What countries are characterized by traditional culture? Folk culture

The originality of the traditional (folk) culture of the civilizations of Ancient Egypt, China, Sumer, Assyria and India. Elements of cultural innovation: values, norms, rites, rituals, ideas, knowledge, beliefs, lifestyle and artistic creativity.

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Folk (traditional) culture

Folk or traditional culture is studied by various scientific disciplines: history, philology, ethnography, philosophy of culture, art history, etc. scientific literature There are different, ambiguous approaches to this phenomenon. It often appears as a combination of individual trends, types, genres, even objects (folk ceramics, clothing, rituals, etc.). Often its space is narrowed, especially in the field of art criticism, to artistic folk art, folklore ( folk songs, dancing, crafts), and even to verbal artistic tradition relating to the historical past (epics, legends, proverbs, etc.).

Traditional culture represents a stable, non-dynamic culture, characteristic feature which is that the changes occurring in it are too slow and therefore practically not recorded by the collective consciousness of a given culture.

But what is “folk culture”? The concept of “people” in Russian and European languages is, on the one hand, a population, a collection of individuals, on the other, a community of people who have recognized themselves as an ethnic or territorial community, a social class, a group, sometimes representing the whole of society, for example, in some decisive a historical moment (national liberation wars, revolutions, restoration of the country, etc.), which has similar (common) ideas, beliefs, and ideals.

This community acts as the subject and bearer of a special integral culture, distinguished by its vision of the world, the ways of its sign-symbolic embodiment in certain forms of folklore and areas of cultural practice close to folklore, which often dates back to antiquity. In the distant past, its bearer was the entire community (clan, tribe), and later an ethnos (Greek ethnos - people). Over time, in the process social differentiation(stratification) the community acquires a more complex, hierarchical structure, stand out special groups, layers, classes, ideas appear about the higher and lower layers, people and non-people (for example, priests, wise men as bearers of secret knowledge, leaders, tribal nobility, feudal and slave-owning aristocracy), which began to form their own cultural variants within the framework of the general culture .

In history there have been a number of civilizations whose culture can be considered traditional (folk). It's about O Ancient Egypt, Ancient China, Sumer, Assyria, Ancient India etc. These traditional societies reproduced the existing way of life for thousands of years, when the past of adults turned out to be the future of their children. The death of some states and the emergence of others in their place did not change the type of culture itself. The foundation of culture was preserved and passed on as social heredity, ensuring reproduction traditional type development. traditional folk culture innovation

However, despite all the originality and originality of the data cultural entities, they have some common features: - focus on repeating a once given way of life, customs, traditions and reproducing existing ones social structures; -- adherence to existing patterns of behavior; - the dominance of religious-mythological, canonized ideas in the mind; -- slow pace changes in types, means and goals of activities.

Traditional culture is not busy expanding its space and mastering new possibilities, but producing regular interpretations and comments on classical texts. Fundamental cultural innovation for such a culture is possible only as an external invasion or intervention of “alien” cultural samples as a result of the interaction of cultures (from trade contacts to military aggression).

The elements that make it up (as well as culture as a whole) include: values, norms, rites, rituals, ideas, knowledge, beliefs, way of life, artistic creativity etc. in their sign-symbolic and subject-material embodiment, as well as methods of activity, labor, utilitarian and everyday life (housekeeping, raising children, etc.), etc.

After many centuries, traditional (folk) culture is formed specific system stereotypes (standard elements, formulas), i.e. stable, repeating structural and semantic units, which are complemented by fairly stable, standardized elements, for example, linguistic components, such as some phrases. In modern oral texts, for example, one can identify stable beginnings - “Once upon a time ...”, “Once upon a time in a dark forest (basement, etc.) ...”. In ditties, there are often a kind of “stray clichés” such as “a star fell from the sky,” etc.

In folk culture, creativity is anonymous, since personal authorship is not recognized here. The entire community, as it were, “owns” this model, and the individual (storyteller, master craftsman), even a very skilled one, perceiving the samples and standards inherited from his ancestors, identifies with the community, realizes his belonging to the culture of an ethnos, subethnic group.

First historical form traditional culture was primitive culture. Traditional character this culture ensured its longer existence than all subsequent ones historical types culture. And yet, over tens of thousands of years, changes occurred in primitive culture, which were named by archaeologists as different stages of the Stone Age, which were replaced by centuries of metal - bronze and iron.

Traditional culture is inherent pre-industrial society, in which the main occupation is Agriculture, hunting and gathering. As a rule, such cultures do not have writing.

Traditional culture has not become a part of history. Traditional societies with their corresponding culture still exist in Africa, Australia, and South America. In certain territories (southern Russia, Don Cossack settlements, northwestern enclaves, national regions etc.) there are still authentic groups that preserve traditional culture, the traditional mechanism of its transmission from generation to generation, from master to student in the process joint activities. However, this mechanism is modern conditions is undergoing changes.

In the last quarter of the twentieth century. The practice has developed of recreating a traditional mechanism, of course, in a modified, modernized form, in “inauthentic” conditions, in an “unauthentic” environment, for example, among urban youth. This practice resulted in the formation (spontaneous and deliberate) of amateur groups. Inclusion in a tradition in them is often based on communication between bearers of traditions (authentic master craftsmen, singing groups, individual performers), if possible in the process of joint activities, who act for group members as mentors, teachers, keepers of traditional patterns, stereotypes, canons. The natural mechanism in such groups (studios, circles) is inevitably mediated by technologies of targeted training with the participation of folklorists, supplemented by the use of sound and video recordings, transcripts, methodological manuals. This direction among specialists receives, mixed assessment, incl. and negative as “secondary”. However, his contribution to modern folk culture and the maintenance of traditions is beyond doubt.

In the modern cultural practice of the general population, there is a fairly extensive layer of everyday creativity, functioning according to folklore type. This usually includes, in particular, musical (song, instrumental) and verbal creativity. These are songs (everyday, street, courtyard, student, tourist, partly so-called bard songs), choruses, various kinds of oral narratives of a non-fairy tale nature: legends, modern tales, tales, oral stories, anecdotes, rumors, rumors, and, of course, everyday speech element.

As in the old days, the living space of our contemporaries, including city dwellers, is “inhabited” by various kinds of demonological creatures that invade their daily life, disrupting its usual flow. They are as if next to a person, sometimes they harm, sometimes they help, and sometimes they just scare. The fact that they are called poltergeists, Carlsons, aliens, and sometimes appear as demonic things (Black Hand, devilish telephone, etc.) does not change the essence of the matter. It's essentially living tradition, modern demonology, functioning in the everyday life of different social strata (groups, communities), accepted by them, entered into everyday life, and become a fact of everyday consciousness.

It is quite traditional today to tell jokes, tales, rumors, and make toasts. In jokes, i.e. entertaining, with unexpected plot twists In short texts it is also easy to detect plot patterns, a kind of “commonplace”.

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Traditional culture(or type of society) is a culture that places emphasis in its development not on change, but on the preservation of the established cultural order.

A distinctive feature of traditional culture is the unswerving adherence to patterns of behavior adopted from previous generations - customs, rites, rituals, traditions.

These patterns are learned from childhood from elders (this is due to the obligatory veneration of elders in traditional culture), who act as guardians of accumulated life experience.

Traditional culture is characterized by a high level of normativity, which covers all aspects of people's lives. Immense power in these cultures has public opinion. The possibilities for the manifestation of individual principles in traditional culture are minimal.

Attempts at creativity aimed at updating traditional norms of life and activity in traditional culture are not approved. This type of culture is focused on preserving identity and cultural identity, so traditional societies can remain virtually unchanged for centuries.

Traditional culture is pre-industrial, usually unwritten, and its main occupation is agriculture. Traditional culture organically interacts with nature and is one with it.

Often, along with the term “traditional culture,” the concept “primitive culture” is used. However, it is wrong to identify traditional culture with a primitive beginning. According to K. Lévi-Strauss, A person of a traditional society is not inferior in his spiritual and physical characteristics to representatives of modern culture. His intellectual resources are equally rich and varied.

Traditional societies still exist in South America, Africa, and Australia. In the countryside developed countries There is also a tendency to maintain traditional lifestyles.

Consequently, even within the same country they can coexist two types of culture– modern and traditional.

IN modern society The basic values are innovation, knowledge, and education. The modern type of culture is characterized by fairly rapid changes occurring in the process of continuous modernization.

Modern culture is unified and industrial. Such a culture exists primarily in urban reality. This culture is in disharmony with nature, and this process is deepening, which creates a threat to the existence of humanity.

All along human history and in the modern era, there has been and still is a huge variety of types of cultures in the world as local historical forms of human communities. Each culture is the result of the activity of its creator - an ethnic group or ethnic community. The development and functioning of culture is special way life activity of the ethnic group. Therefore, each culture expresses the specifics of the way of life of its creator, his behavior, his special way of perceiving the world in myths, legends, religious beliefs and value orientations that give meaning to human existence.

Among all the diversity ethnic cultures Scientists distinguish a type of traditional (archaic) culture, which is common in societies where changes are imperceptible for the life of one generation. This type of culture is dominated by customs and traditions passed on from generation to generation. Traditional culture organically combines its constituent elements; within it, a person does not feel discord with society. Such a culture organically interacts with nature, is united with it, it is focused on preserving its originality, its cultural identity. Traditional culture, as a rule, is pre-industrial, unwritten, and its main occupation is agriculture. There are also traditional cultures in the world that are

are still in the hunting and gathering stage. Currently, the Areal Card Index of Human Relations records more than 600 traditional (archaic) cultures.

For ethnology, the question of the relationship between traditional cultures and modern historical reality is quite natural. Studying this issue, in turn, requires research into the main features of traditional culture.

The most important property of traditional culture is its syncretism, expressed primarily in the integrity and indivisibility of three forms of existence: culture, society and man. Each member of the tribal group is equal to the whole - everyone has the same name, the same body coloring, the same jewelry, the same myths, rituals, and songs. In other words, “I” is completely dissolved in “we”. Man does not separate himself from nature, considering himself the same part of it, endowed with a soul, like plants, animals, mountains, rivers, etc. Syncretism also manifests itself in the structure of culture itself, which has not yet been divided into separate spheres with developed independent functions.

The embodiment of this syncretism is myth - a syncretic formation that perceives the world as a whole and contains in embryo all the spheres of culture that emerged later. In myth there is a coincidence of a sensory image received from certain elements of the external world and a general idea. He does not exist in general concepts, but in concrete sensory images, which leads to the identity of the material world and its picture, spiritual image created by man. This is not faith or knowledge, but a sensory experience of reality. But most importantly, this way of perceiving and explaining the world determines a person’s place in the world around him and creates a sense of confidence for existence and activity in it. The indivisible holistic thinking that is formed connects, and does not separate, identifies, and does not oppose, various aspects of human life. Therefore, at this stage of the development of consciousness, myth turns out to be many times stronger than analytical thinking.

The second essential feature of non-literate cultures is traditionalism. All the features of the structure of life and everyday life, myths and rituals, norms and values of such a society were stable, rigid, inviolable and passed on from generation to generation as an unwritten law. The power of tradition - this cultural substitute for the genetic method of transmitting behavioral programs lost by humanity - was absolute, consecrated by mythological ideas. After all, myth by its nature claims to be the absoluteness of everything affirmed.

them, requires from each individual the unconditional acceptance of his system of ideas and feelings and their transmission intact from generation to generation.

But no matter how great the power of traditions was, they could not be preserved forever. Slowly and gradually, innovations penetrated the culture; in a single syncretic culture, its separate independent spheres began to stand out; people began to isolate themselves from the world, to realize their “I”, different from “we”. This is how traditional cultures arose.

The power of tradition is very great here too. And although human behavior is much more diverse than in archaic culture, it still obeys the norms developed in society. In reality, these norms are presented in the form of a set of special standard programs - behavioral stereotypes. They usually provide in advance most situations that may arise in front of a person in his daily practice. The justification for this kind of stereotypes is a reference to the law of ancestors - the main way of motivating actions in traditional culture. Question: “Why is this and not otherwise?” - simply has no meaning in it, since the whole point of tradition is to do it the way it was done the first time. Thus, it is the past (in the form of ancestral law, myth) that acts in traditional culture as an explanation of the present and future.

These behavioral stereotypes are based not on rules, as in modern society, but on images, models (originally recorded in myths), and following them becomes a prerequisite social life team. Such samples have a syncretic, undifferentiated character. Later, legal, ethical, religious and other norms will emerge from them, which are still contained in them in the form of embryos.

An important property of traditional behavioral stereotypes is their automation. They are committed unconsciously, since in traditional culture a person’s entire life is predetermined in the only possible way, he does not have the right to choose, as in modern society, which is aware that life can follow different, often alternative, paths of development, and the decision is made by the person himself.

the world, the inseparability of its individual constituent elements. There are no objects or phenomena in the world that are absolutely isolated from others. Each of them is connected with other objects and phenomena by many threads and contains their particles. Everything is in everything. In particular, this means that everyday life, the sphere of the profane (ordinary) turns out to be saturated with symbolism, the true meaning of which lies in the area of the sacred. This is how the mythological model of the world is formed, and in traditional culture it continues to play vital role. Only later stages of cultural development led to the polarization of these two spheres.

The integrity of this culture, combined with the absence of special means of information circulation, leads to the fact that each element of culture is used much more fully than in modern society.

The fact is that for modern man the entire world around him is divided into two parts: the world of signs and the world of things. There is a specialization of sign systems, according to which all phenomena of the world can be used both as things and as signs. Depending on which of their properties are actualized, thinginess or signification, they take on one or another status. A person is constantly engaged in determining the semiotic status of the things around him. This process is automated and occurs on a subconscious level. Three groups of things can be distinguished: with a constantly high semiotic status - things-signs (amulets, masks, flags, coats of arms), they are important not for their material value, but for their symbolic meaning; things with a constantly low semiotic status - material objects that are used in modern culture and can only satisfy specific practical needs; the main group consists of things that can be both things and signs, have material value, satisfying some practical needs, and carrying a certain symbolic load. In fact, only last group constitute complete things. The problem is that there are not too many such things in our world, and the extreme rationalism of the modern scientific worldview has taught us not only to the firm belief that sign activity is secondary, but also to the fact that a clear separation of the utilitarian and sign aspects has always existed. And we do not see that this statement is incorrect not only for traditional culture, but also for modern one. Indeed, in our culture, many things for utilitarian purposes have an additional aesthetic meaning or indicate a certain social status their owner. For example, a Rollex watch, a Parker fountain watch, are not just watches and hand-made

coy, but also symbols of belonging to a certain social group, symbols of wealth and respectability.

Therefore, it is impossible to clearly separate the rational and the irrational, including in things. Everything that is capable of influencing the mind, feeling and will asserts its undoubted reality. And in this sense symbolic meaning things are no less real than their utilitarian value. It is also impossible to raise the question of what comes first: thinghood or signification. An object becomes a fact of culture if it meets both practical and symbolic requirements.

All these properties of things are much more clearly visible in traditional culture.

Since in traditional culture the world is perceived as a whole, all things and phenomena of the world simply cannot perform any one function - they are necessarily multifunctional. There are no things-signs, no things-material objects. Any thing can serve both utilitarian and symbolic purposes at the same time. Therefore, traditional culture uses not only language, myth, ritual, but also utensils, economic and social institutions, kinship systems, housing, food, clothing, and weapons as semiotic (sign) objects. For example, even in mature Chinese culture, bronze vessels were used not only for their intended purpose: their decorations and reliefs carried a large amount of information about the structure of the world, its value orientations, etc. At the same time, we can rightfully say that the main purpose of these vessels is to serve as a source of information about the world, and the possibility of their utilitarian use is a consequence of their main function. Thus, in traditional society, things are always signs, but signs are always things.

Therefore, if in modern society we can talk about the existence of material and spiritual culture, then in traditional society such a division will give a deliberately distorted picture.

The fundamental features of the functioning of things in a traditional society appear already in the process of their manufacture. A master in archaic and traditional culture, when creating a thing, realizes that he is repeating the operations that the Creator of the Universe performed at the Beginning of the World. Thus, there arises a fairly clear awareness of the fact that man continues the work of the demiurges, not only making up for natural losses, but also further filling the world. Therefore, the technology of making things has always belonged to the sphere of the sacred. Even in “very distant times”, artisans were separated into separate castes, and their strength and power in the eyes of

" A. P. Sadokhii

tal society went far beyond the scope of crafts, making them mediators between the human world and nature. Even in the last century in Europe it remained special treatment to blacksmiths and millers - as to sorcerers who know the devil.

A person of traditional culture maintains a constant dialogue with the natural environment. It is not aimed at conquering nature (as is typical for modern European culture), but to cooperate with her. Therefore, when collecting material for the manufacture of any thing, the master had to not just take any suitable material(wood, clay, ore, etc.), but ask nature for consent. This was necessary so that it satisfied not only physical, but also symbolic requirements, and correlated with such concepts as life, happiness, purity, etc. The materials that were used to make things had a special status - they were the raw materials for the creation of the world and man himself. Therefore, the techniques that, according to myths, were used by the gods in this case, formed the basis of traditional technology. Usually this meant a strict space-time framework for the entire process (to make a thing there and then or to throw away the unfinished), a strictly limited choice of material, a fixed transformation of the material for each specific case with the help of fire, water, air, and, finally, “revival” of the created - because a dead object cannot exist in the living world.

All these steps took quite a lot of time and, from the point of view of modern researchers, included many unnecessary operations (rituals, dances, spells) that were not required in the technological chain. This is the so-called redundancy of technological processes. But it exists only from the point of view of modern man, who does not pay attention to the symbolic world. In fact, it was ritual that gave birth to technology, and not technology that was accompanied by ritual actions. The master performed a ritual, and the fact that it resulted in a useful object was understood as a natural consequence of the correct initial scheme.

success in real hunting). If for our rational mind there is only the function of a thing inherent in the process of its production, then for the mythological thinking man she is a manifestation of her own, only her inherent traits.

It was not enough just to make a thing. New things were always treated with caution. Therefore, before they began to be used, a check was carried out to ensure their compliance with the original samples. Usually these were some symbolic procedures. If a thing did not pass the test, this meant that the ritual of its creation had been violated - usually in some symbolic operations. Such things were rejected and were considered the focus of forces hostile to man, for example, axes that could injure their owner, or houses that brought misfortune to their owners. The satisfactory outcome of the tests meant that there was new thing, which, along with the possibility of its practical use, represented a model of the world and was perceived as Living being with its own characteristics, which was reflected in the name given to this thing. This attitude persisted for the longest time in relation to weapons, especially swords. It is not without reason that not only the names of heroes are known in history, but also their weapons (Excalibur - the sword of King Arthur, Durandal - the sword of Roland).

The full value of things in traditional cultures, their belonging simultaneously to two worlds - the profane (ordinary, material) and the sacred (sign, symbolic) - makes it possible to use them in rites and rituals, which are the most important regulators of behavior in traditional societies Oh.

Throughout human history and in the modern era, a huge variety of types of cultures have existed and continues to exist in the world as local historical forms of human communities. Each culture is the result of the activity of its creator - an ethnos or ethnic community. The development and functioning of culture is a special way of life of an ethnic group. Therefore, each culture expresses the specifics of the way of life of its creator, his behavior, his special way of perceiving the world in myths, legends, religious beliefs and value orientations that give meaning to human existence.

Among the diversity of ethnic cultures, scientists distinguish a type of traditional (archaic) culture, which is common in societies where changes are imperceptible over the life of one generation. This type of culture is dominated by customs and traditions passed on from generation to generation. Traditional culture organically combines its constituent elements; within it, a person does not feel discord with society. Such a culture organically interacts with nature, is united with it, it is focused on preserving its originality, its cultural identity. Traditional culture, as a rule, is pre-industrial, unwritten, and its main occupation is agriculture. There are also traditional cultures in the world that are still in the hunting and gathering stage. Currently, the Areal Card Index of Human Relations records more than 600 traditional (archaic) cultures.

The embodiment of this syncretism is myth - a syncretic formation that perceives the world as a whole and contains in embryo all the spheres of culture that emerged later. In myth there is a coincidence of a sensory image received from certain elements of the external world and a general idea. It exists not in general concepts, but in concrete sensory images, which leads to the identity of the material world and its picture, the spiritual image created by man. This is not faith or knowledge, but a sensory experience of reality. But most importantly, this way of perceiving and explaining the world determines a person’s place in the world around him and creates a sense of confidence for existence and activity in it. The indivisible holistic thinking that is formed connects, and does not separate, identifies, and does not oppose, various aspects of human life. Therefore, at this stage of the development of consciousness, myth turns out to be many times stronger than analytical thinking.

The second essential feature of non-literate cultures is traditionalism. All the features of the structure of life and everyday life, myths and rituals, norms and values of such a society were stable, rigid, inviolable and passed on from generation to generation as an unwritten law. The power of tradition - this cultural substitute for the genetic method of transmitting behavioral programs lost by humanity - was absolute, consecrated by mythological ideas. After all, myth, by its nature, claims to be the absoluteness of everything it affirms, and requires from each individual the unconditional acceptance of his system of ideas and feelings and their transmission intact from generation to generation.

The power of tradition is very great here too. And although human behavior is much more diverse than in archaic culture, it still obeys the norms developed in society. In reality, these norms are presented in the form of a set of special standard programs - behavioral stereotypes. They usually foresee in advance most of the situations that may arise in front of a person in his daily practice. The justification for this kind of stereotypes is a reference to the law of ancestors - the main way of motivating actions in traditional culture. Question: “Why is this and not otherwise?” - simply has no meaning in it, since the whole point of tradition is to do it the way it was done the first time. Thus, it is the past (in the form of ancestral law, myth) that acts in traditional culture as an explanation of the present and future.

These behavioral stereotypes are based not on rules, as in modern society, but on images, models (originally recorded in myths), and following them becomes a prerequisite for the social life of the team. Such samples have a syncretic, undifferentiated character. Later, legal, ethical, religious and other norms will emerge from them, which are still contained in them in the form of embryos.

In traditional culture, the idea of the existence of a center and periphery is structuring. In the center are sacred elements that define norms, values, ideas about good and evil in a given culture, as well as knowledge about the necessary actions to maintain the harmony of the world. On the cultural periphery is the ordinary, everyday life of people. The legacy left from archaic cultures and their syncretism is the principle of the unity of the world, the inseparability of its individual constituent elements. There are no objects or phenomena in the world that are absolutely isolated from others. Each of them is connected with other objects and phenomena by many threads and contains their particles. Everything is in everything. In particular, this means that everyday life, the sphere of the profane (ordinary) turns out to be saturated with symbolism, the true meaning of which lies in the area of the sacred. This is how the mythological model of the world is formed, and in traditional culture it continues to play a vital role. Only later stages of cultural development led to the polarization of these two spheres.

The integrity of this culture, combined with the absence of special means of information circulation, leads to the fact that each element of culture is used much more fully than in modern society.

The fact is that for modern man the entire world around him is divided into two parts: the world of signs and the world of things. There is a specialization of sign systems, according to which all phenomena of the world can be used both as things and as signs. Depending on which of their properties are actualized, thinginess or signification, they take on one or another status. A person is constantly engaged in determining the semiotic status of the things around him. This process is automated and occurs on a subconscious level. Three groups of things can be distinguished: with a constantly high semiotic status - things-signs (amulets, masks, flags, coats of arms), they are important not for their material value, but for their symbolic meaning; things with a constantly low semiotic status - material objects that are used in modern culture and can only satisfy specific practical needs; the main group consists of things that can be both things and signs, have material value, satisfying some practical needs, and carry a certain symbolic load. In fact, only the last group consists of full-fledged things. The problem is that there are not too many such things in our world, and the extreme rationalism of the modern scientific worldview has taught us not only to the firm belief that sign activity is secondary, but also to the fact that a clear separation of the utilitarian and sign aspects has always existed. And we do not see that this statement is incorrect not only for traditional culture, but also for modern one. Indeed, in our culture, many things for utilitarian purposes have an additional aesthetic meaning or indicate a certain social status of their owner. For example, a Rollex watch or a Parker fountain pen are not just a watch and a pen, but also symbols of belonging to a certain social group, symbols of wealth and respectability.

Therefore, it is impossible to clearly separate the rational and the irrational, including in things. Everything that is capable of influencing the mind, feeling and will asserts its undoubted reality. And in this sense, the symbolic meaning of things is no less real than their utilitarian value. It is also impossible to raise the question of what comes first: thinghood or signification. An object becomes a fact of culture if it meets both practical and symbolic requirements.

All these properties of things are much more clearly visible in traditional culture.

Therefore, if in modern society we can talk about the existence of material and spiritual culture, then in traditional society such a division will give a deliberately distorted picture.

The fundamental features of the functioning of things in a traditional society appear already in the process of their manufacture. A master in archaic and traditional culture, when creating a thing, realizes that he is repeating the operations that the Creator of the Universe performed at the Beginning of the World. Thus, there arises a fairly clear awareness of the fact that man continues the work of the demiurges, not only making up for natural losses, but also further filling the world. Therefore, the technology of making things has always belonged to the sphere of the sacred. Even in very distant times, artisans were separated into separate castes, and their strength and power in the eyes of the rest of society went far beyond the scope of craft, making them mediators between the human world and nature. Even in the last century, Europe maintained a special attitude towards blacksmiths and millers - as sorcerers who knew the devil.

A person of traditional culture maintains a constant dialogue with the natural environment. It is aimed not at conquering nature (as is typical of modern European culture), but at collaborating with it. Therefore, when collecting material to make something, the master had to not just take any suitable material (wood, clay, ore, etc.), but also ask nature for consent. This was necessary so that it satisfied not only physical, but also symbolic requirements, and correlated with such concepts as life, happiness, purity, etc. The materials that were used to make things had a special status - they were the raw materials for the creation of the world and man himself. Therefore, the techniques that, according to myths, were used by the gods in this case, formed the basis of traditional technology. Usually this meant a strict space-time framework for the entire process (to make a thing there and then or to throw away the unfinished), a strictly limited choice of material, a fixed transformation of the material for each specific case with the help of fire, water, air, and, finally, “revival” of the created - because a dead object cannot exist in the living world.

Based on this, the forms of all things were strictly fixed, the design of things did not allow any imagination. Here magic came into play, since things were given the shape of some object from the human environment (animal, plant, etc.), and the things were endowed with their characteristics. In this case, we are faced with phenomena of the same order as hunting magic (before the start of the hunt, a special ritual was carried out - in a magical dance, the hunters had to kill an animal - a shaman in disguise, this was supposed to ensure success in a real hunt). If for our rational mind there is only the function of a thing inherent in the process of its production, then for a mythologically thinking person it is a manifestation of its own, only its inherent features.

It was not enough just to make a thing. New things were always treated with caution. Therefore, before they began to be used, a check was carried out to ensure their compliance with the original samples. Usually these were some symbolic procedures. If a thing did not pass the test, this meant that the ritual of its creation had been violated - usually in some symbolic operations. Such things were rejected and were considered the focus of forces hostile to man, for example, axes that could injure their owner, or houses that brought misfortune to their owners. A satisfactory outcome of the tests meant that a new thing had appeared, which, along with the possibility of its practical use, represented a model of the world and was perceived as a living being with its own characteristics, which was reflected in the name given to this thing. This attitude persisted for the longest time in relation to weapons, especially swords. It is not without reason that not only the names of heroes are known in history, but also their weapons (Excalibur - the sword of King Arthur, Durandal - the sword of Roland).

The experience accumulated by humanity during its sociocultural history provides invaluable assistance in solving cultural problems in modern stage transformation of our society based on the principles of humanism and democracy in the conditions of rapid scientific and technological progress.

Problems of culture today are acquiring paramount, in fact, key importance, because culture is a powerful factor social development. After all, it permeates all aspects human life- from the basics of material production and human needs to the greatest manifestations of the human spirit. Culture is playing an increasingly important role in achieving the long-term program goals of the democratic movement: the formation and strengthening of civil society, the opening creativity people, deepening democracy, building the rule of law.

Culture affects all spheres of social and individual life - work, everyday life, leisure, area of thinking, etc., on the way of life of society and the individual. Its significance in the formation and development of a person’s lifestyle is manifested through the action of personal-subjective factors (attitudes of consciousness, spiritual needs, values, etc.) that influence the nature of behavior, forms and style of communication of people, values, patterns, norms of behavior.

Culture acquires social influence, first of all, as a necessary aspect of the activity of a social person, which, by its nature, involves the organization of joint activities of people, and, consequently, its regulation by certain rules accumulated in sign and symbolic systems, traditions, etc.

Since the center of culture is a person with all his needs and concerns, a special place in social life is occupied by the issues of his development cultural environment, and the problems associated with achieving them High Quality in the process of creation and perception cultural values. The development of the cultural riches of the past performs an integrating function in the life of every society, harmonizes the existence of people, awakens in them the need to comprehend the world as a whole. And this is of great importance for the search for general criteria of progress in the conditions of an unstoppable scientific and technological revolution.

These questions are posed with extreme urgency by the very life of our society; orientation towards a qualitatively new state of society leads to a sharp turning point in the understanding of traditionalist and innovative trends in social development. They require, on the one hand, the deep development of cultural heritage, the expansion of the exchange of genuine cultural values between peoples, and on the other, the ability to go beyond the usual but already outdated ideas, to overcome a number of reactionary traditions that have developed and been implanted over the centuries, constantly manifesting themselves in the consciousness , activities and behavior of people. In resolving these issues, knowledge and an adequate modern understanding of the history of world culture play a significant role.

The dynamics of cultural values are revealed by comparing them in the past and present. Under these conditions, there is an increase in the general social need to look closely at the past in order to turn its valuable experience into the present and future.

Current realities modern world led to a turning point in a person’s consciousness - his gaze is directed towards an ever deeper exit beyond the boundaries of his life, which is not limited in the individual’s consciousness to the dates of birth and death. A natural trend is becoming aware of oneself in the context of historical time, in orientation both to one’s historical and cultural roots and to the future, to socio-cultural ideals and the possibilities of their implementation.

The purpose of this work is to study traditional culture, its essence and system.

General characteristics of traditional culture

Traditional culture is the autochthonous culture of a traditional society, as well as folk culture. As a rule, it is opposed to those elements of culture that arose relatively recently (over the last 100-150 years), were introduced from the outside, or are of elite origin. For example, the culture of pre-Petrine times is usually called “Russian traditional culture,” while Russian literature XIX century (developed under European influence and created by the nobility) refers to “Russian classical culture”.
Traditional culture is a stable, non-dynamic culture, the characteristic feature of which is that the changes occurring in it are too slow and therefore are practically not recorded by the collective consciousness of this culture.
This culture is directly related to the tradition that characterizes such self-organizing and self-regulating systems human activity and the associated sociocultural experience, the functioning and development of which is not associated with institutional forms of support through a special apparatus of power.
There have been a number of civilizations in history whose culture can be considered traditional. We are talking about Ancient Egypt, Ancient China, Sumer, Assyria, Ancient India, etc. These traditional societies reproduced the existing way of life for thousands of years, when the past of adults turned out to be the future of their children. The death of some states and the emergence of others in their place did not change the type of culture itself. The foundation of culture was preserved and passed on as social heredity, ensuring the reproduction of the traditional type of development. Not only did man not feel any discord with society, but nature also organically interacted with this culture, proving its unity with it through numerous examples.
However, despite all the originality and originality of these cultural formations, they have some common features:
- focus on repeating a once given way of life, customs, traditions and reproduction of existing social structures;
- adherence to existing patterns of behavior;
- the dominance of sacred, religious-mythological, canonized ideas in the mind;
- slow pace of changes in types, means and goals of activities.
The first historical form of traditional culture was primitive culture. The traditional nature of this culture ensured its longer existence than all subsequent historical types of culture. And yet, over tens of thousands of years, changes occurred in primitive culture, which were named by archaeologists as different stages of the Stone Age, which were replaced by centuries of metal - bronze and iron.
Traditional culture is inherent in pre-industrial society, in which the main occupation is agriculture, hunting and gathering. As a rule, such cultures do not have writing.
Traditional culture has not become a part of history. Traditional societies with their corresponding culture exist in Africa, Australia, and South America. Their character traits largely correspond to the type of culture we described earlier. The real embodiment of industrial culture is the USA, the urbanized part of European countries. In rural areas of developed industrial countries, there is a tendency to preserve traditional lifestyles. Thus, two types of culture can be united in one country - unified - industrial and ethnically distinctive, traditionally oriented. Russia, for example, is a complex combination of traditional and modern cultures.

Functioning and system of traditional culture

All definitions of culture are united in one thing - this is a characteristic or way of life of a person, not animals. Culture is the basic concept to denote a special form of organization of people's lives. The concept of “society” is interpreted by many, although not all, cultural researchers as a collection or aggregate of individuals living together. This concept describes the life of both animals and humans. Therefore, it is more appropriate to use the concept of “culture” to express the specifics human existence.
The culture of society is a system of generally accepted objects, ideas, forms of behavior, etc., characterizing the integrity of society, its “quality.”
Universal human culture is the highest example of material and spiritual culture, generally accepted in all cultures and ensuring the unity of humanity as a planetary (biosocial) structure.
Any culture is as complex dynamic system includes stable, conservative and changing sides. Sustainable elements of culture are cultural traditions or cultural heritage passed down from generation to generation. Thanks to the presence of this kind of elements, the accumulation and transmission of people’s experience occurs through the phenomenon of culture, and each new generation actualizes and expands this experience, relying on the experience of previous generations.
Thus, an important element of culture is cultural heritage or traditions. This is that part of the elements of material and spiritual culture that has evolved from past generations and has retained its value value(sacred values).
Traditional culture is common in societies in which changes are imperceptible for the life of one generation - the past of adults turns out to be the future of their children. An all-conquering custom reigns here, a tradition preserved and passed on from generation to generation. Units public organization consist of familiar people. Traditional culture organically combines its constituent elements; a person does not feel discord with society. This culture organically interacts with nature, one with it. This type of society is focused on preserving its identity and cultural identity. The authority of the older generation is indisputable, which makes it possible to resolve any conflicts bloodlessly. The source of knowledge and skills is the older generation.

CONCLUSION

Traditional culture is a stable, non-dynamic culture.
The first historical form of traditional culture was primitive culture. It organically combines its constituent elements; a person does not feel discord with society. This culture organically interacts with nature and is one with it.

Any culture is divided into component parts and performs certain functions. The development and functioning of cultures is ensured by a special way of human activity - social or cultural, the main difference of which is actions not only with objective-material formations, but also with ideal-shaped entities, symbolic forms. Culture expresses the specifics of people's way of life, the behavior of individual peoples, and their special way of perceiving the world.

The system of folk traditional culture has universal character and timeless meaning, has high adaptive abilities.

Today, the question of the status of traditional culture is extremely relevant and is dictated by practical needs. Today's world community is striving for multiculturalism, which requires developing the right attitude towards the Other, which requires an understanding of other cultural models.

Today one can notice that in the rural areas of developed industrial countries there is a tendency to preserve the traditional way of life. Accordingly, two types of culture can be combined in one country - industrial and ethnically distinctive, traditionally oriented. An example is Russia, which today represents a complex combination of traditional and modern cultures.

LIST OF SOURCES USED:

Zakharov A.V. Traditional culture in modern society // Sociological studies. - 2004. - No. 7. - p. 105-115.
Kostina A.V. Traditional culture: to the problem of defining the concept. - M., 2009.
The latest philosophical dictionary. - M., 1999.
Parkhomenko I. T., Radugin A. A. Culturology in questions and answers. - M., 2001.
Shatsky E. Utopia and tradition. - M., 1990.

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