Traditions and customs of the indigenous peoples of Siberia. The peoples of Siberia culture traditions customs carried out by the brewing industry

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Rituals of the peoples of Siberia

1. Shokhmoylar ritual

rite Central Asian ritual marriage agriculture

One of the most important agricultural rituals is the ritual known as “shohmoylar” and associated with the beginning of plowing, when bulls harnessed to an omach (local plow) are brought to the fields. It is celebrated especially solemnly and cheerfully. Usually this day was appointed by the oldest and most experienced farmer (aksakal). According to the ideas of farmers, the shohmoylar ritual had to be performed only on Mondays, Wednesdays or Fridays, because these days are considered happy, bringing good luck. Mostly, bulls harnessed to the omach were taken to the fields at the beginning of Nowruz, but sometimes, if the soil was ready for plowing, depending on weather conditions, it was possible to take them out earlier, before Nowruz.

The entire population prepared for the Shokhmoylar celebrations in wealthy villages: each family prepared various dishes, flatbreads, patir and katlama (puff fried bread), bugirsak and pussik (ritual dishes). Before the start of the holiday, the place where it was held was swept and put in order, covered with felts and carpets, and a tablecloth was prepared with various dishes. After the entire village gathered, the aksakal gave a holiday blessing, expressing good wishes. Then the collected food was distributed to fellow villagers. The celebrations ended with the “Kush Chikarish” ritual, when two oxen harnessed to a plow were brought out onto the field, vegetable oil was applied to their horns, and ritual flat cakes (kulcha) were distributed to the respected elders of the village and other participants in the ritual, specially baked from last year’s last handful of grain. A piece of kulcha was also given to harnessed oxen. Lubricating the horns of animals with oil was due to the fact that it supposedly protected them from bad misfortunes and evil spirits. For the same purpose, oxen were fumigated with the smoke of medicinal herbs (isirik).

The first furrow was carried out by one of the most revered elders of the village, who had many children and grandchildren. To the best of his ability, he drove the harnessed horse across the field one, three or five times, i.e. an odd number of times, then, as a start, he took a handful of grain from last year’s harvest and scattered it across the arable field. So, having made the first furrow, the farmers return home and continue to feast. On the eve of the “Shohmoylar” celebration, before the start of plowing, rich farms held a feast (ziyofat) for relatives and friends with the participation of the clergy, where, in addition to refreshments, they read the peasant charter (risola) and other books, mainly of a religious nature.

2. Rite (ritual) of calling rain

One of the most important rituals associated with agriculture and cattle breeding and dating back to ancient times is the ritual of calling rain. As is known, the population of rain-fed lands and pastoral areas always needs rainwater from the onset of spring until the beginning of summer. The Uzbeks and other Central Asian peoples irrigated their lands with rainwater, and therefore sowed it with rain-fed seeds (lalmi or kairaki). When the year has little rain, agriculture is in danger. Therefore, in the spring, the local population annually held rituals to call for rain (sust Khotin, Chala Khotin).

This ritual was carried out on a certain day. However, according to the superstitious beliefs of farmers, this day had to coincide with the lucky day of the week. The first stage of the ritual began with organizational activities, for which capable organizers were selected from among ordinary officials or energetic community members who prepared everything necessary for the ritual. So, for example, among the Lokai Uzbeks, specifically for the ritual celebration, it was necessary to prepare one pumpkin for water, two reed tubes, two turtles, one donkey and a bag (khurjun) for collecting alms. The most important element - in the middle of the garden, a wooden effigy of an old woman dressed in a woman's dress was displayed. It should be noted, however, that the “sust hotin” ritual had specific features in each area based on the nature of the participants, their gender and age, and some other elements.

The ritual of calling rain was most widespread in Jizzakh, Surkhandarya and Kashkadarya, where there were many rain-fed lands. According to the folk scenario, on the day of the ritual, at the scheduled time, ten to fifteen women put an old woman’s dress on a specially prepared effigy, one of the women took it in her hands and, leading the rest of the women, walked around all the courtyards of the village or mahalla, singing the couplets “Sust Khotin”. The owner of each house happily greeted the participants in the procession, doused the scarecrow with water and, if possible, distributed gifts. The ritual song expressed the wish for a good grain harvest, joy for the owners of the house, abundance and a happy life for the people, and most importantly, they asked “Sust Khotin” to bestow the earth with abundant rain. It says:

May it be a fruitful year, Sust Khotin,

The farmer's house will be filled with grain, Sust Khotin,

Give them more rain, Sust Khotin,

Ruin goes to bad people, Sust Khotin,

Feed the people to their full, Sust Khotin!

According to ethnographic data, until the middle of the last century, the “Sust Khotin” ritual was carried out every spring, sometimes even two or three times a year. In the village of Kallik, Shurchinsky district and villages in its district, among the Uzbek Lokais of Southern Tajikistan, this ritual was performed mainly by men. For the procession, instead of a scarecrow, one of the men was dressed in women's clothing.

The Lokai procession involved 15-20 people, of whom two scantily clad men were put on a donkey backwards, and between them two turtles tied by the paws were hung. One of these men held a pumpkin for water, the other held reed tubes, which, when the pumpkin rotated, made a sound that supposedly came from exhausted turtles. The rest of the participants, walking behind the donkey, sang “Sust Khotin” and walked around the courtyards of the village. The owners poured water on the donkey riders and then presented them with gifts. The gifts mainly consisted of cakes, grains and sweets. Sometimes they even gave livestock - a cow or a horse, as well as money - depending on the wealth of the owner.

In the Karakul and Alat districts of the Bukhara region, the ritual of calling rain, depending on the conditions of a particular area, had a unique character (chala khotin). And here its participants walked around the courtyards of the village or mahalla with a wooden effigy in their hands and collected alms. Following the procession, five or six guys carried a scarecrow, asking the Almighty (tangri) to give rain and singing the song “Chala Khotin”:

Loves Chala Khotin,

Respects Chala Khotin,

I am my mother's firstborn, because

I ask for rain.

If God willing, let it rain with all its might.

Loves Chala Khotin,

Respects Chala Khotin.

After the completion of the ritual procession, all the collected gifts are treated to fellow villagers or residents of the mahalla. Usually the treat is organized at the makhalla guzar or in the lap of nature.

According to archaeologists and ethnographers, from ancient times, many peoples, including the ancestors of the Uzbeks, had a custom of symbolically depicting gods or saints in the form of sculptures, dolls or stuffed animals, which were worshiped and dedicated to various ceremonies. The rite of calling rain “Sust Khotin” ended with the symbolic image of a female image being burned or thrown into a well, which indicates the existence of a custom of sacrifice among our distant ancestors.

According to ethnographic data, it is well known that until recently living people were sacrificed in order to appease the Almighty. So, in the Khiva Khanate they followed this custom during floods or the overflow of the Amu Darya, and the Indians of Central America annually sacrificed young beautiful girls to the gods, who were prepared for this in advance. Subsequently, this barbaric custom was changed: instead of a person, they began to sacrifice an animal, as clearly evidenced by the legend about the son of Ibrahim (Abraham) - Ismail.

3. Ritual of summoning the wind

The ritual of calling the wind or stopping it has been known since the era of matriarchy. Until recently, the peoples of Siberia deified the wind, likening it to a stone man, and sacrificed large stones and rocks to appease it, cause or stop the wind. According to the beliefs of some peoples, the wind is created by a woman with miraculous power. The Uzbeks of the Fergana Valley were sure that the wind was born in a cave, the patron of which was a creature in the form of an old woman.

The Uzbeks of Southern Kazakhstan have preserved a ritual known as “Choi momo”. The famous ethnographer A. Divaev gave a brief account of this ritual at the beginning of the century. According to his description, in the summer, especially when grain crops ripen, a strong wind arises, which causes great damage to wheat, millet, barley and other grains. To prevent the loss of the harvest, several elderly women, having smeared their faces with soot, “ridden” the long pestle of the mortar like a horse, and taking in their hands a twig hung with colorful rags, neigh loudly, like a horse, and sing the song “Choy momo.” Residents of the village or mahallas presented gifts to the ceremony participants.

According to some authors, “Choy momo” is an old Turkic ceremony, and its name is a distorted form of the word “chal”, meaning wind. Apparently, the ritual was originally called “chal momo,” which in Uzbek should have sounded like “shamol momo.” A. Divaev also suggests that “choy momo” as a distorted name “chal”, meaning “old gray-haired man,” can be translated as “kari momo” (old woman), but he does not describe the ceremony itself.

Noteworthy is the description of the “Choi Momo” ritual by the famous folklorist B. Sarymsakov based on the material he collected from the Sairam Uzbeks from Southern Kazakhstan. Two old women, dressed in old clothes and smearing their faces with soot, walked ahead of the ceremony participants with a staff in their hand, singing the song “Choi Momo.” The old women were followed by five adult girls, covering their heads with a red shalcha (a small homespun rug) and singing a ceremonial song. Behind them were boys of seven or eight years old, who were dragging a donkey with a large khurjun on its back, a long rolling pin or pestle and a soft broom tied together. So the participants of the procession walked through the village, going around every house and singing the song “Choi Momo”.

Each owner of the house was obliged, based on his capabilities, to allocate a share of wheat, flour, eggs, bread or money. Participants in the ceremony, having walked around the entire village for one or two days, prepared chalpaks (thin flatbreads fried in oil) from the collected alms, twelve of which were dedicated to the patron of the wind - buried in the ground or placed in a sacred place. The girls covered themselves with a shawl to prevent the wind from getting stronger. Sometimes the collected alms were sold at the market and the proceeds were used to buy livestock, which they then sacrificed to the wind. Ritual shurpa was cooked from the donated meat, which was treated to fellow villagers, and the remains were taken to a sacred place in the village, sacrificing them to the wind so that it would not be angry.

The organization and conduct of this ceremony was usually entrusted to women. The representation of the patroness of the winds in the form of a woman testified not only to the honorable role of women, but also to the preservation of elements of matriarchy in this community. The participation of five adult girls covered in a red shawl in the ceremony genetically refers to primitive matriarchal rites. The number of girls participating (five), the use of five objects and other elements of this ancient rite are also of a primitive magical nature. To this day, such elements of the ritual as jumping over a broom and touching it are considered magical.

The same importance is attached to individual elements of the “Choi Momo” ritual. This is evidenced by the content of the ritual song sung during the ceremony. Smearing the face with soot is also associated with magic. It is noteworthy that the ritual song contains not only an appeal to the patroness of the wind with a prayer to stop the strong storm, because at the same time ears and haystacks scatter, which worries people, but also a threat to her: “I will stop your storm” (buronni tindiraman) or “I will break your share" (emishingni sindiraman). The song ends with a request to relatives (fellow villagers) to be generous in order to appease the raging wind.

Summoning the wind or calming it through ritual ceremonies is performed not only in the summer, when the harvest is ripe, but also in the fall, during sudden changes in weather, especially during the grain harvest.

4. Ritual of oblo baraka

Holidays and rituals associated with the summer season and of a social nature were usually held during the ripening period of the harvest, when it was abundant or early ripening, in preparation for winter, etc. Preparation for winter, associated with the preparation of food, caring for clothes and shoes, housing and household utensils, also found its expression in various rituals and holidays. One of these rituals is mowing the last ear of wheat. The Uzbeks called this custom “Oblo baraka” (Syr Darya, Galla-Aral region). In Khorezm, after mowing the last ear of corn, a piece of dry clay was placed on the khirman - this ritual is called “Baraka kesagi” (lump of abundance). It was carried out with the participation of workers who helped harvest wheat.

It is known that the wonderful ancient tradition of hashar (mutual assistance) is also of a public nature. Khashar, first of all, concerns relatives and friends, fellow residents and friends participating in community work - building a house, cleaning ditches and houses, digging and cleaning a well, harvesting, etc. In the life of farmers, harvesting is considered the most important and responsible event, and therefore, in order not to jinx the harvest, rituals associated with various superstitions are held. The Uzbeks, as already noted, before the start of the harvest not only attached importance to signs, but also made sacrifices.

The khashar was especially solemn and cheerful when cleaning or harvesting on communal or waqf lands. On these lands, all work, from plowing and cultivating the land to harvesting, was carried out free of charge using the hashar method. For example, in the Bukhara Emirate, 24.6% of the sown area was waqf, mainly grains were sown on them, and the fields were cultivated and harvested by hashar. In many village mahallas, the harvest was also carried out using the hashar method with the participation of residents and fellow villagers.

According to the ritual “Oblo baraka” (God’s abundance), carried out during the harvest with the participation of hasharchi, at the end of the work, a small piece of an unharvested field was left, where all participants in the harvest rushed. Each of them, having reached the end of the harvested field, said: “I’ve reached, I’ve reached, I’ve reached, oblo baraka” (etdim, etdim, etdim, oblo baraka) - and took the last mown ears of wheat home, leaving the grains until spring sowing.

When the sowing period began, part of the grain was ground, and cakes were baked from this flour, and the second half was left for new sowing. The bread (patir) baked in the tandoor was carried to the field and distributed to the plowmen who were preparing the land for sowing.

5. Ceremony of initiation of students into masters

One of the ancient rituals that has partially survived to this day and has a social meaning is the ceremony of initiating students into masters. This tradition is rooted mainly in craft production. In form and content it was almost the same in all branches of craft.

In accordance with this tradition, children aged 8-10, sometimes 6-7 years old, were apprenticed to a master in one specialty or another. The boy’s father, bringing the student to the master, said: “The meat is yours, the bones are ours,” which meant - I give him at the master’s full disposal so that he can be trained as a specialist, as long as he is healthy (i.e., the meat will grow, as long as there are bones) are intact, which means that the student can be severely punished - beaten and scolded). When the training was completed, the student (shogird) was obliged to receive the blessing of his master, for which a special initiation ceremony (fotiha ziyofati) was held with the participation of the aksakal and masters.

The ceremony took place in the student's house, and if he was homeless or an orphan, in the master's house at the latter's expense. During the ritual, the guild regulations (risola) and religious books were read, for which a mullah and sometimes musicians were invited. After the ritual meal, the master, at the suggestion of the head of the workshop (kalantar), gave a blessing with good parting words.

At the end of the ceremony, the master presented his student with the tools necessary for work, and the student, in turn, as a sign of gratitude, presented the master and kalantar with a chapan and other gifts. Shogird, addressing his master at the end of the ceremony, said the following: “Usto, you taught me, fed me, clothed me, gave me money, bread and salt, are you satisfied with me?” The mentor answered him: “I was demanding, punished and scolded when you were guilty, but you were not offended?” When both expressed their satisfaction, the ritual ended and the participants dispersed.

6. Yasa-Yusun ritual

Also worthy of attention is the ancient ritual carried out among the pastoral population of mainly Southern Uzbekistan, known as “Yasa-Yusun”.

This ritual, according to historians, until the 17th century. was also known as the ritual of eating kumys (?umishurlik marosimi). Subsequently, this drink was replaced by another - buza, made from millet and blackberries, the use of which was also accompanied by a certain ritual (“buzakhurlik”). Among the Uzbeks, the Yasa-Yusun ritual was also known under other names. So, in the Tashkent and Fergana valleys - “buzakhurlik”, in Bukhara, Samarkand, Turkestan and in the Sairam region - “kuna utirishlari”, etc.

“Buzakhurlik” parties were held with 30-40 people in special rooms - guest rooms ("sherda") - by joint efforts or alternately by each of the participants individually once a week. Traditional parties led by the chairman of the sherdabi or rais with his two deputies (chap va ung otali?lari) and the host of the guest house (eshik ogashi) were held according to strict custom. The party was served, in addition to the biy and his deputy (active organizers), by the executors of orders - yasauls, as well as the one who poured “buza soiy” - something like a toastmaster (kosagul).

Complete and unquestioning obedience to the orders of the toastmaster and all the rules of the sherd was mandatory: when serving buza, you must take a certain pose and drink the served cup to the end, but not to the point of intoxication (i.e., do not be drunk), you cannot leave the party without the permission of the biy or eshik ogashi and etc. During the ritual, its participants sing songs dedicated to buza, praise the producers of the drink, make jokes and have fun. The main content of the "sherda" party consisted of conversations on various topics and other entertainment. Thus, in one of the popular songs performed at a party dedicated to buza, to the accompaniment of a tambourine (childirm), the following sounded:

The true father of buza is millet and blackberries.

In a drinking house you should have fun and smile at those

Who brought you to this establishment?

The more you drink buza, the more pleasure you get.

Would it be bad if God created everyone equal?!

Someone is given the throne and wealth,

Some people spend their entire lives in poverty.

If you give someone power and pleasure,

Will you go broke if you give us a gift?

As you can see, the song speaks not only about the pleasure of drinking buza, but also raises a social problem - the presence of rich and poor in society. Such songs were performed by a singer who held a glass of intoxicating drink in one hand and a tambourine in the other, to the accompaniment of which he sang. In the villages of Karnok and Sairam of Turkestan, during the ritual, such socially charged songs were performed, known as “kunalar”, “ha??onalar”, in some areas they were known as “the song of the Buzagars” (buzagarlar?ўshi?i). According to researchers, the ritual songs performed during the ceremony, both in content and style, were basically the same. Subsequently, when special drinking establishments began to appear in cities, the “buzakhurlik” ritual was completely forgotten among the Uzbeks and was preserved only in the memory of old people.

7. Navruz holiday

Since ancient times, the peoples of Western and Central Asia, including the Uzbeks, have very solemnly celebrated the holiday of Navruz (New Year). This holiday was associated with the agricultural calendar, according to which in the northern hemisphere the spring equinox fell on March 20-21, marking the awakening of nature, when all living things on earth, trees and plants, begin to come to life. The beginning of such a renewal coincided with the first day of the month of the solar calendar Shamsia (March 21), and therefore it was called Navruz (new day). The great thinker Beruni, who began this chronology from the first month of Farvardin, writes the following: “Navruz is the first day of the new year and in Persian it means this.”

In ancient times, according to the chronology of the Iranians, Navruz according to the zodiac sign corresponded to the spring equinox, when the Sun enters the constellation at the beginning of the month of Saraton. This happens from the first spring rains until the flowers open and green sprouts appear. Therefore, Navruz echoes the creation of the Universe and the beginning of earthly life. Beruni’s contemporaries, the great thinkers Mahmud Kashgari and Omar Khayyam, also left their notes about Navruz. Their works note not only the compliance of this holiday with the laws of nature, but also provide interesting information about the rites, signs and rituals associated with it. For example, according to Beruni, according to the instructions of the afsunlar (sorcerer), if on the first day of Navruz at dawn, before pronouncing the word, you consume three spoons of honey and light three pieces of wax, you can get rid of all diseases. Another sign: whoever eats a little sugar at dawn before prayer on Nowruz and smears himself with olive oil (zaytun yogi) will not be affected by any disease throughout the year. Speaking about this holiday, Beruni writes: “The Iranians had a custom of giving each other sugar on the days of Nowruz, because, according to the stories of the priest of Baghdad Azarbad, sugar cane appears in the country of Jamshid on the days of Nowruz.”

Mahmud of Kashgar also associated Navruz with “muchal” - after the name of animals, therefore called the twelve-year animal cycle of chronology. He gives examples of folk songs dedicated to spring and performed during the celebration of Nowruz. In one of the legends cited by him and associated with Navruz, the names of animals are mentioned in accordance with the twelve-year cycle (muchal). The scientist writes: “The Turks suggest that each year of the animal cycle has its own hidden meaning. For example, in their opinion, if a year is called the year of the cow, then this year there will be many wars because cows butt among themselves. If it is the year of the chicken, there will be an abundance of food, but there will also be more worries, because the chicken eats grain and, in order to get it, constantly pecks everywhere. It will be rainy in the year of the crocodile, because it lives in water. If the year of the pig comes, it will be cold, a lot of snow, turmoil and intrigue... Non-nomadic people and non-Turks divide the year into four seasons, each with its own name. Every three months are named separately. For example, the first three months after the onset of the new year were called the early spring month, because at this time the full moon occurs. The beginning of Nowruz was considered the early season of the year, and subsequent seasons were determined in accordance with the laws of nature and the state of the constellations (moon and sun).”

In ancient Central Asia and Iran, Navruz was celebrated not only as a national holiday, but also as a state holiday. According to historical data, people were divided into castes (social groups), and since Navruz lasted a whole month, each group was allocated five days, i.e. individual social strata celebrated Navruz on the days allotted to them. For example, in ancient Iran first five days were royal second five-day period was reserved for aristocrats third- servants of kings and high clergy. The king opened the holiday on the first five-day period, calling on his subjects to respect each other and be kind. Second day the king dedicated to receiving farmers and representatives of the aristocracy, in third day received horsemen and high clergy (mobed), fourth- their children, descendants and ordinary subjects. Sixth day was considered the main holiday and was called “Big Navruz”. During the reign of the Sasanians, the Khorezmians and Sogdians declared other national holidays along with Navruz as state holidays.

In the works of Beruni, Omar Khayyam’s “Navruzname” and other sources, there is information that during the celebration of Navruz they watered the ground, presented loved ones with gifts, rode on swings, distributed sweets (kangdolat), determined the seven-year harvest, performed ritual ablutions and bathing, and other rituals. On the day of Nowruz, bread made from flour of various grains - wheat, barley, millet, corn, peas, lentils, rice, sesame or beans - was placed on the royal tablecloth (dastarkhan). In the middle of the tablecloth they also placed shoots of seven types of trees (willow, olive, quince, pomegranate, etc.), seven white bowls and white dirhams or new dinars. A special dish was prepared for the king from white sugar and coconut with the addition of fresh milk and persimmons. And currently in Iran, during the celebration of Nowruz, seven dishes are placed on the tablecloth, the names of which begin with an Arabic letter. "With" (haftin). The table should also have had sour and fresh milk, dried suzma (kurt) in the form of balls and colored eggs, various fruits, nuts, pistachios, etc. The main holiday dish that has survived to this day is the ritual sumalak.

It is interesting to note that in ancient times, on the eve of Nowruz, according to legend, a cold snap occurred in the region (ozhiz kampir kunlari - days of the decrepit old woman). Among the peoples of Central Asia, including the Uzbeks, Guzha (dzhugara stew) was considered a New Year's ritual dish, in addition to sumalak. On holidays, trade revived in large bazaars; various dishes were prepared seasoned with mint, fresh onions, alfalfa sprouts and other herbs, as well as oriental sweets. The preparation of sumalak as a symbol of daily bread (rizk-ruz) and abundance required great skill. It was accompanied by songs, dances and other entertainment and games that lasted almost a day. Usually, the raw materials for preparing sumalak were collected all over the world. When the dish was ready, the contents of the common cauldron were distributed among all members of the community.

During the celebration of Navruz, there were mass celebrations (sayil), folk games, competitions, performances by singers and dancers, clowns (maskharaboz) and tightrope walkers. Based on the information of Omar Khayyam, it should be especially noted that for more than twenty-six centuries since Navruz appeared, during this holiday wars and mutual intrigues ceased, peace treaties were concluded, even funerals were postponed to other days. This holiday was so cheerful and joyful that on these days not only were magnificent celebrations held, but they also showed warmth and attention to the sick, visited relatives and friends, worshiped the graves of relatives and loved ones, expressing mutual trust and sympathy, and especially revered universal human values.

It is also worthy of attention that Navruz has many similarities with other spring holidays. According to ethnographers, the spring tulip festivals celebrated in Parkent, Samarkand and Khorezm (Lola Sayli, Sayli Gulsurkh, Kizil Gul) are in many ways reminiscent of Navruz Bayram. Such holidays were celebrated in Uzbekistan in the month of March (khamal), and the celebration lasted for a whole month. During this celebration (sayli), a large bazaar was opened, which moved from one village to another. Clowns (maskharaboz), tightrope walkers, singers, wrestlers performed on the market square, mutton, camel, cock and quail fights and other entertainment took place. Sometimes such competitions turned into fist fights, reminiscent of ancient phratrial confrontations between clan groups, elements of which have survived to this day. It is interesting to note that the participants in these entertainments, men and women, were all equal and free, at evening feasts they drank wine (musallas), walked, danced and had fun to the fullest. According to some researchers, the flower festivals (gul sayllari) lasted for a whole month, connecting with the main spring holiday of Navruz.

Uzbeks still have a custom associated with this great spring holiday: newborns are given the name Navruz. In the wonderful work of the Uzbek classic Lutfiy “Guli Navruz”, the son of Shah Farrukh, born on the days of the Navruz holiday, was named after him. And now in Samarkand, Surkhandarya, Kashkadarya, Bukhara regions, those born on the day of Navruz (mostly boys) are given this name, and in the Fergana region it is also assigned to girls.

It is interesting to note that until the recent past, depending on natural and climatic conditions, based on the traditional way of life and work experience, the local population distinguished between the seasonal folk calendars of farmers and shepherds. The dekhkan year began on March 21, when the earth softened and the plants came to life, and for the shepherds the beginning of the year was on March 16, when green sprouts appeared. From this time on, farmers begin active cultivation of the land, and pastoralists (chorvador) prepare to drive livestock to summer pastures.

Nowruz is an agricultural holiday, and preparations for it took place in parallel with events related to agriculture. To this day, with the beginning of Navruz, farmers begin field work: they plant trees and flowers in gardens and vegetable gardens, prepare fields for sowing, put agricultural technology and material resources in order, and prepare local fertilizers. In Uzbekistan, the most labor-intensive of all agricultural work carried out in early spring was the cleaning of canals and drainages filled with silt. Special attention was paid to this work, since it required significant effort: individual farms could not cope with it alone, and therefore it was carried out collectively, by the entire village or region, using the folk method of hashar. At this time, in Surkhandarya, Kashkadarya and the Zarafshan Valley, the rite of “loy tutish” (supply of clay) was carried out, and in Khorezm - “kazuv marosimi” (cleaning of irrigation ditches). Thus, the “loy tutish” ritual consisted of the following: if someone passed by those engaged in cleaning, a piece of clay was given to him or a shovel was handed to him. This person had to take the clay to the site, clean a certain area of the irrigation ditch or treat the diggers (“ziyofat berish”), etc. According to custom, if this person was a singer (bakhshi), he was obliged to perform in front of the hasharchi with his repertoire, if a wrestler, he was obliged to show his strength in wrestling, and if a blacksmith, he was obliged to make the appropriate instruments or repair them. If a passer-by was not able to fulfill these requirements, then he was assigned a certain section of the ditch, which he was obliged to clean and only after that could he be free. Khashar (kumak) was of a public nature, and therefore, according to natural law, it was not only mandatory, but also accompanied by various customs and rituals, and formed an important element of festive events.

The rituals of the Uzbek people have evolved over centuries as a result of a complex process of merging the cultural skills and traditions of all tribes and nationalities that participated in the ethnogenesis of the Uzbeks. They are very original, bright and diverse, going back to patriarchal tribal relations. A large number of rituals accompany family life and are associated with the birth and raising of a child, weddings, and funerals. A special role is played by rituals associated with the birth and upbringing of children (beshik-tuyi, khatna-kilish), and marriage. They often represent an interweaving of Islamic rituals with more ancient forms associated with magical practice. With the adoption of Islam, many family and everyday customs underwent its influence, and religious Muslim rituals entered the life of Uzbeks. Friday is considered a holiday, which is celebrated in the cathedral mosque with general namaz (prayer). Patriarchal customs continued to exist in public life, which was concentrated in the mosque, teahouse, and bazaar and in which exclusively the male population took part.

8. Beshik-tuyi ("wooden cradle")

Beshik-tuyi("woodencradle")- a ritual celebration associated with the first placement of a baby in a cradle. This is one of the most ancient and widespread rituals in Uzbekistan. Typically, such an event is held on the 7th, 9th, 11th day of the baby’s birth. In different areas, the ritual has its own characteristics and depends on the level of wealth in the family: rich families usually celebrate this event widely, and families with little income celebrate it modestly. The beshik (“cradle”) and the necessary supplies for the baby are provided by the relatives of the baby’s mother. Flatbreads, sweets and toys are wrapped in a dastarkhan (tablecloth). Gifts are prepared for the baby's parents and grandparents.

A richly decorated beshik, dastarkhans, gifts are loaded into a vehicle and, together with the guests, they go to the parents’ house to the sounds of surnay, karnay and tambourine. According to tradition, the brought beshik is first taken by the baby’s grandfather on his right shoulder, and then passed on to his son’s right shoulder, who then takes it to the baby’s mother.

In the past, to ensure that all the thoughts of guests were pure and good, their faces were coated with white flour. Guests are invited to the living room to a richly decorated dastarkhan (table). While the guests are eating, listening to musicians and having fun, in the next room, in the presence of old women, a ceremony is being held to swaddle the child and put him in the beshik. At the end of the ceremony, guests come to the baby to look at him, present him with gifts and sprinkle parvarda or sugar on the beshik. At this point the ceremony ends and the guests go home.

9. Khatna-kilish

Khatna-kilish- another ancient Uzbek rite, sanctified by Islam (Sunnat Tuyi). This ritual is performed for boys at 3, 5, 7, 9 years old, and in rare cases at 11-12 years old. The conduct of the Sunnat is controlled by the public. From the moment the boy is born, parents begin preparations for sunnat-tuyah, gradually acquiring everything they need. Several months before the ritual, which is often also called “wedding” (“tui”), immediate preparations for it begin. Relatives and neighbors help sew blankets and prepare wedding gifts. All this is entrusted to women with many children. Before the wedding, the Koran is read in the presence of elders from the mahalla, an imam from the mosque and relatives. The table is set, after which suras from the Koran are read, and the elders bless the boy. After this, the big “wedding” begins. Just before the “wedding”, gifts are given to the boy in the presence of neighbors, elders, and relatives. In the past, it was customary to give a foal, on which the boy was seated as a sign that from now on he was a man, a warrior. Everyone congratulates the boy and showers him with money and sweets, then all this continues on the women's side. On the same day, “tahurar” is carried out among women - placing blankets and pillows on the chest, which is usually done by a woman with many children. A rich meal, including pilaf, completes the ritual action. According to tradition, after pilaf in the evening, a large fire is lit in the yard, and around the fire people dance and play various games. The next day the celebration continues.

10. Fatiha-tuy

The wedding takes place with the permission and blessing of the parents and is carried out in several stages. When the son reaches adulthood, the parents begin to look for a suitable girl for him. Close relatives, neighbors, and friends are included in this process. Having found a girl, the maternal or paternal aunts come to the girl’s house under some pretext to look at her, get to know the parents and the home environment of the potential bride. After this, neighbors and acquaintances ask about the chosen girl’s family. In case of positive reviews, matchmakers are sent. One of the main procedures for matchmaking is "fatiha-tuy"(engagementorengagement). The matchmakers set the engagement day. On this day, famous old people in the area, the chairman of the mahalla, and girls gather in the girl’s house. After the intermediaries outline the goals of their coming, the ritual of “non sindirish” (literally “breaking a cake”) begins. From this moment on, the newlyweds are considered engaged. "Fatiha-tuy" ends with the appointment of the day of marriage and wedding. Each of the intermediaries is given a dastarkhan with two flatbreads and sweets, and gifts are also given from the girl to the groom and his parents. Upon the return of the intermediaries to the groom’s house, trays with gifts are taken from their hands and the ceremony of “sarpo kurar” (examination of gifts) begins. Dastarkhan is usually performed by a woman with many children. All those gathered are treated to cookies and sweets brought from the bride’s house. This ceremony completes the betrothal ritual. From the moment of “fatiha tui” until the wedding itself, the parents of the newlyweds resolve dowry issues and organizational issues related to the wedding celebration. A few days before the wedding, the girl had a ritual “kiz oshi” (hen party), to which the girl invites her relatives and friends.

11. Wedding ceremony

Weddingritual traditionally extremely important in the life of Uzbeks and is celebrated especially solemnly. Although there are common features, it has its own characteristics in various areas. The main point of the wedding ritual cycle is the transition of the bride from her parents' house to the groom's house. On the wedding day, a wedding pilaf is arranged in the girl’s house, which is prepared in the groom’s house and sent to the bride. The same pilaf is arranged in the groom’s house. On the wedding day, the imam of the mosque reads the “Khutbai Nikoh” (marriage prayer) to the newlyweds, after which the newlyweds are declared husband and wife before God. The imam explains to the young people the rights and responsibilities of husband and wife. On the wedding day, the bride puts sarpo (clothes and shoes donated for the wedding) on the groom, after which the groom and his friends go to the bride’s parents to greet them. After returning, the bride and groom arrive with friends. Before going to the groom's house, the bride undergoes a farewell ceremony with her parents. She is accompanied by close friends. They sing songs (“Ulanlar” and “Yor-yor”). The wedding begins with the meeting of the bride at the groom's house. At the end of the wedding, the groom accompanies the bride to the door of the room reserved for the newlyweds. In the room, the bride is met by a "yanga" (usually a woman close to the bride), the bride changes clothes and prepares to meet the groom, behind a curtain ("gushanga"). After some time, the groom, accompanied by his friends, appears at the entrance to the room and, accompanied by a “yangi,” goes to the curtain, where the bride is waiting for him. To enter the bride, he must symbolically buy her from the “yanga”, for which a bargaining is organized. After this, the bride and groom are left alone for the night. Early in the morning the ceremony of “Kelin salomi” (greeting the bride) begins. At the beginning of the ceremony, the groom's parents, all close relatives, friends of the groom and closest neighbors gather in the courtyard. Everyone takes turns approaching the bride with wishes, gifts and blessings. The bride must greet everyone by bowing low to the waist. This is how the holiday ends and family life begins.

12. Morning pilaf

Ritual morningpilaf It is carried out during a wedding (“sunnat-tuyi” or marriage) and at funerals (after 20 days and a year from the date of death). Wedding organizers set the day and time for the morning pilaf, having previously agreed with the community of the mahalla or neighborhood committee. On this day, invitations are sent to relatives, neighbors and acquaintances. In the evening, the “sabzi tugrar” ritual is carried out - chopping carrots, which is usually attended by neighbors and close relatives. After the end of “sabzi tugrar” all participants are invited to the table. Usually, artists are also invited to “sabzi tugrar”. At the table during the meal, the elders distribute responsibilities among those present. Morning pilaf should be ready by the time the morning prayer ends - “bomdod namozi”, because the first guests should be its participants. By the time the morning prayer ends, the sounds of karnaya, surnaya and tambourine notify that the morning pilaf has begun. Guests are seated at tables, and after making a fotiha (wish), cakes and tea are served. Only after this is pilaf served in lyagans (large dishes) - one for two. After the meal, the lyagans are removed, the guests again perform fotiha and, having expressed gratitude to the host, leave. After they leave, the tables are quickly put in order to receive new guests. Morning pilaf usually lasts no more than one and a half to two hours. All this time, guest artists perform songs. After the end of the morning pilaf, the guests of honor are presented with gifts - usually chapans (national men's robes). Funeral pilaf differs from festive pilaf in that the guests, sitting at the tables, read suras from the Koran and remember the deceased. The meal also ends with the reading of surahs from the Koran. During the funeral pilaf, artists are not invited, and the tables are set more modestly than during the festive pilaf. It should be noted that the festive pilaf and funeral pilaf are served only by men.

13. Customs and rituals. Kalym. Karakalpakstan

In the north of the Kyzylkum desert, in Karakalpakstan, lives an ancient, courageous, beautiful and proud people - the Kipchaks. And, although they are called Karakalpaks, they have preserved the traditions of their people, dating back to distant prehistoric times. One of these traditions is bride price.

Kalym is a word of Turkic origin. An ancient pre-wedding custom. Kalym was common among many tribes and peoples of the world. Over the course of several centuries, this ritual has changed a lot, taking on a completely different meaning, different from the original one.

Until recently, it was believed that bride price was a ransom paid by the groom’s relatives for the bride and was compensation to her family for the loss of a female worker and the property that she brought to her husband’s family.

But this is only a superficial opinion. In fact, the ritual of bride price has a deep meaning and its roots go back to the distant past. Contemporaries interpret it as a relic of the past that poses a public danger. In its own way, this is a very smart and kind ritual.

It begins with the fact that, according to tradition, the horseman must first steal the bride. And so that the horseman does not confuse his beloved, through a friend he gives the bride a conventional symbol - a scarf. Of course, a hundred years ago such agreements could not have existed. He stole the bride - that's all! Now everyone in the village knows: since a horseman on horseback with friends appeared at the girl’s yard, it means there will be a wedding soon.

The abduction itself is an amazingly bright and beautiful custom that takes place, one might say, like a theatrical performance. Now the moon-faced beauty is stolen by mutual consent. The bride goes out to a secluded place, fortunately there is an endless sea of dunes around, the groom with a couple of friends on horseback, picks her up at full gallop and takes her to his place. Groups of children accompany them, shouting and joking.

Today this is a breathtaking spectacle that attracts crowds of curious villagers, invited guests and tourists.

After the abduction, the groom brings the bride to his house. A ritual fire is lit at the gate, over which the bride must jump in order to cleanse herself and enter the house renewed. Stepping over fire is a tradition originating from the Massagetae and observed since the 5th-4th centuries BC. Women gather around the bride. They examine the young man’s chosen one, appreciating her beauty and youth.

The groom's mother, as a sign of agreement with her son's choice and with her good intentions, throws a clean, white scarf over the bride's head, thereby taking the girl under her wing.

The ritual of fumigating the yard and home with sacred smoke is very important. Dry issyryk - grass, according to legend, destroys everything unclean, and the bride enters the clean house of the groom.

Another touch of the bride's meeting is that the little girl takes the ring off her finger. From now on, she herself will prepare to become a bride and, when she gets married, she will give this ring to another, the same girl.

The bride, entering the house with bows, is seen off by a retinue of neighbors, relatives and simply curious people. In a room specially designated for her, the bride and her bridesmaids are hidden behind a screen - a chemyldyk. The curtain is a chemyldyk, it must be red, this is the tradition.

The bride will stay in her assigned room until the wedding. This place - behind the chimyldyk - symbolizes the beginning of her new life in a new home.

And this is done to test her character, instill discipline and recognize the customs of her distant ancestors.

And at this time, the matchmakers are preparing to meet with the bride’s side. Usually this is done by men - father, uncles and brothers.

Having discussed among themselves all the circumstances of their proposal, the matchmakers come to the house of the bride's father.

After the traditional introductory part, conversations about life, jokes and wishes for long and happy years, the matchmakers reveal to the owner the purpose of their visit and discuss the size of the “kalym”.

This is an important point. The parents of the bride and groom discuss how they can help the new family: where the young people will live, how many and what kind of animals each clan can give them for the farm.

If the agreement ends with mutual agreement, the owner of the house breaks off the first piece of flatbread - a symbol of life among the Turks - and eats it. And he passes the cake to the matchmakers. The flatbread goes around and each guest, breaking off a little, eats it, just like the owner of the house. This means something like signing a contract when both parties have come to an agreement.

Usually among the Kipchaks, the main elements of kalym were and remain domestic animals - camels, sheep, goats, cows. Very soon the yard of the bride’s father will be filled with “kalym” livestock.

And while the heads of the families “sign” the agreement, in the groom’s house all the relatives - distant and close - come to congratulate the newlyweds and bring them gifts and the most necessary things in everyday life.

And the parents give the young family everything they need for the household: dishes, carpets, blankets and help build housing.

This ritual has existed for many centuries. Today it takes different forms and the very original purpose of the ransom is gradually changing. But one bride price remains unchanged - the creation of a material basis for the birth of a new family.

The next morning, according to custom, a ritual of sacrifice is performed in the name of the well-being of the new family.

All residents of the village take part in preparations for the wedding.

Finally, the bride price ceremony ends with a wedding. Tears of joy are mixed with tears of sadness, the bright colors of national clothing are mixed into one unique canvas, the fun lasts for several days.

The culmination of the toya - wedding celebration is the opening of the bride's face for presentation to her relatives and guests. This ritual is called betashar. And then gifts for the bride pour in like from a cornucopia from all sides.

Kalym is like a beautiful fairy tale of the life of the Turkic peoples, which arose from the depths of centuries and has come down to the present day.

Posted on Allbest.ru

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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.

The Russian nation, the largest in Russia, was the unifying force of the unique Eurasian community of peoples. The Russian population of Siberia today is undoubtedly perceived and regarded as a completely special ethnocultural community. Living together with other Siberian ethnic groups led to fairly lively interethnic relationships and mutual influences, and long-term isolation from Russian cultural centers contributed to the preservation of relict elements of traditional culture.

The settlement of Siberia dates back to the 17th century, when service people, foot and horse Cossacks, and peasants arrived here. The old-time Russian population urgently settled and took root in Siberia, which is reflected in the ethnic self-awareness of Siberians: they do not remember their Russian roots (“grandfathers and great-grandfathers originally lived in Siberia”), but consider themselves Russian. Naturally, ethnic processes continued, as a result of which various ethnographic groups of old-timers Siberians were formed and further developed. After the abolition of serfdom and, especially, after the Stolypin reforms, a stream of Russians poured into Siberia, who occupied the chronologically upper level of “rootedness” layer. Their older descendants today make up the second or third generation born in Siberian lands. But, considering themselves Siberians, they remember well that their parents were “Vyatka”, “Kursk”, “Tambov”. Many older people, especially in rural areas, say that the Vyatkas have always been considered skillful and resourceful (“the Vyatkas are grippy guys”), the vociferous Kursks were called “Kursk nightingales”, they said about the clean chaldons “chaldons - scraped porches”... These names are not only accurate, but also ethnographic.

The collection offered to the reader examines the influence of the ideological values of Russian ethnic consciousness on the perception of other ethnic cultures in the era of feudalism and in later times. Much attention is paid to the analysis of specific phenomena of spiritual and material culture of the 17th - early 20th centuries. - calendar and labor customs, rituals, folklore, traditional buildings. The ethnographic specificity of Siberian culture is shown using the example of not only the rural, but also the urban population. For the first time, a significant portion of new, previously unpublished field and archival materials are being introduced into scientific circulation. All data provided is provided with an indication of ethnocultural and regional affiliation, which will allow them to be used in the preparation of generalizing works. How far the authors succeeded in solving the problems they set is for the readers to judge.

Ate. Erokhin

Influence of worldview values

Russian ethnic consciousness on character

perceptions of foreign cultures

Western Siberia:XVII- sir.XIXcenturies

Problems of interethnic interactions attract the attention of many researchers due to the enormous role they played in the history of Siberia. The result of these processes depended on how representatives of the contacting ethnic groups perceived each other. However, it is precisely this aspect of the problem of contacts that until recently did not attract close interest 1 . The current unstable situation forces us to conduct a thorough analysis of the influence of the nature of national psychology on the everyday life of those societies within which representatives of different ethnic cultures closely coexist 2 .

This article examines the image of neighbors - representatives of ethnic groups living in Western Siberia before the appearance of the Russians, in the perception of Russian people. This issue should be approached from the position of ethnic psychology, which asserts that ordinary consciousness, when perceiving foreign cultures, evaluates their properties through the prism of its own ideas about what is “good” or “bad,” “right” or “wrong.” Naturally, in this case, the properties of one’s own culture are taken as a positive standard 3 . Thus, this article is an attempt to answer the question: what properties of Russian ethnic consciousness determined the nature of Russian people’s perception of certain properties of the cultures of the indigenous peoples of Western Siberia?

Another question immediately and inevitably arises: what is the meaning of the concept of “national consciousness”? Without having the opportunity to delve into the essence of a complex problem, we will agree to understand the content of this concept as the ideological core of ideas, acquired in the process of socialization by all members of an ethnic group 4, about what is correct, true, as well as the readiness to act in a certain way in accordance with these ideas 6. The elements (“norms of behavior,” “knowledge,” “concepts”) underlying the ideological core can be defined as the values of ethnic consciousness, which are peculiar clots of collective experience.

Each ethnic system has a unique experience and an original hierarchy of values, which arise both depending on a specific landscape with which a unique ethno-ecological integrity is established 6 and depending on certain historical conditions within which the ethnos develops 7 . All this brings us to the need to analyze national perception from the position of taking into account the historical experience of cultural and economic activity and the ideological values of interacting ethnic cultures.

Before the arrival of the Russians, Western Siberia was inhabited by representatives of the Uralic and Altai language families. The Ural family of peoples was represented by the Samoyed group (Nenets, Enets, Nganasans, Selkups) and the Ugric group (Khanty and Mansi). The Altai family was represented by a Turkic group (Altaians, Shors, Siberian Tatars). By the time the Russians appeared, most of the indigenous peoples of Western Siberia were at the stage of decomposition of the primitive patriarchal society and the formation of feudal relations 8. Progress in social relations among the South Siberian Turks was more significant than among the Ob Ugrians. This difference is apparently explained by the fact that the economy of the Turks was largely of a producing nature, while in the economy of the Ob Ugrians there were elements of an appropriating economy to a greater extent.

The economic activities of the indigenous peoples of Siberia generally did not lead to the transformation of the natural landscape into an anthropogenic one. The Ob Ugrians entered the biocenoses as the upper, final link, adapting to the natural balance, and were interested in its preservation 10. The pastoral activity of the Altai nomads led to a transformation of the landscape, insignificant in quantitative terms and significantly different from the impact on the nature of agricultural peoples 11 . Their type of farming also depended on preserving the environment.

The basis of the ideological core of the indigenous peoples of Siberia was the recognition of their “youngerness” in relation to the surrounding natural world 12 . According to their ideas, all beings of the natural sphere acted in relation to them in

as older relatives 13. This kinship meant that man did not separate himself from nature (just as a clan did not separate itself from the territory it occupied) 14. In this regard, it is noteworthy that when performing a cult they turned to lower deities, the deities of the area, much more often than to the supreme gods 18.

This proves that in the minds of the natives of Siberia, the well-being of the clan was determined by the favor of natural objects, which were personified in the image of the spirit masters of the area. Each Siberian people had a system of their own religious ideas, which were based on similar views (the exception was the Siberian Tatars, who followed the Islamic tradition). In scientific literature, the spiritual tradition of these peoples is usually called shamanistic.

The Russian ethnos was formed in the process of movement, spread and agricultural transformation of the natural landscape. In the tribal associations of the Slavs, according to V.V. Sedov, there were migrations and assimilation of other ethnic groups (Iranian, Finno-Ugric, South Baltic) 16. This is how most ethnic groups arise. However, upon completion of the process of formation of the Old Russian and then Russian ethnic community, the movement and inclusion of foreign ethnic elements into the cultural orbit did not stop, but, on the contrary, turned into an important feature of the ethnic history of Russians 17. As they advanced along the East European Plain, the Russians “flowed around” the ethnic territories of other peoples 18 .

The “spreading” of Russians across territories was possible due to the presence of a large number of reserve lands. The latter circumstance opened up for Russian people “the possibility of moving towards extensiveness” 19, characteristic of the Russian agricultural economy 20.

The settlement of free lands by Russians even on the territory of European Russia had the character of natural settlement. Russian people, predominantly farmers, were looking for fresh, untouched lands. The spaces that the settlers developed turned into agricultural areas 21. Conquest and government colonization, as a rule, went behind natural settlement 22.

The development of Siberia was a continuation of this process, in which not only representatives of the Russian ethnic group were involved, but also Ukrainians and Belarusians. Therefore, in this case, we will conditionally call Russian all representatives of the East Slavic ethnic community who migrated to Siberia from beyond the Urals during the initial period of settlement.

Among the early sources that allow us to judge the Russian perception of the indigenous peoples of Siberia, the most interesting are the Siberian chronicles of the first half of the 17th century. (Pogodinsky chronicler, Description of Siberia, Chronological story). Other archival documents - tribute, "copy" books - are less accessible to historians and ethnographers. The chronicles are interesting for us from the position that the information underlying their creation is of Siberian origin, because borrowed from the stories of the Cossacks - participants in Ermak’s campaigns. Let us note, however, that ethnographic information was not important for the creators of the chronicles. The authors gave the greatest attention to issues of faith or “law.” This is not surprising for people of an era when religion permeated all spheres of worldview. This is how the spiritual views of another people are assessed through the prism of their own religion: “Vogulichs worship soulless idols” 23 , “Bakhmetyev keeps the Tatar law” 24 , “Ostyaks and Samoyeds” “have no law” 26 , “Kalmyk tribes” “live according to false commandments” 28. In general, the author of the Chronological story “On the Victory of the Besermensky King Kuchum” sums up: “although people have a human appearance, they are similar to wild animals in their disposition and way of life, because they do not have a “appropriate” creed 27. In relation to such people, one can be morally justified conquest. Regarding this, the chronicles say: “God sent to atone for the sin of idolatry” 28, “God deigned to entrust the Siberian kingdom to Christians” 29.

At the same time, religious fanaticism was alien to Russian people. During the conquests, the Cossacks made no attempts to Christianize the region. Moreover, when bringing yet another territory into submission to the king, they forced people to swear an oath not on a cross, but on a saber 30 .

National fanaticism was alien to the Russian people: not one of the Siberian peoples who resisted was destroyed. Having exterminated that generation of nobility that opposed the conquest, the tsarist government retained for the descendants of the hanged princes their position in the uluses and did not touch the clan organization 31 .

In the early stages of settlement, marriages of Russian settlers with local women took place. Their children joined the Russian population. In places remote from large centers, where Russian families did not gain numerical dominance, marriages with local women continued at a later time 32.

The conditions in which the settlers found themselves required a special mental and physical make-up (long cold winter, early freezing of rivers and late release of ice, unusual composition of food). At the initial stages of settlement, a strict selection took place, as a result of which a special historical and cultural community emerged within the Russian ethnic group 33. In the scientific literature it is called old-timers and is known for its special type of management, different from European Russia.

The old-timer culture had a unique experience of communicating with the cultures of the indigenous peoples of Siberia, because for a long time she coexisted with them on the same territory. Information about the nature of perception by Russian Siberians of representatives of the indigenous cultures of Siberia is provided by the source of the late 18th century (1783) ""Description of the life and practices of various kinds of yasak infidels living in the Turukhansk and Berezovsky districts." This is the earliest description of the Khanty, Nenets and Yakuts of Turukhansk region. The document is a response to a questionnaire sent to all "districts" of the Tobolsk governorship by the Empress's Cabinet regarding the collection of information regarding the yasaks of Siberia. The answers were given by representatives of the lower echelon of the tsarist administration. This is what the source says: "these people are hospitable and affectionate," " they willingly accept Russians,” “they don’t do any harm,” “they are truthful,” “their appearance is human, they are just any kind of bitch,” animals, not only hunted, but also “thrown out by the sea, rotten, they indiscriminately eat and eat raw” 34 The Russians were perplexed by the fact that local hunters were famous as excellent shooters, and at the same time they themselves often ate stale food. Amazement arose: how with such abundance (the rivers are rich in fish, the forests are rich in precious fur-bearing animals and birds, the abundance of food makes it possible to breed livestock) local residents have not learned to use it 36 ?

This was due to a whole range of reasons. It was natural due to the difference in worldviews that developed under the influence of cultural and economic experience, as well as due to the difference in stage of development.

The appearance of Russians in Siberia is the result of the extensive nature of their economy, for which the most favorable conditions existed here 36. Ethnic history and economic practice have equally confirmed that the essence of the ethnic uniqueness of the Russian attitude to the land lies in cultural and economic expansion associated with migrations. A manifestation of this originality in the worldview was the stereotype of a transformer, a master in relation to nature, to the earth, which was approved in religion: “And God said: Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth" 37. The Bible gave the peoples of the Christian tradition the idea of man - “the king of nature, the crown of creation”: “be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion” 38 .

The transformative capabilities of Russians in Siberia were enhanced due to the fact that the settlers represented a layer of the most enterprising people. They brought with them new, even for Russia, capitalist relations, which received impetus for implementation in Siberia.

The experience of the economic activity of the Russian peasant within the framework of the reproduction of Russian ethnic culture proved that only transformative work guarantees the well-being of both one person and the entire team. And in the conditions of the formation of capitalist relations, the connection between labor and the possibility of enrichment is self-evident for the Russian person. Wealth created by transformative labor is one of the most important attributes of social prestige for the Russian peasant.

In the cultures of the indigenous peoples of Siberia, the value of transformative labor was not as great as in Russian culture. The guarantee of the success of economic activity, and therefore the well-being of the tribal collective, was the preservation of the existing conditions of the natural environment. The prestige of wealth (due to existing social relations) did not have the same significance in the eyes of the carriers of the cultures of the indigenous peoples of Siberia as it did for the Russian people. For them, it lies not only and not so much in wealth, but in other values: luck in the trade, the favor of ancestors, the owners of the area, on whom the prosperity of the clan depended, 39 in military valor, in the large number of offspring. Only in combination with these advantages, perhaps personal qualities, did wealth make a person respected in society 40 .

The significance of wealth in the hierarchy of values of the Russian consciousness and the consciousness of the natives of Siberia was different. This can be illustrated by the following example: for a Russian person, it is self-evident that the fur trade can bring profit and contribute to enrichment. Why don't local residents take advantage of this opportunity? Instead, they cannot even pay their tribute payments on time.

The reason for this lay, in the opinion of the Russian people, in the natural laziness and inactivity of the natives of Siberia 41 .

Of course, one must be aware that the proposed scheme, like any scheme in general, is conditional and limited; in addition to the complex of ideological values and the difference in stage-by-stage development, the nature of perception in the process of contacts was significantly influenced by the class affiliation of the Russian person. For example, a missionary, an official of the tsarist administration and a peasant treated representatives of the ethnic cultures of Siberia differently: for the missionary they are pagans who need to be converted to the true faith; for an official - foreigners, payers of yasak to the state treasury; for the peasant - neighbors, relations with whom depended on the success of joint economic activity (for example, joint participation in fishing or on the degree of benefit in the process of trade exchange).

It should also be noted that Russian ethnic consciousness differentiatedly assessed the properties of the indigenous cultures of Siberia. The attitude of Russian people towards the indigenous peoples of Siberia was not the same in each specific case. In the perception of Russians, one ethnic group was different from another. The difference was due to the nature of the historical relationship of the Russian population with each group of the aboriginal population. So, for example, the attitude towards the Turks of Altai was more cautious than towards other peoples of Siberia, due to the fact that until the 18th century. There was an unstable situation in this region: periods of peaceful, good-neighborly contacts were alternated with breaks and military clashes 42 .

The closest and most neighborly contacts developed between Russians and Siberian Tatars, who were highly valued for their hard work. Under the influence of the Russians, the Tatar population began to engage in agriculture according to the Russian model, 43 although agriculture was known to them before the arrival of the Russians, and switched to a sedentary lifestyle with livestock kept in stalls 44. The Tatars have retained their ethnic specificity, because in spiritual culture they were adherents of the Muslim tradition. The Koran, like the Bible, gives a worldview for the transformation of the surrounding nature. The Koran says that God blessed the human race by making the earth "a carpet and the sky a building" 46 . The closeness of worldviews is apparently also explained by stage proximity. Before the advent of the Russians, the Tatars had their own statehood and developed feudal relations. The Tatar population quickly became involved in the capitalist relations that the Russians brought. For them, as well as for the Russians, wealth was one of the most important attributes of prestige. All these bringing together moments facilitated mutual understanding in Russian-Tatar contacts.

In general, the Russians were friendly towards the natives of Siberia. Cooperation was carried out both at the group and individual levels 46. The most fruitful interaction existed in the field of economic relations: this included trade, and joint ownership or rental of means of production, tools, and land from each other 47 . The Russians passed on farming skills to the natives of Siberia, and they, in turn, shared their experience in fishing activities. Russians, especially in remote areas, borrowed elements of national clothing and methods of preparing traditional cuisine 48 .

Mutual borrowings largely affected material culture. If we talk about the spiritual tradition, here the exchange was carried out mainly at the level of pagan ideas and images, which were actualized among the Russian population due to the weakening of church control 49 .

Russians respected some of the customs of the indigenous peoples of Siberia, such as mutual aid and collective care for the sick and poor. “In the Berezovsky district, unbaptized Ostyaks and self-eating idolaters are virtuous and provide for those who have fallen into poverty” 60. Similar traditions existed within the Russian clan collective (community). Respect for parents and veneration of ancestors in the cultures of the indigenous peoples of Western Siberia were noted in the consciousness of the Russian people. As for any traditional culture, for Russian folk culture the authority of elders and the intrinsic value of the past were the foundations of existence.

However, in general, the Russian consciousness assessed the natives of Siberia as “wild” people 51. This was manifested, in the opinion of the Russian people, in the unusual manner of dressing, in the way of life (“they don’t have decent housekeeping and cleanliness in the houses”) 52, in the custom of eating raw food 63, in the ease of divorce and the possibility of having several wives in some aboriginal cultures of Western Siberia 54. All this, in the perception of the Russians, looked at least “frivolous” 65. It can be said that the religious ideas of the local population were assessed as “frivolous”, because they did not contain, in the opinion of the Russian people, the concept of “man’s duty before the Creator” 56.

The attitude of the Russian population towards representatives of the indigenous peoples of Siberia can be described as lenient. Those manifestations of culture that the Russians found unusual, they explained (and not without reason) by the harsh conditions of the surrounding nature, which left an imprint of “savagery” on the way of life of their neighbors 67 .

This nature of perception is explained by the fact that the Russian consciousness, through the prism of the transformative properties of its own culture, assessed its neighbors, the transformative properties of whose cultures, in comparison with the Russian one, were relatively low. The cultures of the peoples of Western Siberia, following the shamanistic tradition, were focused on maintaining the existing balance with nature. This multidirectionality allows us to draw a conclusion about the extrovertive nature of Russian culture and the introvertive nature of the cultures of the indigenous peoples of Siberia. The value orientations of Russian culture and the cultures of the aborigines of Western Siberia were reflected in worldviews sanctioned by religion. The Bible endowed the Russians (like the Koran - the Tatars) with the stereotype of the Master in relation to surrounding natural objects. For the natives of Siberia, following the shamanistic tradition, the surrounding nature is a valuable thing in itself: its Masters are not people, but the spirits of the area, which is confirmed in mythology 68 . Cultural diversity was complicated by the difference in stage development, which further enhanced the transformative capabilities of Russian culture in Siberia, in comparison with aboriginal cultures.

Notes

1. We have seen increased interest in recent years: Drobizheva L.M. On the study of socio-psychological aspects of national relations (some questions of methodology) // SE - 1974. - N 4; Chesnov Ya.V. Ethnic image // Ethno-sign functions of culture. - M., 1991; Kurilov V.N., Lyutsidarskaya A.A. On the question of the historical psychology of interethnic contacts in Siberia in the 17th century. // Ethnic cultures of Siberia. Problems of evolution and contacts. - Novosibirsk, 1986; Lyutsidarskaya A.A. Russian old-timers of Siberia: historical and ethnographic essays of the 17th - early 18th centuries. - Novosibirsk, 1992.

2. Interethnic relations and national politics in the USSR // All-Union. scientific conf. "National and socio-cultural processes in the USSR": Abstract. report - Omsk, 1990.

3. Bromley Yu.V. Essays on the theory of ethnicity. - M., 1983. - P. 182 -183; Kon I.S. National character - myth or reality? // Foreign literature. -1968. - N 9. - P. 218; Porshnev B.F. Social psychology and history. - M., 196(8. - P. 81 - 82.

4. Ivanov V.V. The role of semiotics in the cybernetic study of man and the collective // Logical structure of scientific knowledge. - M., 1965.

5. Bromley Yu.V. Decree. Op. - P. 170 -171.

6. Gumilev L.N., Ivanov K.P., Chistobaev A.I. Theory of ethnogenesis and geography of population // Ecology, population - resettlement: theory and politics. - M., 1989. - P. 4.

7. Con I.S. Decree. Op. - pp. 218 - 219.

8. Boyarshinova Z.Ya. Population of the West Siberian Plain before the beginning of Russian colonization. - Tomsk, 1960. - P. 37 - 59,113.

9. Cheboksarov N.N., Cheboksarova I.A. Peoples. Races. Cultures. - M., 1985.-S. 191.

10. Gumilev L.N. Ethnogenesis and biosphere of the Earth. - L., 1989. - P. 192.

11. Ibid.

12. Traditional worldview of the Turks of Southern Siberia. Sign and ritual. - Novosibirsk, 1990. - P. 187.

13. Ibid. - P. 50.

14. Ibid. - P. 18.

15. Gemuev I.N., Sagalaev A.M. Mansi sanctuaries as a phenomenon of cultural tradition // Ethnic cultures of Siberia. Problems of evolution and contacts... - P. 132.

16. Sedov V.V. Origin and early history of the Slavs. - M., 1979. -S. 142.

17. Ethnography Eastern Slavs. - M., 1987. - P. 44.

18. Ibid. - P. 57.

19. Berdyaev N.A. The fate of Russia. - M., 1990. - P. 59 - 65.

20. Savitsky P.N. Steppe and Settlement // Russia between Europe and Asia: the Eurasian temptation. - M., 1993. - P. 126 -127.

21. Ibid.-S. 126.

22. Pypin A.N. Russia and Europe // Metamorphoses of Europe. - M., 1993. -S. 120-121.

23. Pogodinsky chronicler // Siberian Chronicles. - Novosibirsk, 1991.

24. Rumyantsevsky chronicler // Siberian Chronicles. - Novosibirsk, 1991.

25. Rumyantsevsky chronicler... - P. 11.

26. Chronographic story // Siberian Chronicles. - Novosibirsk, 1991.-S. 51.

27. Chronographic story... - P. 44 - 45.

28. Pogodinsky chronicler... - P. 69.

29. Chronographic story... - P. 43.

30. Skrynnikov R.G. Siberian expedition of Ermak. - Novosibirsk, 1982. - P. 245.

31. Bakhrushin S.V. Historical destinies of Yakutia // Scientific works. - M.,

1955.-T. 3.-Ch. 2.-S. 37. 32. Russians old-timers of Siberia. Historical and anthropological essay. - M., 1973. - P. 123.

33. Ibid. - P. 165 -166.

34. Andreev A.I. Descriptions of the life and exercises of various kinds of tribute-paying non-believers living in the Turu-Khan and Berezovsky districts // SE. - 1947. - N1. - P. 100.

35. Butsinsky P.N. Baptism of Ostyaks and Voguls under Peter the Great. -Kharkov, 1893. - P. 12.

36. Ethnography Russian peasantry in Siberia XVII - mid. XIX century - M "1981.-P. 203.

37. Bible. Book One of Moses, Genesis. - Ch. 1. - Verse 26.

38. Ibid. - Verse 28.

39. Gemuev I.N., Sagalaev A.M. Decree. Op. - P. 130 -131.

40. Traditional worldview of the Turks of Southern Siberia: Man. Society. - Novosibirsk, 1989. - P. 207 - 208.

41. Butsinsky P.N. Decree. Op. - P. 12.

42. Umansky A.P. Teleuts and Russians in the 17th - 18th centuries. - Novosibirsk 1980. - S. 24 - 31.

43. Satlykova R.K. Cultural and everyday interactions of the population of the Middle Ob region // Ethnocultural processes in Western Siberia - Tomsk 1982. - P. 169.

44. Emelyanov N.F. Tatars of the Tomsk Territory in the feudal era // Ethnocultural history of the population of Western Siberia. - Tomsk, 1978. - P. 80.

45. Koran. Sura 2. - Verse 20.

46. Lyutsidarskaya A.A. Russian old-timers of Siberia... - P. 61.

47. Ibid. - P. 53 - 84.

48. See collections: Social life and culture of the Russian population of Siberia. - Novosibirsk, 1983; Cultural and everyday life processes among the Russians of Siberia in the 18th - early 19th centuries. - Novosibirsk, 1985; Ornament peoples of Western Siberia. - Tomsk, 1992; Populated points of Siberia: experience of historical development (XVII - early XX centuries). - Novosibirsk 1992.

49. Sagalaev A.M. On the patterns of perception of world religions by the Turks of Sayan-Altai // Genesis and evolution of ethnic cultures of Siberia. - Novosibirsk, 1986. - P. 167 -168.

50. Description Tobolsk governorship. - Novosibirsk, 1982. - From 30

51. Ibid. - P. 33.

52. Ibid. - P. 33.

53. Andreev A.I. Decree. Op. - P. 93.

54. Ibid. - P. 97.

55. Description Tobolsk governorship... - P. 29,160, 206.

56. Ibid. - P. 168.

57. Andreev A.I. Decree. Op. - P. 94.

58. Traditional worldview of the Turks of Southern Siberia: Space and time. Real world. - Novosibirsk, 1988. - P. 41, 86 - 98.

Peoples of Siberia:
national traditions

Siberia is a huge territory in Russia. It stretches from the Ural Mountains to the ridges of the Pacific coast. People of various nationalities live in Siberia: Russians, Buryats, Yakuts, Tatars, Khakass, Khanty, Evenks and many other peoples...

Peoples and occupations

In total, about 36 indigenous peoples live in Siberia. In the north are the Dolgan and Enets reindeer herders, in the west are the Khanty and Mansi fishermen, Selkup hunters and Nenets reindeer herders, in the east are the Evenks and Evens reindeer herders and hunters. The peoples of southern Siberia have long been engaged in agriculture and cattle breeding. In the center of Siberia there is a huge territory - Yakutia - the homeland of northern horse breeders. Since the 17th century, Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians and other so-called great peoples of Russia began to develop Siberian lands.

Oral traditions

The indigenous peoples of Siberia did not have a written language. Everything they wanted to convey was told orally. They listened to fairy tales, legends, songs, instructive and funny stories in the evenings, gathered in one house or tent. Even in ordinary life it was customary to speak beautifully and figuratively. Evenk about the dawn can express himself like this: “The morning star has died,” and about the rain: “The sky is shedding tears.” The Yakuts, who live on permafrost, have dozens of words for snow.

What do you need to live?

Harsh conditions forced the inhabitants of northern Siberia to come up with warm clothing made from reindeer fur - malitsa. It is embroidered with beautiful patterns.

Horse breeders sew clothes with wide hems. Sea hunters are waterproof capes made from animal intestines. Some peoples had cloaks and hats made from bird skins. Nowadays such outfits can only be seen in museums. But the inhabitants of the North still use yarangas and chums. But today modern technologies are combined with these ancient traditions: in the tent you can see a satellite TV, and a reindeer herder navigates the tundra using a GPS navigator.

It is difficult for a small people living surrounded by a large one to preserve their traditions. To protect the endangered cultures of these regions, special schools were created where children are taught not only in Russian, but also in local dialects.

Magic

People of different faiths live in Siberia, but each nation has preserved rituals and holidays of those times when they still believed in many gods and spirits. Spirits lived everywhere: in trees, stones, lakes and even in toys. A person who could speak with spirits - a shaman (or kam) - was especially revered. He beat the tambourine, called upon the spirits and negotiated with them about health, luck, and good weather. And now in the remote corners of Siberia you can find a hereditary shaman who heals or predicts the future with the help of otherworldly forces.

Traditional cuisine

A dish made from grains - talkan - was known to many nomadic peoples. In Altai they still eat it. To prepare a tasty and very healthy talkan, you need to fry sprouted grains of barley or wheat in a frying pan, grind in a mortar or grind in a coffee grinder and cook porridge from the resulting flour. Or you can mix flour with honey to make challah.

Folklore

Tuvan songs are the pride of all Russia. They are performed by throat singing. The singer simultaneously sings with two or even three voices. In heroic tales there are stories about ancient heroes who could sing like a thousand people.

What different peoples inhabit Russia! But they are all united into a single family by a common homeland, mutual respect and friendship.

Completed by: Oputina E.N.

Checked by: Popova E.M.

Region and people

Beyond the Ural Mountains in the basins of the Ob and Yenisei rivers live the Khanty, Mansi, Selkups and Kets. This region is called Western Siberia.

In the north of Western Siberia, the sun does not set in spring and early summer. This time is called white nights.

There are more than two thousand rivers and streams in Western Siberia. The largest of them are the Ob and its tributary the Irtysh. These rivers are navigable.

The climate here is continental, winter is long and frosty, spring is late, summer is short, and autumn is early.

There are a lot of animals and birds. The most important of them are the brown bear, which is called the master of the taiga, wild reindeer that comes here from the northern tundra, elk and valuable fur-bearing animals.

The forest is also rich in various valuable tree species. The most valuable tree is Siberian cedar. Its durable, soft and light wood is an excellent construction and ornamental material. A house made of cedar logs has been standing for hundreds of years, and milk will not sour in cedar dishes. Pine nuts are very useful. Resin and cedar roots are used: resin is used to resin boats, and the roots are used to sew birch bark, boats, and sleds together like ropes.

There are also birch trees. They are used to make firewood for the stove, brooms for the bathhouse, furniture, skis, tar, and coal. From bark - birch bark - they sew panels to cover huts, make tees and boxes. Mansi carve various crafts from birch wood. To do this, the wood is first boiled in fat to prevent it from cracking. In spring, residents drink juice. This juice can be used as a dye by boiling it to turn orange and even brown.

There are so many berries in Western Siberia that they are collected not by hand, but by special scoops. Currants, blueberries, raspberries, lingonberries... Housewives bake delicious pies from them, make jam, and make juices. There are also a lot of mushrooms. But the indigenous population does not eat them; they believe that mushrooms are food for deer.

The indigenous inhabitants of Western Siberia speak languages of different language families, but are very similar to each other in terms of the type of economy and their culture.

The Khanty and Mansi are the peoples of the Ugric group of the Finno-Ugric family of languages. They are called the Ob Ugrians (named after the Ob River, near which they live). In Europe, on the Danube River, the Ugrians, the Danube, also live. Once upon a time, the ancestors of the Danube Ugrians (Hungarians) lived in the Southern Urals, and then some of them moved to the Danube. The Khanty are one of the most numerous indigenous peoples of Siberia. Mansi is three times smaller than the Khanty.

The Selkups are the people of the Samoyed language group. Their closest relatives in terms of language and origin live in the Far North of Siberia, these are the Nenets, Enets and Nganasans. The Selkups live along the banks of the Ob and Taz rivers and are very similar to the Khanty and Mansi.

Kets live on the Yenisei River and its tributaries. The economy and culture of the Kets are also similar to the Khanty and Selkup, but their language is special, it has no analogues in the languages of other peoples.

Pages of history

The ancestors of the Khanty, Mansi, Selkup and Kets were ancient tribes who lived in Western Siberia during the Neolithic and Bronze Ages, i.e. in the fifth - third millennium BC. They hunted and fished, ate the meat of killed animals and fish, and dressed in clothes made from animal skins and fish skins. In the summer they traveled by boats, and in the winter on skis and dogs. They lived in dugouts and made all their utensils from wood, tree bark, bones, and fur. Women also sculpted dishes from clay and decorated them with geometric patterns similar to the tracks of animals and birds, as well as molded figurines of animals and birds.

Cloth

In winter, men wear close-fitting fur clothing (without various fasteners) called malitsa. It is sewn from deerskin with short pile with the fur inside. On top they put on the same straight and wide shirt made of bright chintz. When they set out on a long journey with reindeer, they put another sokui on top. Sokui is also a flat, long garment of straight cut, flared downwards. It is made from the fur of a deer that was killed in winter; the pile of such fur is long. The sokui has a hood and mittens sewn to the sleeves. In such clothes you can even spend the night in the snow... An indispensable accessory of a man's suit is a belt, to which decorations carved from bone are sewn. A sheath with a knife is hung from the belt, and hunters also carry various leather bags and wooden cases with ammunition.

Women in winter wear wide and long coats made of deer fur, trimmed at the bottom with a strip of fur with long pile. The hem, flaps and sleeves of such a fur coat are decorated with stripes of fur mosaic, colored cloth, and embroidered with beads. For mosaics, geometric patterns are mainly used.

Winter shoes are high boots made of deer fur with short pile. Boots are usually tied to the belt with leather ties; men's boots are also tied below the knees with colored wool laces. Like a fur coat, they are decorated with a fur mosaic and strips of colored cloth inserted into the seams. Fur stockings (fur inside) are worn in winter boots.

In winter, men cover their heads with a hood, and women with scarves. They especially like large and colorful ones, with tassels. Some women prefer bonnets made of deer, lynx or arctic fox fur, also decorated with fur mosaic or cloth.

For sewing fur clothes and shoes, threads are made from dried deer tendons.

Men's shirts and women's dresses were made of cotton or satin, straight cut, with a slit and fastener on the chest; they were decorated with appliqué or beadwork at the collar, cuffs and hem. In some places, women wore a satin robe over their dresses. Robes were made from satin and broadcloth in bright colors and decorated with appliques, beads, and metal plaques; they were worn in spring and autumn as coats.

Women wear flat rings made of light metal on their hands, sometimes several on each finger.

In spring and autumn they also wear boots, only made of suede. They are painted with brown patterns using birch sap or a decoction of larch bark. Before putting on such boots, the feet are wrapped in dry grass, which is prepared for the entire family by women. Suede shoes are very light and dry quickly.

Women also love leather shoes embroidered with colored beads. They are worn with long socks knitted with dyed dog hair.

Kitchen

They love fish very much. They eat it in any form. A common food is fish soup. They eat it like this: the fish is taken out of the cauldron with a large wooden spoon and placed in a small trough made of wood, and the broth is poured into mugs, and the fish is washed down with it.

They also eat soups, cutlets, meat, nuts, berries, cereals, pancakes. A traditional dish is berries with fish oil.

Fish, meat, berries, and nuts are prepared by the entire extended family or even several families of relatives. This custom has been preserved since ancient times, when hunters and fishermen lived in very large families, together with married sons. Gradually the family became smaller. Now, when sons get married, they separate and live on their own. Nowadays, usually only the youngest son and his family live with their parents. But family ties remain.

The family has in common a home, outbuildings, large fishing nets, and large boats for travel. The size of food supplies in the family is determined by the eldest woman. Excess food is given to relatives, primarily the elderly, single or with many children. If there is not enough fish or meat, you can borrow it from a neighboring family. According to unwritten laws, there is no need to return them, but if they borrow products bought in a store, they will certainly be returned. Meat and fish are considered common in the family, but each married couple buys tea, sugar, bread and other prepared foods for themselves separately. Each housewife has her own table and her own dishes. The father and his married son together own deer, a house, barns, traps, boats, but each has his own guns and tools, separately they sell the harvested furs and spend the money.

According to tradition, the property of a woman in a family is the bread oven she built, as well as her dowry, including deer, birch bark products, and sewing accessories. Among the Mansi, a woman used to own all the clothes and shoes that she made, including men's.

Khanty and Mansi in the family call each other not by name, but by terms of kinship: son, youngest son, eldest daughter, father, mother, etc. This is a surviving tradition associated with the ancient ideas of the Khanty and Mansi about the soul. It was once believed that the soul of a deceased person was reborn in a newborn relative and an identical name. The child was given the name of the deceased, but was addressed by the term of kinship of the one who died. Therefore, it happened that the aunt, addressing her niece, called her mother, because the child was given the name of her deceased mother. The belief in the transmigration of souls has long disappeared, but the tradition of calling each other by the term of kinship remains.

Customs, rituals, holidays

For many years there were ancient forms of religions (totemism, trade cult, bear cult). The bear was considered the ancestor of large clan groups; various supernatural properties were attributed to it: it was reborn after death, understood human speech, and could recognize any of its “relatives” - humans. It was impossible to kill a bear, eat its meat, or use its skin. The bear was called by kinship terms: grandfather, brother, etc. Over time, the ban on killing bears was lifted, and the main concern of the hunters was to deflect blame for the killing. Having killed the bear, the hunters told him: “Well, grandfather, let’s come to visit us, we will undress you and put you in a place of honor.” When the bear was skinned (undressed), everyone croaked loudly like a crow to confuse the bear. Then the skin was placed in a place of honor, and everyone brought the “guest” a gift - a coin, a ribbon, a scarf. When bear meat was boiled, the bones were taken apart at the joints and then buried along with the skull. This was supposed to help the bear to be reborn. They ate the meat with chopsticks so as not to touch it with their hands. After the meal, all participants “purified themselves”: they poured water on each other or sprinkled snow on each other. Such ritual actions accompanied every successful bear hunt.

Gradually, the religious meaning of this ceremony was lost, and some of its elements turned into entertainment acts, obligatory on any holiday, in particular on the occasion of a successful hunt. In every village today there are three or four “artists” who are indispensable participants in such performances. Here, for example, is one of the performances: In the evening, all the residents - Mansi - came to the house of the hunter who killed the bear. In the room, on the table, the bear skin was folded so that it seemed as if a living bear was sleeping, its head resting on its paws. There was a treat in front of him - a glass of vodka, candy, cookies in the shape of an elk, a deer: a guest is a guest. Hunters and the leader of the holiday, an old man, were sitting at the table. The participants of the holiday noisily sat down, excitedly discussing the merits of the killed bear. But then everyone fell silent: a man in a birch bark mask with a long nose entered the house. He performed the pantomime “Hunter Kills a Bear”. The next artist, also wearing a mask, sang to the music about the life of a bear in the forest. What followed were sketches of a comedic and satirical nature from the lives of hunters and fishermen. It was clear that the artists were making fun of someone present. The scenes were interspersed with dances. Women danced in bright dresses. The holiday lasted several days.

Higher, music, flight!

The floor is rumbling

Paul laughs

The floor is underfoot

Louder, friend!

Wider circle!

Look,

In a red shirt

The guy came out -

Falcon is clear!

The guy has a mask on his face.

So he stomped like a bear.

This is a bear dance for you!

We must stomp and roar.

Funeral rite

In the old days it was believed that every person had several souls. When a person died, his likeness was made from wood or metal - a small doll, where one of the souls of the deceased seemed to live, waiting to be transferred to a newborn. The doll was kept in the deceased's house for 4-5 years. Another soul passed into the afterlife, which was not much different from the earthly one. This soul needed the same house and all other things as during human life. Small things were placed in a coffin (sometimes a boat was used instead of a coffin), larger ones in the grave, and the rest around the house on the grave. Thus, together with the deceased, all his belongings were taken to the cemetery - clothes, household and labor items - bows, arrows, even old guns. If a person died in a foreign land, his clothes and belongings were buried so that his soul could live near his native village.

Relatives bury their dead in one row. In each such row there is a place for a fire, around which all relatives gather for the funeral.

Wedding ceremony

Wedding rituals in the old days were reduced to matchmaking, during which the parents of the bride and groom agreed on the bride price - payment for the bride - and the wedding feast.

The matchmaking lasted for many days, sometimes weeks. The matchmakers came to the bride's house many times. The bride's parents were paid in money, deer, fabrics, iron objects - cauldrons, axes, knives. If there was no money to pay the bride price, the girl was kidnapped.

One elderly Khanty woman told how she was married off. One day her parents received a gift from a Khanty family from a distant village - a scarf. This meant that the groom's parents had chosen a bride for him and would soon send matchmakers. The girl’s father took the handkerchief, which means he was ready to accept the matchmakers.

A few days later, a reindeer team arrived at the house. There was a knock of the staff. It was the matchmaker knocking on the door with a carved stick wrapped in a scarf. The matchmaker and the groom's parents entered the house and began to talk to the bride's parents, but they were silent, as usual. Matchmakers came several times, bringing gifts of wine, an ax, or a scarf. Finally we agreed on the dowry. It was a medium-sized bride price - 2 deer, cloth for the bride’s robe and 20 rubles.

After the matchmaking, the groom came into the house and sat with his back to the bride, who was sitting in the canopy in a new dress. She saw him for the first time.

Meanwhile, the table was set for the wedding feast. The matchmaker, parents, relatives of the bride and groom drank wine, tea, ate and food prepared by the groom's relatives. Then the bride and groom drank tea from the same saucer at the table.

During the wedding feast, the bride covered her face with a scarf so that she would not be seen by her husband's older relatives, who could not marry her if she became a widow. But she did not hide her face from her husband’s younger relatives. She knew that if she became a widow, her husband's younger brother would marry her, even if he had a wife and children. This ancient custom was dictated by the norms of tribal morality. Thanks to him, the children and property of the deceased remained in the family, and the family received a breadwinner.

The wedding feast lasted 2 days. Then the wedding train - several reindeer teams - took the bride to the groom's village. So she became a married woman.

Fisherman's Day

Fisherman's Day is celebrated interestingly and cheerfully in Khanty villages on the Ob. Families of fishermen gather on the river bank and a folk festival takes place. There are traditional fish soup and fish pies. On the river there are light boat races and fishermen's competitions. National songs are sung and young people are dancing.

Folk art

The uniqueness of the creativity of local residents, their subtle taste is manifested in the decoration of clothes, shoes, hats, and utensils. These are fur mosaics, cloth mosaics, fabric appliqués, sewing and beadwork, deer hair embroidery, birch bark products and designs on them, wood carvings.

Fur coats, dresses, and shoes are decorated with beaded embroidery. Simple geometric patterns, but bold color combinations. The ornament is not only geometric, but also includes conventional symbolism - images of birds and animals.

Fur products are also very attractive.

The musical art of the peoples of Western Siberia is also unique. They have an interesting, very simple and ancient musical instrument, the Tumran or Jew's harp. This is a narrow bone plate with a cut tongue. Tumran makes original low sounds. Only women play it. Another female musical instrument is similar in shape to a violin. It has one or two strings, and the bow is a small bow with a tuft of horsehair stretched on it.

Men's musical instruments are stringed only. One of them resembles a Slavic gusli. It is made in the shape of a boat from if or fir. The boat is covered on top with a board on which 5-6 strings of deer or elk tendons are stretched. The musician holds it on his lap, plucking the strings with his fingers. In Khanty, these harps are called “playing tree,” and the Mansi name comes from the verb - to ring.

A particularly interesting instrument is the harp type. Its shape resembles a bird - a swan or a crane, which is why it is called that. From the neck to the back of the bird there are 9 to 13 copper strings stretched.

The folklore of the Khanty, Mansi, Kets and Selkups is ancient and rich. Folk memory carefully preserves tales about animals, old rituals, and tools. Many traditions that have reached us can only be explained thanks to folklore. For example, when a child is born in a family and he is given a name, the man is not present, he is not allowed. Why? You can learn about this from the old Mansi fairy tale “Where the earth began”:

“ Two birds - a large auk and a little auk - wanted to get the earth from the bottom of the sea. The big loon dived for a long time, but did not reach the bottom. Then the little auk dived. I dived and dived, but didn’t get anything either.

Let's dive in together! - the little auk says to the big loon.

We dived together. We swam and swam, ran out of breath, and came back. We breathed a little and dived again. They sank deep, but did not reach the bottom. We caught our breath and dived for the third time. They descended for a long time, finally reached the bottom, took a piece of land and set off on the way back. The loons were under water for a very long time. Therefore, when they went up, the big loon began to bleed from its chest. That is why the loon now has a red chest. The little auk began to bleed from the back of his head, and now all auks have a red back of their head.

The birds laid the earth on the water. The earth began to grow...

A lot of time has passed. The daughter of the Spirit of Heaven went to her father and said:

Now we need to make a person...

The Spirit of Heaven called his brother, the Spirit of the lower world, and ordered him to make a man. He made seven clay figurines and brought them to his brother. The Spirit of Heaven said:

Take these clay people to our sister, Mother of the Earth. Let her revive them.

The Spirit of the lower world went to Mother Earth and said:

Sister, can you revive these people?

“I will revive you,” answered the Mother of the Earth, “only you leave here.”

Since then, when people are born, men must leave.”

Singing tradition

(Irkutsk, Kemerovo, Kurgan, Magadan, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Tomsk, Chita regions, Altai and Krasnodar regions)

Here we find similarities with the Ural tradition:

· Low chanting

· Sedentary lower jaw

· Chest resonance. The head sound resembles the sound of a horn, and at times the sound of a child's voice.