Presentation, report on the culture, customs and traditions of the peoples of Siberia. Small and large peoples of Siberia National rituals of the peoples of the Siberian region

More than 125 nationalities live today, of which 26 are indigenous peoples. The largest in terms of population among these small peoples are the Khanty, Nenets, Mansi, Siberian Tatars, Shors, Altaians. The Constitution of the Russian Federation guarantees to every small nation the inalienable right of self-identification and self-determination.

The Khanty are a small indigenous Ugric West Siberian people living along the lower reaches of the Irtysh and Ob. Their total number is 30,943 people, with most of them 61% living in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, and 30% in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The Khanty are engaged in fishing, herd reindeer husbandry and taiga hunting.

The ancient names of the Khanty, “Ostyaks” or “Ugras,” are still widely used today. The word "Khanty" comes from the ancient local word "kantakh", which simply means "man", and it appeared in documents during the Soviet years. The Khanty are ethnographically close to the Mansi people, and are often united with them under the single name Ob Ugrians.

The Khanty are heterogeneous in their composition, among them there are separate ethnographic territorial groups that differ in dialects and names, methods of farming and original culture - Kazym, Vasyugan, Salym Khanty. The Khanty language belongs to the Ob-Ugric languages ​​of the Ural group; it is divided into many territorial dialects.

Since 1937, modern Khanty writing has been developing on the basis of the Cyrillic alphabet. Today, 38.5% of the Khanty speak Russian fluently. The Khanty adhere to the religion of their ancestors - shamanism, but many of them consider themselves Orthodox Christians.

Externally, the Khanty are between 150 and 160 cm tall with black straight hair, a dark complexion and brown eyes. Their face is flat with widely prominent cheekbones, a wide nose and thick lips, reminiscent of a Mongoloid. But the Khanty, unlike the Mongoloid peoples, have regular eyes and a narrower skull.

In historical chronicles, the first mentions of the Khanty appear in the 10th century. Modern research has shown that the Khanty lived in this territory already in 5-6 thousand years BC. Later they were seriously pushed north by nomads.

The Khanty inherited numerous traditions of the Ust-Polui culture of taiga hunters, which developed at the end of the 1st millennium BC. – beginning of the 1st millennium AD In the 2nd millennium AD. The northern Khanty tribes came under the influence of the Nenets reindeer herders and assimilated with them. In the south, the Khanty tribes felt the influence of the Turkic peoples, and later the Russians.

The traditional cults of the Khanty people include the cult of the deer; it became the basis of the entire life of the people, a means of transport, a source of food and skins. The worldview and many norms of life of the people (inheritance of the herd) are associated with the deer.

The Khanty live in the north of the plain along the lower reaches of the Ob in nomadic temporary camps with temporary reindeer herding dwellings. To the south, on the banks of Northern Sosva, Lozva, Vogulka, Kazym, Nizhnyaya they have winter settlements and summer nomads.

The Khanty have long worshiped the elements and spirits of nature: fire, sun, moon, wind, water. Each clan has a totem, an animal that cannot be killed or used for food, family deities and patron ancestors. Everywhere the Khanty revere the bear, the owner of the taiga, and even hold a traditional holiday in his honor. The frog is the revered patroness of the hearth, happiness in the family and women in labor. In the taiga there are always sacred places where shamanic rituals are performed, appeasing their patron.

Muncie

Mansi (the ancient name is Voguls, Vogulichs), numbering 12,269 people, live mostly in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug. This very numerous people has been known to Russians since the discovery of Siberia. Even Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible ordered that archers be sent to pacify the numerous and powerful Mansi.

The word “Mansi” comes from the ancient Proto-Finnish-Ugric word “mansz”, meaning “man, person”. The Mansi have their own language, which belongs to the Ob-Ugric separate group of the Ural language family and a fairly developed national epic. The Mansi are linguistically close relatives of the Khanty. Today, up to 60% use Russian in everyday life.

The Mansi successfully combine in their social life the cultures of northern hunters and southern nomadic pastoralists. Novgorodians had contact with Mansi back in the 11th century. With the advent of the Russians in the 16th century, some of the Vogul tribes went north, others lived next door to the Russians and assimilated with them, adopting the language and the Orthodox faith.

The beliefs of the Mansi are the worship of the elements and spirits of nature - shamanism, they are characterized by the cult of elders and ancestors, the totem bear. Mansi have a rich folklore and mythology. The Mansi are divided into two separate ethnographic groups of the descendants of the Uralians Por and the descendants of the Ugrians Mos, differing in origin and customs. In order to enrich the genetic material, marriages have long been concluded only between these groups.

The Mansi are engaged in taiga hunting, reindeer breeding, fishing, agriculture and cattle breeding. Reindeer husbandry on the banks of Northern Sosva and Lozva was adopted from the Khanty. To the south, with the arrival of the Russians, agriculture, breeding of horses, cattle and small cattle, pigs and poultry were adopted.

In everyday life and the original creativity of the Mansi, ornaments similar in motifs to the drawings of the Selkups and Khanty are of particular importance. Regular geometric patterns clearly predominate in Mansi ornaments. Often with elements of deer antlers, diamonds and wavy lines, similar to the Greek meander and zigzags, images of eagles and bears.

Nenets

The Nenets, in ancient times Yuracs or Samoyeds, a total of 44,640 people live in the north of the Khanty-Mansiysk and, accordingly, the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The self-name of the Samoyed people “Nenets” literally means “man, person.” They are the most numerous of the northern indigenous peoples.

The Nenets are engaged in large herd nomadic reindeer herding in. In Yamal, the Nenets keep up to 500 thousand reindeer. The traditional dwelling of the Nenets is a conical tent. Up to one and a half thousand Nenets living south of the tundra on the Pur and Taz rivers are considered forest Nenets. In addition to reindeer husbandry, they are actively involved in tundra and taiga hunting and fishing, and collecting taiga gifts. The Nenets eat rye bread, venison, meat of sea animals, fish, and gifts from the taiga and tundra.

The Nenets language belongs to the Ural Samoyed languages; it is divided into two dialects, tundra and forest, which in turn are divided into dialects. The Nenets people have a rich folklore, legends, fairy tales, and epic stories. In 1937, learned linguists created a writing system for the Nenets based on the Cyrillic alphabet. Ethnographers describe the Nenets as stocky people with a large head, a flat, sallow face, devoid of any vegetation.

Altaians

The territory of residence of the Turkic-speaking indigenous people of the Altaians became. They live in numbers of up to 71 thousand people, which allows them to be considered a large people, in the Altai Republic, partly in the Altai Territory. Among the Altaians, there are separate ethnic groups of Kumandins (2892 people), Telengits or Teles (3712 people), Tubalars (1965 people), Teleuts (2643 people), Chelkans (1181 people).

Altaians have long worshiped the spirits and elements of nature; they adhere to traditional shamanism, Burkhanism and Buddhism. They live in clan seoks, kinship is considered through the male line. Altaians have a centuries-old rich history and folklore, tales and legends, their own heroic epic.

Shors

The Shors are a small Turkic-speaking people, mainly living in remote mountainous areas of Kuzbass. The total number of Shors today is up to 14 thousand people. The Shors have long worshiped the spirits of nature and the elements; their main religion was shamanism, which had developed over centuries.

The Shors ethnic group was formed in the 6th-9th centuries by mixing Keto-speaking and Turkic-speaking tribes that came from the south. The Shor language is a Turkic language; today more than 60% of Shors speak Russian. The epic of the Shors is ancient and very original. The traditions of the indigenous Shors are well preserved today; most Shors now live in cities.

Siberian Tatars

In the Middle Ages, it was the Siberian Tatars who were the main population of the Siberian Khanate. Nowadays the subethnic group of Siberian Tatars, as they call themselves “Seber Tatarlar”, consisting, according to various estimates, from 190 thousand to 210 thousand people lives in the south of Western Siberia. By anthropological type, the Tatars of Siberia are close to the Kazakhs and Bashkirs. Today, Chulyms, Shors, Khakassians, and Teleuts can call themselves “Tadar”.

Scientists consider the ancestors of the Siberian Tatars to be the medieval Kipchaks, who had contact for a long time with the Samoyeds, Kets, and Ugric peoples. The process of development and mixing of peoples took place in the south of Western Siberia from the 6th-4th millennium BC. before the emergence of the Tyumen kingdom in the 14th century, and later with the emergence of the powerful Siberian Khanate in the 16th century.

Most Siberian Tatars use the literary Tatar language, but in some remote uluses the Siberian-Tatar language from the Kipchak-Nogai group of Western Hunnic Turkic languages ​​has been preserved. It is divided into Tobol-Irtysh and Baraba dialects and many dialects.

The holidays of the Siberian Tatars contain features of pre-Islamic ancient Turkic beliefs. This is, first of all, amal, when the new year is celebrated during the spring equinox. The arrival of the rooks and the beginning of field work, the Siberian Tatars celebrate the hag putka. Some Muslim holidays, rituals and prayers for the sending of rain have also taken root here, and the Muslim burial places of Sufi sheikhs are revered.

Andyusev B.E.

If you would like to learn more about the old Siberian culture, traditions, customs, about the life of old-timers, about the Siberian character - you are welcome to take a trip into the history of the Krasnoyarsk Territory and all of Siberia!

A word about Siberia

The land we live on is Mother Siberia. Since childhood, we have felt her stern disposition, her lack of comfort and comfort, her frosty breath and serious distances. But, looking into our hearts, we feel attached to our district, region, city; true affection for the amazing beauty and uniqueness of Siberian nature.

There comes a moment when one day we, frozen in place, discover the expanse of taiga under the mountain at our feet, or the landscape of a river valley, the boundless hills of the South Siberian steppe, or a mountain range behind fields-forests with sparkling snowy peaks - “squirrels” of the Sayan peaks even in summer. horizon. An awareness of the values ​​of ancient Siberian rituals and beliefs comes. One day we notice that we involuntarily and now use words and expressions of the ancient Siberian dialect in conversation.

Looking around, we see around us skillfully cut and decorated wooden houses, not similar to each other. These are not the houses that are now being built by would-be carpenters and quickly fall into disrepair. Ancient houses are strong and can tell a lot about their owners: whether he was hardworking and zealous, neat and thorough, or, on the contrary, laziness settled in this household for a long time.

Since childhood we know that we are Siberians. But only when we get to the distant Russian lands do we proudly realize that Siberians have always been spoken of with special respect everywhere and always. Residents of distant cities look at us with surprise and curiosity - they say, how do you live in your harsh land? It is no secret that many people still believe that bears roam the streets of Siberian cities at night.

Far from home, communicating with Norilsk and Tobolsk residents, Irkutsk and Novosibirsk residents, Transbaikalians and Tomsk residents, Altai and Omsk residents, we especially begin to feel that we are all fellow countrymen.

However, being Siberians, we feel like Russians, citizens of a Great Country with a unique historical past. But it was in our region that the West and the East met and intertwined, their civilizational values ​​and ideals, the heroic and tragic pages of the eternal desire for freedom and the experience of building democratic relations in conditions of centuries-old despotism. It was in Siberia that from time immemorial man became free, a person with the highest and extremely heightened sense of self-worth. There was no serf here either in status or in psychology.

A person on Siberian soil was assessed according to two criteria: what kind of conscience are you and what kind of work are you like? Siberians have always held in high esteem the concepts of high morality, conscientiousness and hard work.

We are all different in this huge country, unique and special, and we must accept each other as we are. Our Siberian uniqueness comes from the harsh extreme climate and nature, from mutual agreement and heightened honesty, from firmness and perseverance in overcoming challenges. The result of complete adaptation to the harsh realities of the struggle for survival is the Siberian character. The whole world remembers how the Siberians near Moscow in 1941 proved that the Siberian character was, is and will be.

“Russian history, at its very core, is primarily the history of various regional masses of people, the history of the construction of territorial structures,” - this is how our famous fellow Siberian, historian A.P. Shchapov defined the role of individual regions in the history of Russia. Critical assessments and negative conclusions alone cannot reveal the rich daily life of Siberians. It is also obvious that many troubles of recent times and, interestingly, the beginning of the 20th century, occurred as a result of the forgetting of primordial traditions, certain, albeit conservative, principles of life. The greatest mistake of recent years has been the widespread, reckless craving for the culture, values ​​and religious teachings of the West. Russia.

We must not forget that each region of Russia has a rich cultural past, its own spiritual values ​​and thousand-year-old roots of traditional paganism, Orthodoxy and other religious faiths. A person lives in his time, in the world of his spiritual ideals. Understanding and respecting the past is the duty and responsibility of the current generation of Siberians, descendants of old-timers and settlers of the 17th-20th centuries.

• A word about Siberia.
• Mentality of Siberians.
• Peasant community in Siberia.
• Economic life of an old-timer.
• Everyday culture: clothing, food, traditional medicine of Siberians.
• Spirituality and traditions.
• Literacy and education in the Yenisei province in the 19th - early 20th centuries.
• Customs and rituals of old-timers in Siberia.
• Folk signs of the Siberian calendar.
• Folk art of Siberians.
• Dictionary of the dialect of old-timers of the Yenisei region.
• Appendix: “Siberian character” by Fedorov-Omulevsky I.V.

Sources

• Published based on materials from Boris Ermolaevich’s personal website: “Siberian Local History”.
• Printed edition: Andyusev B.E. Siberian local history: textbook. manual. – 2nd ed. – Krasnoyarsk: RIO KSPU, 2003. – 303 p.

To the point

Modern library local history What is “local history”, what does it study and what is the benefit of it? Let's look at science using the example of library local history

Chapter:
Siberian cuisine, Siberian traditions
18th page

The minds of Russians will grow in Siberia.
The fertile lands and pure ecology of Siberia are optimal for special settlements, hard labor and camps, which in every possible way contribute to the enlightenment and strengthening of Russian minds.

In the conditions of monotony, orderliness of peasant life and remoteness from the central regions, a wedding (and similar events) turned into a bright theatrical performance, a dramatized ritual crowning the most important choice in the lives of young people.

The ritual of the Russian wedding, born in ancient times, was brought to Siberia, but while maintaining the main plot and structural components, it underwent certain changes.

Young people in Siberia, freer in spirit and morals, had the opportunity to freely choose a life partner. The most important condition for creating a family was economic feasibility. Researchers noted that, according to documents from the 18th - early 19th centuries, brides were often older than grooms: the family tried to “get” a worker into the house, first of all.

In the Yenisei province, the custom of formal bride abduction was widespread in a number of places. M. F. Krivoshapkin, describing this custom, notes that, having agreed by consent, the groom “kidnapped” the bride. At the same time, the bride’s mother asked: “How can you look people in the eyes? I'm giving my daughter away to someone else's house. Give it with your own hands, or what? Is her life worse with us? After the “kidnapping,” however, the bride returned (the ritual was observed), and then the matchmaking ritual began.

The matchmaker, on behalf of the groom, went to match the bride. On the first step of the porch she said: “As my foot stands firmly and firmly, so will my word stand firmly and firmly. So that what I think comes true.” We stood on the step with only our right foot. The matchmaker could also make a match.

Having gone into the hut, the matchmaker sat down under the mother, on a bench. “If you don’t sit under a mother, there will be no connection in the new family,” they said in Siberia. Matitsa knits the house, and the bench must be longitudinal, and not transverse to the mat, otherwise life will go sideways!

The matchmaker first started a conversation “about nothing,” and then said: “I came to you not to feast, not to eat, but with a good deed, with matchmaking!

You have a bride, and I have a groom. Let’s start establishing a relationship!” The father sent the mother outside the fence to the bride's house - it was a girl's business. The bride in Siberia was free to choose and could refuse. In this case, the father said: “She’s young, she wants to be among the girls, to work for her father and mother, to accumulate intelligence.” Or he could say: “Wait until the end (i.e. in a year).” If they agreed, the bride's scarf was given to the matchmaker. All the “negotiations” were conducted by the bride’s father.

Then a special day of shaking hands was appointed. On this day, the father, mother of the groom and the matchmaker went to the bride’s house to “make sure” that the bride was exactly what their son needed, and sealed the important event with a handshake. This was an ancient custom of the people “together” a serious matter.

The fathers shook hands. “God bless you, in good time.” We prayed. The father blessed the bride. Then they drank a glass of “traveling”, and the bride and her friends spent the night “sobbing and lamenting” - they sang songs “with reproaches and tears” for “being given to someone else’s house.”

At the viewing, a day later, the bride and groom met “for the first time.” Relatives and godparents were here, inviting: “We ask you to talk.” There is wine and delicacies on the table. “Here, look at our groom, and show us your bride,” said the godmother. The bride and groom stood on the same floor, arm in arm, the groom was closer to the images, and the bride was closer to the door, then the betrothal took place with a kiss, and the rings were exchanged.

The ritual with the scarf was important, when the bride, groom, and their fathers took hold of the four corners of the scarf, and then the bride and groom intertwined the corners and kissed. After this, everyone sat down at the tables; treats and delicacies were passed around to everyone - in return the guests put money. The groom gave a gift to the bride on a plate, which she accepted with a kiss.

The bride saw off the groom on the porch of the house. Everyone was leaving. The young people stayed with the bride, then the groom returned alone, and the fun began: songs, games, treats. The songs this time were sung more cheerfully. They include reconciliation with a new life, a description of the future life of the bride in the groom's house, etc. The fun continues until late.

The next stage was the party, or “bachelorette party.” On this day, the bride and her friends went to the bathhouse, and they unbraided her hair. The tears began again. In the bathhouse, the bride was covered with a scarf, then dressed up and taken into the house.

A dressed-up groom arrived with a whole retinue of friends on a decorated carriage. He is triumphant! One of the bride’s relatives, “zvatai,” invites everyone into the house. The matchmaker enters, then the groom, then everyone else. After the invitation, they sit down at the tables: they sing songs until late, treat themselves, communicate, talk about the wedding...

After the handshake and before the wedding, wedding officials were appointed. The ritual involved the following: for the bride and groom, a blessed father and mother (godparents), on the bride’s side - two matchmakers, one bed-maid (most often she was a midwife), one seller of the braid, one “zaobnik” (a boy with an “image” icon) ) and two boyars. On the groom's side - one thousand, one groomsman (an expert in all rituals, wedding manager), one girlfriend, two matchmakers, four boyars.

The wedding ritual ends with the wedding day. The action continues on this day from sunrise until “after midnight”. The groom's groomsman is all dressed up: he has a festive embroidered towel over his shoulder, an elegant belt with handkerchiefs hanging on it, and a whip in his hands. He visits his bride early in the morning. "How did you sleep? How is your health?" - copes on behalf of the groom.

On his second visit, the groom brings gifts from the groom, “Our prince ordered me to give them,” he says. They usually gave: colored scarves, a sable fur coat, a wedding outfit, a stand mirror, etc. “Should I invite the prince to the red porch?” - asking a friend and the conversation was about further actions that day.

The bride's younger brother brings a dowry: a feather bed, pillows, a blanket, a canopy, various sewn and woven items in a chest. He travels with an icon and a candle. With him on the sleigh sits a “dowry”, a bed midwife. She goes to prepare the wedding bed in the basement or other place. Treats and mutual gifts of handkerchiefs follow.

And in the bride's house there is festive excitement. The bride is being prepared for the wedding; she gets dressed in front of the mirror, sobbing, and “says goodbye” to her friends. Then everyone sits down at the table. Next to the bride is her younger brother, a braid seller. The groom has already been notified that the bride's house is ready.

Having passed through all the streets of the village, the wedding train-procession arrives at the bride’s house. There are traditional exclamations: “Is this the right house”, “Open the gates!” But this is only for payment: you need to pay “golden hryvnia” for the key to the gate. They enter the yard. Here the matchmakers exchange beer and then the ritual of entering “into the house, into the chambers” follows.

The bride’s younger brother needs to “put a gold hryvnia on a tray, and buy the bride’s braid back for the Russian.” He hits the whip - “Not enough!”, demands more money. Finally, the “kosnik” is satisfied with the amount received. The matchmaker lightly undoes the bride's braid.

Everyone sits down at the table together. There are all kinds of food on it. The bride and groom do not have the right to drink at the wedding: they sip the wine lightly. Three courses follow. A goose is placed in front of the bride's parents, which according to the ritual they must eat together. The goose symbolized the moral purity and purity of the bride.

There is mutual giving of gifts with jokes and toasts to the newlyweds. Finally they are getting ready to go to church. The bride's parents bless the newlyweds. Three deep bows follow. Everyone sits down in the sleigh. Ahead of the train, a boy - a “character” - holds the Blessed Image in his hands.

The friend holds his hand and with a “sentence” circles the train three times, and the procession sets off towards the temple. Fun, songs, jokes! According to tradition, everyone’s heads are not covered with hats. Horses and sleigh arches are decorated with ribbons, bells, and shufflers. Guns are being fired all around. People they meet congratulate the newlyweds.

In the church, “the sacrament of illuminating the marriage and prayer for her well-being,” according to the Orthodox rite, was supplemented by a purely Siberian custom when a scarf was spread on the floor of the temple and the newlyweds stood on it, the groom with his right foot, and the bride with her left. At the same time, it was considered a happy belief that if a bride squeezes a crust of bread in her left hand during the wedding, it means that life will pass in contentment.

Next, the wedding moves to the groom's house. They drive up to the house, and the friend loudly announces: “Our newlywed prince has arrived, with the young princess and the whole regiment, by honest train to the wide courtyard. He ordered it to be announced that he stood at the golden crown and received the Law of God on his head! Please greet me with joy!”

They greet you with bread and salt, pray, and sit down at the table. The wedding feast begins. The first glass of wine is poured to the groom, who passes it to his father. “Well, son, on your legal marriage,” the father congratulates. For the bride and groom, one plate is placed for two. The guests eat, drink, the newlyweds are congratulated, treats and the best dishes are continuously served.

Showing off your culinary skills was considered a matter of honor. After the third course, the young people were taken out from the table. This was followed by the ritual of braiding. The bride was covered with a scarf, and the matchmakers of the bride and groom, unraveling the girl’s braid with songs, braided it into two, laid them on her head in a new form, then put a kokoshnik or povoinichek on her head. All the guests present picked up the song about the braid. Full glasses were poured for the parents, and they once again congratulated the “children on their legal marriage” and blessed them for the “basement.”

The midwife-bed ceremonially opened the room, the first to enter was the “zazabnik” with an icon, followed by the matchmakers and the young ones. The young people were left behind - the friend was the last to leave, taking away the candles. And in the room the “feast on the mountain” continued with jokes, jokes, songs...

In the morning, the entire train from yesterday, all the guests, were going to the young husband’s house. The young people were sent to the bathhouse, then they were dressed, and then there was a presentation to their parents. The bride showed her sewing to her husband's parents, and the mother-in-law meticulously assessed the craftsmanship. Then the young people went to the house of their father-in-law and mother-in-law and invited them to a feast.

By lunchtime, all the guests were finally gathered. Everyone took their places. Her and his parents, godparents, and relatives sat in a place of honor, and the young woman catered to them, looked after them, set and served the tables, and tried to show what a nimble housewife she was. Often there were comic “tests” of the groom’s skill, for example: carving a wedge on a stone or placing an ax on an ax handle.

The feast continued until night and often - it lasted more than one day. It continued without any special ritual. But the groomsmen and friends of the newlyweds made impromptu additions, pranks, jokes: it was not for nothing that the wedding was considered a whole performance. Have fun, people!

Weddings often overlapped one another, took turns, and the entire village spent almost a significant part of the winter time, resting from the labors of the righteous, and became a participant in the wedding ceremony, a vibrant amateur folk event.

According to descriptions, in Siberia it was customary to accompany the birth of a baby with certain rituals. When a newborn was washed, silver money was placed in the water, which the midwife then took for herself.

In contrast to “Russian” customs (“to protect the child from harm”), all relatives, parents, and close friends were notified of the birth: they came and came to visit the parent, and each presented the newborn with silver money, which was placed under the pillow of the mother of the child or newborn .

If health permitted, the parent was certainly taken to the bathhouse every other day. Siberians used to say: “Banka is a second mother.” After the bath, they drank a brew of berries, weak beer with raisins, prunes, and ginger. The mother was fed whole millet porridge with raisins.

Ethnographers noted that in Siberia, infants were rarely fed with mother's milk for a long time; more often, after 3-4 months they began to be fed with cow's milk. Milk was given to the baby by pouring it into a bottle. The baby grew up, rocking in a cradle - a “wobbly” woven from pine shingles on a bird cherry handle.

The shaky thing was suspended on a leather strap from a flexible “ochep” - a birch pole threaded through the ceiling ring. The shaky top was covered with a special cape - a “tent”. She was that “small world” from which the baby stepped into life...

An ancient pagan ritual was performed on the ninth birthday of a child throughout Russia. In Siberia it was like this: they brought a mug of clean water into which silver money was first placed overnight. The mother poured water onto the grandmother-midwife’s hands three times, and she poured water back onto her. Then the midwife was given 15-20 rubles. money, several pounds of good butter and a pound of tea, and several yards of linen or linen.

This ritual was supposed to symbolize the transfer of responsibility for the future life of the baby from the midwife to the mother. At the same time, water performed a cleansing function and symbolized the intermediate stage of the baby’s arrival into this world.

The great sacrament of baptism was for Russian people the most important condition for communion with God, with the Kingdom of God.

“Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. ...you must be born again.”

According to Christian tradition, at baptism the child was named after a saint, who became his heavenly intercessor and patron. The baptism of a child was carried out according to the faith of the successors, who became the spiritual parents of the baptized person.

Relatives, close friends of the family, and always the “sworn parents” (godfather and godfather), and the midwife gathered for the christening. The table was always covered with a white tablecloth, and bread and salt were placed on it. A fur coat was laid on the bench under the icons, fur side up, and the baby was laid down. Then the midwife took it and handed it over to the godfather, then everyone went to the church to perform the baptismal ceremony.

At the end of the generally accepted Orthodox rite of baptism in Russia, the fur coat ritual was repeated. The godmother took the child from the fur coat and handed it to his own mother with the words: “The name is (name). Happy Angel Day to you (name), with new happiness. God grant you good health for many years to come, and you and your son (daughter) with joy now.” After the general prayer, the parents invited them to “treat themselves.” Everyone congratulates each other: the father on the “heir”, the godfather on the “godson”, the uncle on the “nephew”, the parents on the son, the grandmother on the grandson.

For “christenings” they prepared porridge from “Sarochinsky” millet, cooked in milk, and on fasting days in water. Sugar was sprinkled on top of the porridge. Everyone who gathered for the christening was served wine, and then porridge. That’s why there was a saying in Siberia: “I ate porridge at his christening.”

For the midwife, who was considered a particularly honored guest, some silver money was placed on the porridge. Kuma and godfather were given towels and linen. If the child was the first in the family (“first-born”), then often, making fun of the baby’s father, they tried to slip him a spoonful of porridge with salt and pepper. At the same time, they said that the father should share the mother’s suffering.

It also happened that my grandmother deliberately doused her apron with wine; I believe that my grandson will start walking faster.

A person’s life journey ends with death... Siberians treated it with respect, wisdom and calm. To die with dignity in old age meant the same thing as to live one’s life “in the honor” of society.

The greatest blessing was to die without suffering yourself and without causing trouble and suffering to your family and friends. Usually, when entering old age, people prepared in advance the material for the coffin domina; it was considered quite natural if the peasant himself, lovingly and carefully, made his domina. And then it stood on the barn or under the roof of a barn “on demand” for many years.

As elsewhere in Rus', a deceased person with a “sinful body” was washed and dressed in clean, preferably new, clothes. Washing the deceased was considered a cleansing rite. Under no circumstances should relatives perform ablution. In Siberia, it was customary for “mortal” items to be made only from canvas and not to be purchased.

The house with the deceased was placed in the upper room, in the front corner, on a bench or table, decorated with linen, muslin or carpet. The deceased had to lie with his head towards the “goddess”. The floor was covered with spruce or, more often, fir “legs” - twigs. Children, grandchildren, and relatives of the deceased certainly sat near the body. The ritual of washing, farewell, was accompanied by lamentations, lamentations, sobs, crying, and sentences. If there were girls in the family of the deceased, they let their hair down over their shoulders and tied a black scarf around their heads.

In the traditional funeral rites of old Siberia, ancient tales occupied an important place. A sad lamentation song served as a means of psychological release in terrible grief.

Since ancient times, the long, long lamentations of inconsolable widows and mothers of relatives have evolved into farewell chants: sorrowful, solemn and stern, touching the soul. A cry once heard is remembered for a lifetime...

Mother's cry for her dead daughter:

Oh, you are my daughter!
Oh, yes you are my dear!
Where are you my beauty?
Where did you go little bird?
Why are you offended at me?
Why are you angry?
Oh, why did you leave me,
I'm a sad orphan.
Who will I go to now?
Who will I tell my sadness to?
Oh, yes, you are my daughter...

From crying for her dead husband:

To whom have you left us, our clear falcon?
You fly away from us to a distant place, you don’t know anything,
Don’t you feel how bitterly we are dying here in tears!
You won’t come back to us to the bitter sorrows, you won’t look again
for our miserable life.
You won’t come to feasts and chats anymore,
you won’t look anymore at your fields, at your spikelets, at your
for cattle for orphans,
You won’t go into your warm hut anymore...
You chose a cold nest for yourself...
...We are about to have invited guests,
guests are invited, it is not for joy that they will gather to us,
but for tears, and for lamentations, all our relatives, all our acquaintances...

(Lamentations recorded by M.V. Krasnozhenova at the beginning of the twentieth century.)

In the Yenisei province there were a number of generally accepted ritual actions at funerals. Many old women bequeathed to be buried in their wedding dresses. The deceased’s shoes were called “kalishki” or “bosoviki” and were made from 2-3 layers of thick white canvas. The deceased was buried wearing a belt.

A small piece of white cloth was attached to the outer corner of the house of the deceased immediately after death so that “the soul could fly to the house in 40 days and wipe away its tears.” Under no circumstances should the deceased's nails or hair be cut. After the funeral, the clothes of the deceased were distributed to friends and relatives. New dresses were also bought and given as gifts for commemoration.

Everyone, acquaintances and strangers, visited the deceased; even distant relatives always came from the surrounding villages. Everyone expressed feelings of compassion, condolences to loved ones, and observed traditional decency. Contemporaries noted that in Siberia many strangers, strangers come to say goodbye, they come to “see how he is dressed, what kind of brocade he is covered with, whether his relatives are crying.”

Anyone entering the house was given a glass of vodka or a glass of tea. For the entire three days while the deceased lay at home, the gates were always left open. Several people served the visitors, helped them undress, served tea from morning to evening, heated the samovar, and one of them gave alms to the beggars.

In Siberia, it was customary to place an icon not on the chest of the deceased, but in the head. The deceased was covered with linen or brocade. A cup of water must be placed on a table or shelf at the head of the room. “So that the soul can wash itself,” said knowledgeable people. The candle was placed in a vessel with grain. Tow and broom leaves were placed in the coffin.

The deceased was buried on the third day. “Knittings” from the hands and feet of the deceased were placed in the coffin on the left side. The coffin was carried out of the house in the hands, and the person especially honored was carried in the hands to the “graves”. After removing the body, they immediately turned the bench over, and in the front corner, where the deceased lay, they placed a stone - “serovik”, they believed - “there will be no more deceased in this house in the near future.” The stone lay there for 6 weeks. Immediately after the body was removed, the floors in the house were washed, and the gates of the house were immediately closed.

The procession to the “graves” was built in a certain way: a man with an icon walked in front, followed by a priest, then they carried a lid covered with a carpet, then a coffin lined with velvet or satin (red fabric). If condition permitted, the coffin was covered with brocade. It should be noted that in European Russia, unlike Siberia, the coffin was usually not lined with fabric.

The deceased was buried in the church and then carried to the cemetery. The coffin was lowered into the grave on a canvas, which was then shared by the visiting beggar. According to an ancient semi-pagan rite in Siberia, the priest-father was the first to throw a handful of earth onto the lid of the coffin, then everyone who came to the cemetery threw three handfuls: “The Kingdom of Heaven; rest in peace". According to custom, a canvas towel was tied to the cross.

At the end of the burial ceremony, they served a memorial service, distributed alms to the poor, presented everyone with handkerchiefs or towels and returned home.

Siberians considered it the greatest “sin” to speak “badly” about the deceased.

The commemoration began with kutya or honey. Then food was served “in abundance.” There were many different dishes, but pancakes were a must. If the deceased was buried on a “fast day,” then cold fish, fish jelly, stew, yarn cakes, porridge and various jelly were served.

On the “fast days” they served cold meat, meat jelly, fish jelly, a variety of porridges and jelly, and milk. The wake was always accompanied by a variety of porridges served. Before each change of dishes, they prayed to God and wished the deceased “the Kingdom of God.” Serving jelly, often with cream, meant the end of a “hot lunch”

Ethnographers note that nowhere else in Russia did there exist a ritual of visiting a cemetery on the second day. On the second day, Siberians always went to the “graves,” and only close relatives. “Nothing, the most amazing thing, will keep them from going to the grave: not pouring rain, not a blizzard, not severe frost.” This ritual continues to this day...

According to the Orthodox rite, persons who deliberately took their own lives, or suicides, were deprived of a church funeral service and even burial in a common cemetery. This was considered the greatest sin. These included the dead participants in the “robbery” - criminals.

Those who attended the “hot lunch” bowed to the deceased 1-2 times a day for six weeks. In the homes of many wealthy peasants, all visiting beggars were fed for 40 days after the funeral of a loved one.

On the 9th day, only close relatives commemorated the deceased, and on the 40th day a “dinner party” was held. In many villages on the Angara, it was customary to commemorate on the 6th, 9th, 20th, and 40th days. Everywhere in Siberia they commemorated him on his name day and on the anniversary of his death. For a year, close relatives wore mourning.

On the anniversary of the death, traditional changes of dishes were also served: cold fish, fish jelly, wheat kutya, bird cherry kutya, fish pie, pancakes, pryazhenka, jelly. All ritual porridges, both on funeral days and on other occasions, were prepared from whole, unground grains.

The week following Easter week was one of the most important in the ritual cycle for the Siberian old-timers. On Tuesday of St. Thomas' week we celebrated Parents' Day. The Siberians called him “Ikhna parent Paska.”

On the eve of “parents' Easter” everyone had to wash themselves in the bathhouse, despite the fact that it was Monday. In the evening, after all family members had washed, a certain set of linen, things, and soap were brought to the bathhouse for their deceased ancestors. They set up the gang, poured water in, laid out things on the benches and left, leaving the door slightly open. No one alive had the right to go there after that; it was considered the greatest sin. And so that the souls of their ancestors could wash themselves in their baths, the cemetery gates were opened on Monday evening (on other days they remained closed).

On Parents' Day we got up before dawn. Relatives went to the church with kutya, where a memorial service was served and the dead were remembered, others stayed at home and prepared a hearty dinner.

After the church service, the Siberians visited the “graves”. Dressed in fine clothes, all the inhabitants of the village came together, commemorated the dead with kutia, eggs, pancakes, and snacks. “On this day, at the graves, old-timers “share Christ” with their parents: they put out a kutya, painted eggs, they commemorate with wine, then they invite their loved ones, neighbors, and fellow villagers to commemorate.

Many people take a samovar to graves. Many bring wine”: they drink it themselves and treat their “parents”, pouring wine from a glass onto the grave. They sit sedately, remember and leave,” he wrote about this ritual at the end of the 19th century. ethnographer V.S. Arefiev.

Upon returning from the cemetery, the peasants set tables at home, set out abundant dishes, poured wine into several glasses and covered them with pieces of bread. Then the window was opened, a towel was hung through the window sill onto the street - a “path” for the souls of deceased ancestors.

All relatives and invitees left the room and went out into the front hut or into the courtyard, after praying and bowing in the front corner in front of the icon. Old-timers believed that the souls of deceased ancestors feasted at this time and communicated at the laid table. It was believed that richly laid tables brought them joy and showed the degree of respect and veneration of their ancestors by the living

After some time had passed, everyone returned to the tables and began the funeral dinner with prayer.

Not only on “Parents' Easter,” but also every day, the old-timer turned to his ancestors for advice, mentally talked with them about matters and problems; in the minds of the ancestors remained part of this world.

Also see section:

Bogatyrsky feast
RUSSIAN KITCHEN
Traditional Russian dishes
Many of these dishes will become a true decoration of any festive banquet table.
Advice for kitchen guys (i.e. cooks)

Our ancestors did not eat soon,
It didn't take long to move around
Ladles, silver bowls
With boiling beer and wine.
They poured joy into my heart,
Foam hissed around the edges,
It is important that the teacups wore them
And they bowed low to the guests.
A.S. Pushkin

FROM THE HISTORY. Once upon a time, Russians ate leisurely, with breaks, for lunch:
- first roast(modern second),
- then ear(various liquid dishes, soups),
- and finally snacks(sweet desserts).
From the point of view of modern dietetics, this order of meals is optimal, with breaks between them of 10-15 minutes.
A leisurely meal with breaks between courses is shown those who want to lose weight .
At the turn of the 17th-18th centuries, nobles who came to Russia introduced the customs of European cuisine, and the order of dishes served for lunch changed to modern ones.
From the beginning of the 18th century, the Russian monarchy required more and more intense service from its subjects, and therefore it became inappropriate for service people and serf slaves to “corrode” for a long time at the table. The pace of the meal became continuous, without the previously traditional breaks between courses.

COLD DISHES AND SNACKS

EAR. SOUPS

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Presentation on the topic: Peoples of Siberia: culture, traditions, customs

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Marriage customs KALYM - the price for the bride, one of the types of compensation for the wife. Among the forest Yukaghirs and the Chukchi and other peoples of the extreme Northeast, initially there were no-kalom marriages. The size of the dowry and the procedure for its payment were determined during negotiations during matchmaking. Most often, bride price was paid in the form of deer, copper or iron cauldrons, fabrics, and animal skins. With the development of commodity-money relations, part of the dowry could be paid in money. The size of the bride price depended on the property status of the families of the bride and groom.

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Marriage customs Levirate is a marriage custom in which a widow was obliged or had the right to marry the brother of her deceased husband. It was common among most peoples of the North. The right to the wife of a deceased older brother belonged to the younger brother, and not vice versa. Sororate is a marriage custom according to which a widower is obliged to marry the younger sister or niece of his deceased wife.

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Dwellings Dwellings of peoples are classified based on different criteria: according to the materials of manufacture - wooden (from logs, boards, hewn posts, poles, chopped blocks, branches), bark (birch bark and from the bark of other trees - spruce, fir, larch), felt, from bones of sea animals, earthen, adobe, with wicker walls, and also covered with deer skins; in relation to the ground level - above-ground, underground (semi-dugouts and dugouts) and piles; according to the layout - quadrangular, round and polygonal; in shape - conical, gable, single-pitched, spherical, hemispherical, pyramidal and truncated pyramidal; by design - frame (made of vertical or inclined pillars, covered with skins, bark, felt).

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How the Evens kept track of time in the past. August - September MONTELSE (autumn) October - November BOLANI (late autumn) December - January TUGENI (winter) February - March NELKYSNEN (early spring) April - May NELKY (spring) June - NEGNI (early summer) July - DYUGANI (summer) BEGINNING OF THE YEAR September - oichiri unmy (literally: rising back of the hand). October - oychiri bilen (literally: rising wrist). November - oychiri echen (literally: rising elbow). December - oychiri mir (literally: rising shoulder). January - Tugeni Hee - the crown of winter (literally; the crown of the head).

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How in the past the Evens kept track of time. THEN THE COUNTING OF THE MONTHS WENT TO THE LEFT HAND AND WALKED ALONG IT IN DESCENDING ORDER: February - evri mir (literally: descending shoulder) March - evri echen (literally: descending elbow) April - evri bilen (literally: descending wrist) May - evri unma (literally: descending back of the hand) June - evri chon (literally: descending fist) July - dugani heen (literally: top of summer) August - oychiri chor (literally: rising fist)

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Cult of Fire Fire, the main family shrine, was widely used in family rituals. They tried to constantly maintain the home. During migrations, the Evenks transported him in a bowler hat. The rules for handling fire were passed down from generation to generation. The fire of the hearth was protected from desecration, it was forbidden to throw garbage or pine cones into it (“so as not to cover my grandmother’s eyes with tar” - Evenks), to touch the fire with anything sharp, or to pour water into it. The veneration of fire also extended to objects that had long-term contact with it.

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Even folk signs 1. You cannot walk on fire. 2. The fire of the fire cannot be stabbed or cut with sharp objects. If you do not observe and contradict these signs, then the fire will lose the power of its spirit. 3. You cannot throw away your old clothes and things and leave them on the ground, but you must destroy things by burning them. If you do not follow these rules, then a person will always hear the crying of his things and clothes. 4. If you take eggs from partridges, geese and ducks from a nest, be sure to leave two or three eggs in the nest. 5. The remains of the spoils should not be scattered in the place where you walk and live. 6. In the family, you should not swear and argue often, because the fire of your hearth may be offended and you will be unhappy.

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Even folk signs 7. Your bad deed in life is the biggest sin. This act may affect the fate of your children. 8. Don’t talk too much out loud, otherwise your tongue will develop a callus. 9. Don’t laugh without any reason, otherwise you will cry in the evening. 10. Look at yourself first and then judge others. 11. Wherever you live, wherever you are, you cannot speak badly about the climate, since the land on which you live may become angry. 12. After cutting your hair and nails, do not throw them anywhere, otherwise after death you will wander around in the hope of finding them. 13. You cannot be angry and hate people without a reason. This is considered a sin in old age and can result in your loneliness.

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Clothing The clothing of the peoples of the North is adapted to local climatic conditions and lifestyle. For its manufacture, local materials were used: skins of deer, seals, wild animals, dogs, birds (loons, swans, ducks), fish skins, and among the Yakuts also skins of cows and horses. Rovduga, a suede made from deer or elk skins, was widely used. They insulated their clothes with the fur of squirrels, foxes, arctic foxes, hares, lynxes, the Yakuts used beavers, and the Shors used sheep fur. The skins of domestic and wild reindeer, hunted in the taiga and tundra, played an extremely important role. In winter they wore double-layer or single-layer clothing made from deer skins, less often dog skins, in the summer they wore worn-out winter fur coats, parkas, malitsas, as well as clothes made from rovduga and fabrics.

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This is a historical and geographical area within the Asian part of Russia, which was inhabited in the Stone Age. Siberia first mentioned in the "Secret History of the Mongols", which speaks of the "forest peoples", including the Shibir or Sibir people. Since the 16th century, Russian explorers have been flocking to Siberia, rapidly exploring the harsh, unexplored regions. The systematic scientific study of Siberia began in 1696 by a decree of Peter I, who ordered the son of Tobolsk boyar Semyon Remezov to compile a geographical atlas of Siberia.

In natural terms, and stands out. Eastern Siberia occupies the territory from the Yenisei to the ridges of the Pacific watershed. The climate of Siberia is mostly harsh, sharply continental. Temperatures in January can drop to -30°, -40°C.

Historically, the ethnic population of Siberia is mixed; the indigenous people call themselves Siberians. Life among the harsh nature has left its mark on the Siberians, “What frightens others in Siberia is not only familiar to us (native Siberians), but also necessary; we breathe easier if there is frost in winter, not drops; we feel peace, not fear in the untouched, wild; immeasurable expanses and mighty rivers have shaped our free, restive soul" - V. Rasputin. A distinctive feature of Siberians is their peacefulness, honesty, goodwill and hospitality. According to the law of the taiga, they are always ready to help; most Siberians, especially hunters and fishermen, in comparison with their European compatriots, have greater endurance and resistance to disease. Siberians also distinguished themselves in the historical battle of Moscow in the Great Patriotic War, showing examples of courage and heroism on the battlefields. Paul Carell in “The History of the German Defeat in the East” considers one of the reasons for the defeat of the Germans near Moscow to be the entry of Siberian divisions into the battle.

Siberian cuisine

For a long time, local Siberians fed on the gifts of the taiga and lake. The prepared dishes did not differ in variety, but were nutritious and practical. Hunters and fishermen know many exotic recipes for cooking over a fire, using hot stones and coals. Siberians smoked, dried and salted the meat and fish they caught, and made supplies for the winter from berries and mushrooms. The combination of fish, game and taiga seasonings distinguish the Siberian table from European cuisine. These differences are more pronounced when eating in Siberia on the shore of a lake, but some dishes can also be tried in a restaurant.

The local highlight of Lake Baikal is the lightly salted Baikal omul, the fame of its delicate taste is known far beyond the borders of Siberia. There are different ways to salt Baikal omul, gutted and ungutted, depending on the cooking recipe and the time that has passed since the day of salting, the taste of the fish changes greatly. Freshly salted Baikal omul is so tender that even those who usually avoid fish eat several tails of it at a time. Among gourmets it is valued as an ideal snack for chilled vodka. Many tourists try to take away Baikal omul as gifts for family and friends.

Siberian dumplings and Siberian-style meat are also widely known. In the old days, hunters Siberia When going to the taiga in winter, they took with them frozen dumplings in canvas bags, which they just had to throw into boiling water, and after they surfaced, a dish with large and fragrant dumplings was ready. In most restaurants you can order dumplings prepared according to a more complex recipe: in bone broth with liver, in pots covered with freshly baked flatbread. Fried dumplings are also very tasty.

A special feature of cooking meat in the Siberian and taiga style are taiga seasonings made from fern and wild garlic, which are rolled into the meat. The meat is served with oven-baked potatoes and frozen berries, usually lingonberries or cranberries. Hunters in Siberia, according to one of the recipes, cut wild meat into thin long pieces, sprinkle it with salt, mix it in a pot and string it on wooden splinters or branches. Sticks of meat are stuck around the coals of the fire and dried in the smoke. Meat prepared in this way can be stored for a long time in the summer. While moving, it is good to gnaw on slices of meat to maintain strength and restore the lack of salts in the body.

The home cooking of Siberians is very different from restaurant menus. As a rule, a lot of pickles are prepared at home for the winter. If you visit Siberians, the table will definitely have tomatoes in their own juice, cucumbers, cabbage, salted milk mushrooms and saffron milk caps, pickled boletus, homemade zucchini caviar, and taiga berry jam. Sauerkraut is sometimes prepared together with lingonberries or cranberries. Less commonly you can find a salad made from fern and wild garlic.

And, of course, a table is unthinkable without homemade pies. They can be of the most intricate shapes and with various fillings: with lingonberries, fish, wild garlic, rice, mushrooms and eggs.

Traditionally, lingonberry drink or fruit drink is placed on the table. Add frozen sea buckthorn or lingonberries to tea.

Buryat food, as a rule, is easy to prepare and nutritious; meat and dairy dishes predominate. Popular in, especially widespread in, Buryat poses. To prepare them, minced minced meat is made from pork, lamb, and beef. The minced meat is rolled into the dough so that there is a hole at the top for steam. The poses are quickly prepared by steaming boiling fat in a covered pan. Rarely, you can still find in villages tarasun - an alcoholic tonic drink made from milk, which has a specific smell, and salamat - a dairy product prepared from high-quality sour cream over a fire with the addition of salt, flour and cold water when boiling.

Authentic Baikal fish soup with smoke, grilled fish, and fresh wild garlic salad can only be truly appreciated by a taiga fire during a trip to Lake Baikal. An exotic Baikal-style dinner includes a weak firelight, several old newspapers on which a simple table is set, a blackened pot with boiled potatoes, a bunch of wild garlic and lots and lots of lightly salted omul.

And such exotic things as stroganina (raw frozen roe deer meat) or raskolok (raw frozen Baikal fish), which are eaten raw with spices, can only be tasted in winter on the lake Baikal while hunting or fishing. You should avoid trying bear meat, even heat-treated, unless it has been veterinary examined.

The local population values ​​salted omul most of all. In the summer, they prefer omul on rods.

Siberian bath

From the Tale of Bygone Years, 12th century - “I saw an amazing thing in the Slavic land on my way here. I saw wooden bathhouses, and they would burn them red hot, and they would undress, and they would be naked, and they would douse themselves with leather kvass, and they would lift up young rods on themselves, and They beat themselves, and they finish themselves off so much that they barely come out alive, and they douse themselves with cold water, and that’s the only way they will come to life. And they do this every day, not tormented by anyone, but they torture themselves, and then they perform ablution for themselves, and not torture ".

The Baikal bathhouse on the shore of Lake Baikal is a must-have exotic attribute for those who come to Lake Baikal. Many are tempted by the opportunity to plunge into the clear, icy water of Lake Baikal, running straight out of the steam room. Where else in the world do baths have such a huge natural pool! Particularly strong impressions remain from swimming after a steam room on Lake Baikal in an ice hole in winter. Most of the existing bathhouses on the coast of Lake Baikal are heated in white, but in the old days many of them were heated in black, i.e. the smoke remained inside the bathhouse, saturating the air with heat and smell.

If you go to a bathhouse with Siberians, get ready for intense heat, a steam room with a birch broom and mandatory periodic swimming in the icy water of Lake Baikal or in the snow.

Siberian customs

The customs and traditions of Siberians are rooted in the cultural heritage of ancient peoples who in the past inhabited the territory of modern Lake Baikal. Some of the customs are, in fact, echoes of ancient shamanic and Buddhist rituals, the religious content and purpose of which were lost over time, but certain ritual actions are observed and still exist among the local population.

Many beliefs and prohibitions have common roots of Central Asian origin, and therefore are the same among the Mongols and Buryats. These include the developed cult of obo, the cult of mountains, and the worship of the Eternal Blue Sky (Huhe Munhe Tengri). Heaven, according to the Mongols, sees all the actions and thoughts of a person who can never hide from heavenly justice: that is why the Mongols, feeling right, exclaimed: “Heaven, you be the judge.” You must stop near the obo and respectfully present gifts to the spirits. If you don’t stop at the obo and don’t make a sacrifice, there will be no luck. According to Buryat belief, every mountain and valley has its own spirit. A person without spirits is nothing. It is necessary to appease the spirits that are everywhere so that they do not harm and provide assistance. The Buryats have a custom of “sprinkling” the spirits of the area. As a rule, before drinking alcohol, drop a little drop of alcohol onto the table from a glass or with one finger, usually the ring finger, lightly touch the alcohol and splash upwards. Accept that you will have to stop and “splash” alcohol in the most unexpected places during your trip.

Among the main traditions is the sacred veneration of nature; one must not harm nature, catch or kill young birds, cut down young trees near springs, or unnecessarily tear up plants and flowers. You cannot throw garbage or spit into the sacred waters of the lake. Baikal, leave behind traces of presence, for example, overturned turf, garbage, fire. Near the Arshan water source you cannot wash dirty clothes, you cannot break them, dig them up, touch the serge - hitching post, or light a fire nearby. One should not desecrate a sacred place with bad actions, thoughts or words, one should not shout loudly or get very drunk.

Particular respect must be shown to elders; one must not offend the elderly. Offending elders is the same sin as depriving a living creature of life.

The ancient customs of the Siberians have preserved their respectful attitude towards the fire of their hearth. Fire is credited with a magical cleansing effect; cleansing by fire was considered a necessary ritual so that guests would not create or bring any evil. There is a known case from the history of Siberia when the Mongols mercilessly executed Russian ambassadors simply for refusing to pass between two fires in front of the khan’s headquarters; purification by fire is still widely used today in Siberian shamanic practices. You must not thrust a knife into the fire, or touch the fire in any way with a knife or sharp object, or remove meat from the cauldron with a knife. It is considered a great sin to splash milk into the fire of the hearth; you cannot throw garbage or rags into the fire of the hearth. It is forbidden to give fire from the hearth to another house or yurt.

There are certain rules when visiting Buryat yurts. When entering, you cannot step on the threshold of the yurt - this is considered impolite; in the old days, a guest who deliberately stepped on the threshold was considered an enemy, announcing his evil intentions to the owner. Weapons and luggage, as a sign of your good intentions, must be left outside; you cannot enter the yurt with any burden; it is believed that the person who did this has the bad inclinations of a thief, a robber. The northern half of the yurt is more honorable; guests are received here; you cannot sit down without permission, without an invitation, on the northern, honorable side. The eastern half of the yurt (usually to the right of the door, the entrance of the yurt is always facing south) is female, the western half (usually to the left of the door) is male, this division continues to this day.

The local population is hospitable and always treats its guests when they come to the house, it is customary to take off their shoes at the doorstep. Usually a table is set for guests with hot dishes, a variety of pickles and snacks, and vodka will be present on the table. During a feast, guests do not have the right to change their places, you cannot leave without trying the hosts' treats. When bringing tea to the guest, the hostess gives the bowl with both hands as a sign of respect, the guest must also accept it with both hands - by this he shows respect for the house. In Mongolia, there is a custom of using the right hand; during the greeting ceremony, the bowl is passed only with the right hand. And naturally, you need to accept any offering with your right hand or both hands.

To emphasize special respect, as a sign of greeting, the guest is presented with two hands folded with palms, as in a Buddhist bow; shaking hands in this case is also done with both hands simultaneously.

When visiting Buddhist datsans, you need to move clockwise inside the temple and before visiting, walk around the temple area in the direction of the sun, rotating all the prayer wheels. You cannot go into the center of the temple during services and take photographs without permission. Inside the temple, you should avoid moving and fussy activities, talk loudly, and you should not enter the temple in shorts.

At tailagans, or shamanic rituals, one should not try to touch shamanic clothing, a tambourine, and especially not to put on any of the shamanic attributes on oneself in order to take a photo. Even a shaman will rarely put on something belonging to someone else’s shaman, and if he does so, it is only after an appropriate cleansing ritual. There is a belief that certain objects, especially those associated with magic, carry a certain amount of power. It is strictly forbidden for an ordinary person to say out loud shamanic prayers - durdalga - for the sake of entertainment.

And Ulan-Ude organizes various tours around Siberia and Lake Baikal.