The owners of apiaries on the honey Spas, putting up treats - honey and rolls, called the villagers "for a remembrance." Formally, "Spasy" was seen as a boundary between autumn and winter.

One of the most significant autumn holidays was Pokrov (Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos). By this day, they tried to complete the main things - to clean everything up and marry off their daughters.

Of course, the so-called patronal / temple holidays dedicated to the Lord and the Mother of God or the saints whose name the temple bore were among the calendar ones. Their fundamentally important feature was the mass participation of the inhabitants of the villages both in worship and in the “pooling” - collective participation in the preparation and holding of the patronal meal, which took place in the church fence with a large number of people, both their own and outsiders, including those who came to the church. h. "wanderers" and "wretched".

As a general Cossack holiday, the day of the “Azov Sitting” was celebrated on the day of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos. On this day, horse races, competitions were organized, and a memorial dinner was organized with drinking and singing in memory of all the dead Cossacks. On the tent of the bell tower of the military cathedral in Cherkassk, bowls with lit candles were placed.

But each army had its own holidays, timed to coincide with some important event or dedicated to a particularly revered saint. In the past, due to various events, the dates of military holidays in some troops changed. So, in the reign Alexander III The Donskoy Host celebrated its holiday on October 17, according to the old style, in memory of the miraculous rescue of the sovereign and his family during the wreck of the royal train at Borki station. Under Tsar Nicholas II, after the birth of the heir-cesarevich (1904), the military holiday was postponed to October 5, the name day of the August Ataman of all Cossack Troops, which, according to established tradition, was the heir. Among the Caucasian Cossacks, the day of the Military Holiday fell on August 26, but then in the Kuban Army it was postponed to October 5, and in Tersky to March 1. In the Astrakhan Army, the military holiday was the day of August 19 - the day of the patronal feast of the military cathedral named after the Don Mother of God, built in the village of Kazachebugrovskaya. The Urals celebrate November 8 on the day of St. Michael the Archangel, in whose honor a military cathedral was erected in Uralsk. The patron saint of the Orenburg Cossacks was the Holy Great Martyr and Victorious George, in whose memory the old St. George's Cathedral was in Orenburg, on the banks of the Urals, St. George's Day - April 23 and was a military holiday of the Orenburg army. The Siberian Cossacks celebrated the day of their patron Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker on December 6th. George.

The Cossacks mostly did household chores until noon, and then in the evening they were going to the Maidan to the station hut to chat. Sitting in a men's circle, they knitted snares for catching birds and beasts and listened to the stories of elderly veterans about past campaigns and exploits. Fun and entertainment were arranged here, the elders played chess and checkers. Youth and teenagers played dice and money. Grandmas (aydanchiks) were installed at a distance and the bits were knocked down quickly - the one who knocked down the aidanchik took it for himself. This game developed such accuracy that the Cossacks and adult Cossacks killed birds and hares with a stone throw.

Kapitsa F.S. Slavic Traditional Beliefs, Holidays and Rituals: A Handbook. 3rd ed. M.: Flinta; Nauka, 2001. P.9.
Bondar N.I. Traditional spiritual culture of the Kuban Cossacks (late XIX - first half of the XX centuries) // Traditional culture and children. - Krasnodar: Experimental Center for the Development of Education, 1994. - 271 p.
According to the official website of the Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in S. Log. hramlog.cerkov.ru
Kashkarov A.P. Cossacks: traditions, customs, culture (a brief guide to a real Cossack). Rostov n / D .: Phoenix, 2015. P. 35-36.
Battle sheet of the Yenisei Cossacks. The last outpost. [Electronic resource]. URL: lastforpost.rf
The author of the book "Donets" M. Kh. Senyutkin (1825-1879) - journalist, editor of the "Don Military Bulletin"
Kuznetsov V. M. - dissertation on family and marriage relations of the peoples of the Southern Urals, 1998. P. 152; Lorgus Andrey, Dudko Mikhail. Book about the Church. M.: Palomnik, 1997.
Synopsis of an open lesson: Holidays and rituals of the Cossacks. [Electronic resource]. URL: nsportal.ru
Bondar N.I. Traditional culture of the Kuban Cossacks in the XVIII - early XX centuries. [Electronic resource]. URL: gipanis.ru
[Electronic resource]. URL: ruszizn.ru
Bondar N.I. Decree. op.
In the presentation of Bakhmet Yu.T. Funeral rite in the Cossack tradition (structural and semantic characteristics) // Problems of study and development Cossack culture. Maykop, 2000. P.89. Cit. by electronic resource. URL: dikoepole.com
There.
There.
Bondar N.I. Decree. op.
Based on materials from the website of the Cossack Information and Analytical Center kazak-center.ru
According to the book by V.F. Nikitin "Traditions of the Cossacks".

Remember, brother, that among the Cossacks: Friendship is a custom;
Fellowship is a tradition; Hospitality is the law.

A Cossack cannot consider himself a Cossack if he does not know and observe the traditions and customs of the Cossacks. The basis of the character of the Cossack was some kind of duality: either he is cheerful, playful, funny, or extraordinarily sad, silent, inaccessible. On the one hand, this is due to the fact that the Cossacks, constantly looking into the eyes of death, tried not to miss the joy that fell to their lot. On the other hand, they - philosophers and poets at heart - often reflected on the vanity of existence and the inevitable outcome of this life. Therefore, the basis in the formation of the moral foundations of the Cossack societies was the 10 commandments of Christ. Teaching children to observe the commandments of the Lord, parents, according to their popular perception, taught: do not kill, do not steal, do not fornicate, work according to your conscience, do not envy another and forgive offenders, take care of your children and parents, value girlish chastity and female honor, help the poor , do not offend orphans and widows, protect the Fatherland from enemies. But first of all, strengthen the Orthodox faith, go to Church, observe fasts, cleanse your soul - through repentance from sins, pray to the one God Jesus Christ and added: if something is possible for someone, then we are not allowed - WE COSSACKS.

Extremely strictly in the Cossack environment, along with the commandments of the Lord, traditions, customs, beliefs, which were the vital necessity of every Cossack family, were observed. Non-observance or violation of them was condemned by all residents of a farm or village, village. There are many customs and traditions: some appear, others disappear. There remain those that most reflect the everyday and cultural characteristics of the Cossacks, which are preserved in the memory of the people from ancient times. If we briefly formulate them, we get a kind of unwritten Cossack household laws:

Respectful attitude towards elders.
Immeasurable respect for the guest.
Respect for a woman (mother, sister, wife)

Cossacks and parents

Honoring parents, godfather and godmother was not just a custom, but an inner need, the care of their son and daughter. The filial and daughter debt to the parents was considered fulfilled after the commemoration of the fortieth day after their departure to another world was celebrated. The godmother helped her parents prepare a Cossack girl for a future married life, taught her to housekeeping, needlework, frugality, and work. The godfather was entrusted with the main responsibility of preparing a Cossack for service, and for the military training of a Cossack, the demand from the godfather was greater than from his own father. The authority of the father and mother was not only indisputable, but so revered that without the blessing of the parents they did not start any work, did not make decisions on the most important matters.

Attitude towards elders

Respect for the elder is one of the main customs of the Cossacks. Paying tribute to the past years, the hardships of the Cossack's lot, the coming infirmity and inability to stand up for themselves, the Cossacks always remembered the words of the Holy Scriptures: "Rise before the face of a gray-haired man, honor the face of an old man and fear your God - I am the Lord your God." The custom of respect and reverence for the elder in age obligated the younger, first of all, to show care, restraint and readiness to help, and required some etiquette to be observed (when the old man appeared, everyone had to stand up - the Cossacks in uniform put their hand on the headdress, and without uniform - take off hat and bow). In the presence of an elder, it was not allowed to sit, smoke, talk (to enter into a conversation without his permission), and even more so - to speak obscenely. In general, among the Cossacks, and especially the Kubans, respect for the elder was an internal need, in the Kuban, even in circulation, one can rarely hear “grandfather”, “old” and so on, but it is affectionately pronounced: “father”, “father”.

Cossacks and guests

Immeasurable respect for the guest was due to the fact that the guest was considered a messenger of God. The most dear and welcome guest was considered to be an unfamiliar from distant places, in need of shelter, rest and care. In the playful Cossack drinking song-chastushka "Ala-verda" the veneration of the guest is most accurately expressed: "Each guest is given to us by God, no matter what environment he is, even in a wretched rag - ala-verda, ala-verda." The one who did not show respect to the guest was deservedly subjected to contempt. Regardless of the age of the guest, he was given the best place at the meal and at rest. It was considered indecent to ask a guest for 3 days where he came from and what was the purpose of his arrival. Even the old man gave way, although the guest was younger than him. It was considered a rule among the Cossacks: wherever he went on business, to visit, he never took food either for himself or for his horse. In any farm, village, village, he always had a distant or close relative, godfather, matchmaker, brother-in-law, or just a colleague, or even just a resident who would welcome him as a guest, feed both him and the horse. Cossacks stopped at inns on rare occasions when visiting fairs in cities.

Attitude towards a woman

A respectful attitude towards a woman - mother, wife, sister - determined the concept of the honor of a Cossack woman, the honor of a daughter, sister, wife. By the honor and behavior of a woman, the dignity of a man was measured. IN family life the relationship between husband and wife was determined according to Christian teachings (Holy Scripture). “Not a husband for a wife, but a wife for a husband”, “Let the wife of her husband be afraid”, while adhering to age-old foundations - a man should not interfere in women's affairs, a woman in men's. Duties were strictly regulated by life itself. Who and what in the family should do is clearly divided. It was considered a disgrace if a man was engaged in women's affairs. They strictly adhered to the rule: no one has the right to interfere in family affairs. Whoever the woman was, she had to be treated with respect and protected - for the future of your people is in a woman. A typical example of the protection of a woman is described in the story of the Cossack writer Gary Nemchenko. In 1914, in the morning, a Cossack with a red flag galloped along the village of Otradnaya, announcing the war. By evening, the Khopersky regiment was already moving in a marching column to the gathering place. Along with the regiment, of course, were the mourners - old men and women. One of the women drove a horse harnessed to a cart and drove one side of the wheels across the landowner's field. One of the officers, known to the entire regiment of the Erdeli family, drove up to the woman and whipped her for it. A Cossack rode out of the column and cut it down. In Cossack society, a woman enjoyed such reverence and respect that there was no need to give her the rights of a man. Practically in the past, housekeeping lay with the Cossack mother. The Cossack spent most of his life in the service, in battles, campaigns, on the cordon and his stay in the family, the village was short. However, the dominant role, both in the family and in the Cossack society, belonged to the man, who was responsible for the material support of the family and maintaining the strict order of the Cossack life in the family. The word of the owner of the family was indisputable for all its members, and an example of this was the wife of a Cossack - the mother of his children.

Cossack's horse

Among the Kuban people, before leaving the house for war, the wife brought the horse to the Cossack, holding the bridle in the hem of her dress. According to the old custom, she passed the occasion, saying: “On this horse you are leaving, Cossack, on this horse you will return home with a victory.” Having accepted the occasion, the Cossack hugged and kissed his wife, children, and often grandchildren, sat in the saddle, took off his hat, crossed himself with the banner of the cross, stood up on the stirrups, looking at the clean and comfortable white hut, at the front garden in front of the windows, at the cherry orchard. Then he put a hat on his head, beat the horse with a whip and went to the gathering place in a quarry. In general, among the Cossacks, the cult of the horse prevailed in many respects over other traditions and beliefs. Before the Cossack left for the war, when the horse was already under the marching pack, the wife first bowed at the horse's feet to save the rider, and then to her parents, so that prayers for the salvation of the warrior were constantly read. The same thing happened after the return of the Cossack from the war (battle) to his farmstead. When the Cossack was seen off on his last journey behind the coffin, his war horse under a black saddle and a weapon strapped to the saddle followed, and his relatives followed the horse.

Cossack and Cossacks

The Cossacks in their hostel were tied to each other like brothers, they abhorred theft among themselves, but robbery on the side and, of course, from the enemy, was an ordinary thing for them. They did not tolerate cowards and generally considered chastity and courage to be the first virtues. They did not recognize rhetoric, remembering: “Whoever untied his tongue put his saber in its sheath”, “Hands weaken from superfluous words,” and most of all they revered the will.

Soul of a Cossack

Such were the Cossacks of the old time: terrible, cruel and merciless in battles with the enemies of their faith and the persecutors of Christianity, simple and sensitive, like children, in everyday life. They took revenge on the Turks and Crimeans for the inhuman treatment and oppression of Christians, for the suffering of captured brothers, for perfidy, for non-compliance with peace treaties. “The Cossack will swear by the soul of the Christian and stand his ground, the Tatar and the Turk will swear by the soul of the Mohammedan and lie,” said the Cossacks, standing firmly for each other. "All for one and one for all", for their ancient Cossack brotherhood. The Cossacks were incorruptible, there were no betrayals among them, among the natural Cossacks. Once captured, they did not reveal the secrets of their brotherhood and died under torture as martyrs. History has preserved the unprecedented feat of the ataman of the Zaporizhzhya Sich, Dmitry Vishnevetsky, who was captured during the Crimean campaigns and the Turkish sultan ordered to hang his worst enemy on a hook. And the Russian hero hung over the abyss, hooked under the rib. Despite the terrible torment, he glorified Christ, cursed Mohammed. It is said that when he breathed his last, the Turks cut out his heart and ate it, hoping to assimilate Vishnevetsky's fearlessness.

Cossack and wealth

Some historians, not understanding the spirit of the Cossacks - ideological fighters for faith and individual freedom - reproach them for self-interest, greed and a tendency to gain. This is out of ignorance. One day, the Turkish sultan, driven to the extreme by the terrible raids of the Cossacks, decided to buy their friendship by issuing an annual salary, or rather, an annual tribute. The Sultan's ambassador in 1627-37 made every effort to do this, but the Cossacks remained adamant and only laughed at this idea, even considered these proposals an insult to the Cossack honor and responded with new raids on Turkish possessions. After that, in order to persuade the Cossacks to peacefulness, the Sultan sent with the same ambassador four golden coats as a gift to the army, but the Cossacks indignantly rejected this gift, saying that they did not need the Sultan's gifts.

Disadvantages of the Cossack

There were also shortcomings in the character of the Cossacks, mostly inherited from their ancestors. For example, they could not help but joke, listen to the stories of others, and even tell about the exploits of their comrades themselves. It happened that in these stories they would boast and add something of themselves. The Cossacks, having returned from an overseas campaign, loved to show off their outfit and decoration. They were distinguished by carelessness and carelessness, did not deny themselves a drink. The Frenchman Beauplan wrote about the Cossacks: “In drunkenness and roaming, they tried to surpass each other, and there are hardly such carefree heads as the Cossacks in all of Christian Europe, and there is no people in the world that could compare in drunkenness with the Cossacks.” However, during the campaign, a “dry law” was announced, and those who dared to get drunk were immediately executed.

Seeing a Cossack to active (military) service

Upon reaching the draft (assigned) age, the youngsters (conscript) underwent military training at the village for a year under the guidance of the Cossack administration of the village and was sworn in. To take the oath, the Cossacks came to the church for worship. After its completion, they lined up in the square opposite the altar of the Lord with a banner. The priest, after fulfilling a prayer dedicated to a soldier leaving for service, gave permission for the Cossacks to be sworn in. The Cossack appointed by the ataman from the control before the formation articulately read the text of the oath line by line, and the Cossacks repeated what was read aloud. Having finished taking the oath, each Cossack approached the lectern or table where the Gospel and the Cross lay. Having kissed the Gospel and the Cross, he knelt before the banner, and kissed its edge, put his signature in the book of taking the oath and stood in line.

Elizabeth Harun
Customs, traditions and mores of the Kuban Cossacks. Preliminary work with children for physical education and speech therapy entertainment

Preliminary work with children for physical education and speech therapy entertainment in the senior group

Cossack cannot consider himself a Cossack if he does not know and does not comply traditions and customs of the Cossacks. Merciless to enemies Cossacks in their midst they were always complacent, generous and hospitable. At the core of character Cossack there was some duality: then he is cheerful, playful, funny, then unusually sad, silent, inaccessible. Cossack is a warrior from head to toe, from birth to death.

Throws at the first call Cossack their peaceful pursuits, in two or three days he was going on a campaign, and on the fourth he was already rushing on his steppe horse-horse and the first was on the battlefield.

In the campaign and at the front, he is patient, enduring and unpretentious: on the move, eats soon, sleeps very little, always on the alert, constantly ready to rush at the enemy.

But what Cossack is strong and strong?

He is strong in his age-old, unchanging friendship with the horse. There is no friendship stronger than this friendship in the whole world. But he is also able to lie with his horse in the bushes, in the reeds for more than one day, without getting bored, without losing vigor, and vigilantly watch the enemy.

Cossack and without a horse, swift and agile, like a loach, flexible, like a young stalk, like a coastal reed. Looking boldly open: eyes laugh, and on the face a lively, but very kind smile.

At Kuban Cossacks before leaving home for war horse Cossack was let down by his wife holding the halter in the hem of the dress. The old way custom, she passed the occasion, sentencing: "On this horse you leave, Cossack, on this horse and return home with victory. Having accepted the occasion, only after that Cossack hugged and kissed his wife, children, and often grandchildren, sat in the saddle, took off his hat, made the sign of the cross, stood up on the stirrups, looking at the clean and comfortable white hut, at the front garden in front of the windows, at the cherry orchard. Then he put a hat on his head, beat the horse with a whip and went to the gathering place in a quarry.

extremely strict in the Cossack environment observed traditions, customs, beliefs that were the vital necessity of each Cossack family, non-observance or violation of them was condemned by all residents of a farm or village, village. Obychaev, many traditions: some appear, others disappear. Those that most reflect everyday and cultural characteristics remain. Cossacks that are preserved in the memory of the people from ancient times.

1. Respect for elders.

2. Immeasurable reverence for the guest.

3. Respect for a woman (mother, sister, wife).

Disrespect for the father and mother was considered a great sin. Without the consent of parents and relatives, as a rule, the issues of creating families: parents were directly involved in its creation.

Restraint, courtesy and respect were observed in dealing with parents and elders in general. On Kubans turned to their father, mothers only on "You" - "You Mom", "You Tattoo".

Custom respect and reverence for the elder obliges the younger, first of all, to show care, restraint and readiness for providing help and demand some etiquette (when the old man appeared, everyone had to stand up - Cossacks when in uniform, put your hand on the headdress, and without uniform, take off your hat and bow).

Not allowed in the presence of a senior sit smoking, talking (enter without his permission) and even more so - obscenely expressed.

It was considered obscene to overtake an old man (older in age, it was required to ask permission to pass. When entering somewhere, the older one is skipped first.

It was considered indecent for the younger to enter into conversations in the presence of the elder.

old man (senior) The younger must give way.

The younger must show patience and restraint, in any case not to argue.

The words of the elder were obligatory for the younger.

At conflict situations, disputes, strife, fights the word of the old man (senior) was decisive and required its immediate execution.

Cossacks and guests

The most dear and welcome guest was considered to be an unfamiliar from distant places, in need of shelter, rest and care. Regardless of the age of the guest, he was assigned the best place at the meal and at rest. It was considered indecent to ask a guest for 3 days where he came from and what was the purpose of his arrival. Even the old man gave way, although the guest was younger than him.

Along with hospitality Cossacks were of extraordinary integrity. In the Sich, one could leave money on the street without fear that it might be stolen.

Birth Cossack Cossack was born a warrior, and with the birth of a baby, his military school began. To the newborn, all the relatives and friends of the father brought a gun, cartridges, gunpowder, bullets, bow and arrows as a gift. These gifts hung on the wall where the mother lay with the baby. At the end of forty days after the mother, having taken a cleansing prayer, returned home, the father put a sword belt on the child, holding the sword in his hand, put him on a horse and then returned the mother’s son, congratulated her on a Cossack. When the newborn teeth erupted, the father and mother put him back on the horse and took him to the church to serve a prayer service to Ivan the Warrior. The first words of the little one were "But" And "pu"- goad the horse and shoot. Military games outside the city and target shooting were the favorite pastimes of young people in their spare time. These exercises developed accuracy in shooting, many of Cossacks could at a considerable distance knock out a coin sandwiched between the fingers with a bullet.

Three-year-old children already freely rode a horse around the yard, and at the age of 5 they galloped across the steppe.

Applied crafts Kuban art artistic woodworking has a deep tradition in the Kuban. Wooden utensils - barrels, buckets, troughs, bowls, spoons, mortars, stirrers and others items were made in all the villages rich in forest. from wood Cossacks they loved to make furniture, carved mirrors, window frames, wooden carved parasols, chests with paintings.

Pottery on Kuban was common in places where there was clay suitable for making ceramics. Basically, simple dishes were made, unpretentious toys for children, often pottery was combined with brick making. On Kuban potters enjoyed great honor and respect, songs, fairy tales, proverbs were composed about them. Forms Kuban ceramics are simple, the ornament is bright, floral.

One of the oldest folk crafts of the Eastern Slavs is basket weaving. A significant part of household utensils - from vegetable baskets to wicker and outbuildings, residents Kuban villages were made from vines. All kinds of tops, baskets, various wattle fences, wallets (tanks for storing grain, sheepfolds were woven from a flexible, golden willow vine. Even the first cordon buildings were made Cossacks from the vine.

Historically Kuban the most widely used forging - blacksmithing. Blacksmiths were the master craftsmen. In each Kuban village from the end of the 19th century worked up to five forges. Everything necessary for the life of villagers was made here - horseshoes, locks, tongs, chimneys for pipes, as well as interior items.

Kuban believed that a blacksmith can forge happiness for the young. And if he wants, he will bring misfortune. Iron protected the hooves of horses, and the person who found the horseshoe was considered lucky. Blacksmiths forged knives, axes, nails, arrows, chain mail.

Chain mail was a necessary accessory for any person; warriors put it on when going into battle. This metal clothing reliably protected the wearer from enemy blows.

In ancient times, iron and products made from it were highly valued.

Kuban blacksmiths created real works of art from metal: forged overwing umbrellas - "visors", grilles for windows, doors, balconies, front stairs, fences, weather vanes. They even you worked their original ornament and created in the villages and cities Kuban beautiful ensemble of metal laces.

The art of embroidery has always been appreciated Kuban. Embroidered patterns not only adorned clothes and household fabric items but also served as amulets against evil forces. In every family, regardless of social status, women had to own various types needlework: weaving and embroidery. In the houses of princes, boyars, rich people in Rus' and wealthy Cossacks of Kuban there were embroidery and weaving workshops, where all the women spent their leisure time at home. As a rule, the mistress of the house led the creative process.

Labor and rest Cossacks

IN Cossack families worked tirelessly. Fields were especially difficult. hard work time - harvesting. Worked from dawn to dusk, the whole family moved to the field to live, the mother-in-law or the eldest daughter-in-law was engaged in household chores.

In winter, from early morning until late at night, women spun, weaved, sewed. Men in the winter were engaged in all kinds of repairs and repair of buildings, tools, Vehicle, their duty was to care for horses and cattle.

The Cossacks knew how not only to work but also have a good rest.

Sunday and public holidays working was considered a sin. In the morning the whole family went to church, a kind of place of spiritual communication.

The youth preferred"street" summer or "gatherings" in winter. On "street" acquaintances were made, songs were learned and performed, songs and dances were combined with games. "Gatherings" arranged with the onset of cold weather in the homes of girls or young spouses. The same people gathered here "street" companies. On "gatherings" girls crumpled and combed hemp, spun, knitted, embroidered. Job accompanied by songs. With the arrival of the guys, dancing and games began.

The villagers spent their free time in "conversations", at "gatherings". On "conversations" married and elderly people whiled away the time. Here they discussed current affairs, shared memories, and sang songs. Special variety in life Cossacks introduced holidays and Sundays; after the church service, fairs, horse races, and other entertainment. Cossacks were great lovers of choral singing, military sports.

chief entertainment of the Cossacks was archery or rifle shooting. Horse races and fistfights were arranged for the holidays, Cossacks showed a trick. competed Cossacks and in overcoming water barriers. Group Cossacks in full ammunition raced on horseback to the river. Throwing themselves into the water, they swam across it on horseback. The winner was the one who first went ashore.

Did you hear how they were talking to each other Cossacks in the old days?

Not at all like we are now. colloquial Kuban speech is a valuable and interesting element of folk culture. She combined two language: Russian and Ukrainian. Many Kuban easily moved from one language to another in conversation. When asked what language they speak Cossacks, in Russian or Ukrainian, many answered: "On our, on Cossack, on Kuban» . in Ukrainian "speak" –"talk". Here they are Kuban dialect due to the large number of Ukrainian words to call « Kuban balachka» .

Interesting to know…

Liman - harbor, bay - a shallow bay at the confluence of the river into the sea. Liman is formed when lowland rivers are flooded by the sea and can be open (lip) or separated from the sea by a narrow strip of land.

The church is an architectural structure destined for worship and religious ceremonies (a kind of place of spiritual communication).

Gatherings are a seasonal form of youth leisure in autumn and winter.

Spin - twisting (fibers of flax, wool, etc., to make threads.

Stanichniki - a resident of the village.

The sign of the cross is a prayer gesture, representing is an image of a cross with a movement of the hand. The sign of the cross is performed on various occasions, for example, when entering and leaving the temple, before or after the prayer is said.

Ignorance of parents - negative spiritually moral quality of children manifested as disrespect, disrespect, inattention, selfishness, disobedience.

Etiquette - norms and rules of behavior of people in society.

Sich - the name of the administrative centers of Zaporozhye Cossacks.

Vine weaving is the craft of making wickerwork from vines.

Vine - shoot of a climbing plant or shrub, mainly grapes or willows.

Craft - small-scale manual production based on the use of hand tools, personal skill worker which allows to produce high-quality, often highly artistic products.

Utensil - household items, including kitchen and dining utensils, devices for storing and carrying things, etc.