Illustrations. Settlements, dwellings and buildings of the Chuvash people: types, building materials, buildings
TRADITIONS OF HOUSE BUILDING AMONG THE CHUVASH V.V. MEDVEDEV The nested form of the settlement provided the opportunity to occupy the most suitable site for construction. The Chuvash took into account the distance to another house, the presence of a natural reservoir, wells, and soil quality. The most significant criterion was the behavior of domestic animals. The resting place chosen by the cow was considered the most suitable. The Chuvash believed that a hut built here would be warm. On the contrary, the places where geese landed were considered unsuitable11. According to legends, the Udmurts, when choosing a place to build a kuala, observed the behavior of a bull. They followed the bull: where he stopped, they founded a new village12. For practical reasons, the Chuvash followed the sun, choosing the well-lit side. In the spring, we observed the decline of the water and the first streams at the proposed site for the construction of the house. The rapid melting of snow and dry ground were considered a good sign. The choice of site was determined by lot. The settlers in the new territory, under the leadership of old people, gathered together to draw lots. The old men chose a long pole or staff and brought out future householders in pairs, who moved their palms along the length of the pole from top to ground. The first one to touch the ground chose the plot. A detailed study of the site for a future home is also characteristic of the East Slavic tradition, according to which, from everything that was actually suitable, it was necessary to select only that which could be considered such from a ritual-mythological point of view. In this case, a balance was established between the sacred and the profane, the cosmic and the earthly13. Trusting cattle to choose a home site is typical for Eastern Slavs. Animals act as objects whose behavior is associated with a point in the space being mastered14. Opposite to successful loci were unsuitable areas of land, which included the territory of burnt houses, abandoned bathhouses, intersections and old roads. The boundaries and dimensions of the new dwelling should not coincide with the previous house15. The Chuvash tried to remove the burned houses outside the settlement. The construction of a new dwelling, if there was no possibility of moving to another site, began away from the fire that occurred. It was considered undesirable to build a house on the site of an active or abandoned road. Vyatka residents avoided construction on the forest road that ran through the village16. The prohibitions were associated with the presence on roads, intersections and other dysfunctional loci of otherworldly forces that had the ability to cause harm. For example, the road was often used by sorcerers and healers; it connected the world of living people and dead ancestors. An incorrectly chosen location for the construction of a home was the cause of failure and family discord17. The Chuvash believed that a person, having spent the night on the site planned for a house, would determine its properties. A sound, good sleep was considered a good sign. They also raised a hut on the site of an old ant heap, as it was drier and more convenient18. The Komi-Zyryans also resorted to the help of ants. Ants were brought from the forest in a birch bark box and not a large number of litter from an anthill. The box was placed on the site of the future building. If the place is good, then the ants will settle on it, otherwise they left the box19. An example of a change in tradition with the street-block arrangement of houses in a settlement is the plot given by P.P. Fokin about the allocation of settlements from the village. Russian Vasilyevka Samara region . Old-timers talked about watching animals in a half-joking tone. “We should have brought them in and waited for them to settle down and calm down. But we, the settlers, had to maintain a row along the street line, maintain the boundaries of the plots, and the distance between the houses. So, if we wanted, we would not be able to follow these signs,” writes the author20. The refusal to build on a site favored by geese also confirms another requirement: from the start of construction until moving into the hut, bare-legged birds were not allowed into it, since they attracted poverty to the new home21. Having decided on the location of the future hut, they laid the foundation. The action was accompanied by the ritual nikĕs pătti “porridge to the deity of the foundation.” The silver coin and wool were placed in the tur kĕtessi “corner of the deity Tură” (south-eastern side), either on the foundation pillar, or after the first, third crown. In the center of the base of the new hut, they cooked porridge and read a prayer for the well-being of the family22. Silver was supposed to fill the house with wealth, wool - with warmth23. The Chuvash of the Bolsheshatma parish of the Yadrinsky district of the Kazan province, laying the foundation, laid out copper crosses in the corners, protecting them from evil spirits. When saying a prayer, they turned to face the east24. The Chuvash dedicated a silver coin to the deity Khertsurt, “the guardian of the hearth”25. With the adoption of Orthodoxy, the Chuvash began to borrow Russian traditions. When starting construction, coins and crosses were placed together in the corners. A priest was invited to consecrate a future or already completed house26. The coins placed at the corners of the first crowns of the dwelling were called port nikĕsĕ 27. Before the construction of the log house began, the Chuvash began to dig the underground. A crown was assembled around it, inside which nikĕs pătti porridge was cooked. Neighbors and the old man who led the ceremony were invited to the porridge. Turning to the east, they said the words of prayer. The old man threw a spoonful of porridge into the fire, after which they began to eat and treat themselves to beer. According to the remark of V.K. Magnitsky, in addition to coins, a handful of rye was placed in the corners28. If the coin represented wealth, wool - the warmth of the future building, then rye, naturally, meant a satisfying life and prosperity in the house. During field trips, informants also recalled that a dug-out young rowan bush along with its roots was lowered into the underground. They explain the action by saying that the family, like a bush with roots, must firmly establish itself in a new place. Rowan protected the household and home. In a conversation with ethnographers E.A. Yagafova and I.G. Petrov suggested that the rowan bush in this situation acted as one of the forms of the household deity Yĕrĕkh. It is no coincidence that the tree was used as a talisman and kept in the house, on the estate or planted in the yard. For example, when installing a new gate, rowan branches are thrown into the empty metal pillars. They are also placed in the foundation along with coins and wool. Because for folk culture There is variability; in different settlements there are different things known to be used when laying a house, and different angles suitable for this. The variety of names is also characteristic. So, in the village Bishkain, Aurgazinsky district of the Republic of Belarus, ritual actions are denoted in one word - nikĕs “foundation, foundation”29. Variation is also found in the choice of the person pawning the items. This role is played by the future owner, the eldest man in the family, the eldest woman or a pregnant woman. If there was no pregnant woman among the relatives during construction, she was invited from among neighbors and close friends. In the absence of a man in the family, the eldest woman would throw a jacket over herself and, holding it under her left armpit, men's hat or a mitten, said a prayer and words of good wishes to the building under construction and its inhabitants. Pawning coins, wool or cereals is still practiced today. In a log house they are placed under the crowns, in a brick construction - under the first row following the foundation. According to legends, in addition to coins and wool, the Chuvash sacrificed a dog or a wolf, which they laid under the foundation30. When establishing new settlements, they also buried the corpse of a dog or wild wolf in the ground31. Sacrifice of objects for the benefit of a new home and holding prayers are found in the culture of the Bashkirs. At the site chosen for construction, a white stone was laid - the “foundation stone”, and coins were placed in the corners. They made a sacrifice and arranged a general treat for all those present and those who met on the street. Having laid the foundation, they invited a person who said a prayer and wished for prosperity and happiness32. We observe similar actions among the Mordovians. Before the construction of the foundation, a prayer was held in honor of the earth goddess. Under the front corner of the future house they buried bread, a chicken head, left a coin, scattered grain, or sprinkled the blood of a sacrificed chicken on the logs. The procedures brought wealth and prosperity33. Having finished work with the foundation of the dwelling, they began to build the walls. The log houses were raised by laying the crowns one by one according to the way they were cut, in accordance with the numbering. The Chuvash denoted walls with the word pĕrene, which also means log. Such a coincidence confirms the development, first of all, of log house construction in relation to other types of dwellings in pole, frame-post and adobe technology. On the erected log house, a maccha kashti “matitsa” was erected in one or two final rows. Small huts had one frame, while larger log houses had two. A strong log or beam was used under the mat. It was placed perpendicular to the front door34. In laying matitsa along the log house, they noticed the difference between Chuvash huts and Russian dwellings35. From quality coniferous tree they laid one matrix, two from deciduous trees, for example, aspen36. The number depended on the size and design of the house. Undoubtedly, the installation of the matrix symbolized the end of work on the log house, since the walls were erected, and, at the same time, a new stage of work on the roof of the house began. The uniqueness of the matitsa in the space of the hut, in relation to other building elements, is revealed by folklore materials: Entry shalta, puçĕ tulta “Andrey in the hut, head out” (matitsa) Retyuk retem, Senchuk pĕchchen “Redyukov whole line , and Senchuk is alone” (matitsa and ceiling boards) Pĕr saltak çine pin saltak puç hurat “A thousand soldiers lay their heads on one soldier” (matitsa and ceiling boards)37. Matitsa demarcated the territory of a residential building. It was the boundary between the “internal”, “front” part and the “external”, “rear” part, associated with the entrance/exit. An outsider, having visited a house, should not cross the border and go behind the mother without the invitation of the owners38. Among the Chuvash, matchmakers who came to the bride’s house were located on a bench near the door or under the ceiling mat. Only after talking with the owners and receiving an invitation to the table, they crossed the border and moved to another part of the house, located behind the mat39. When treating a patient, the healer sat him under the mat, listing the variants of the disease40. A.K.’s idea is fair. Bayburin that the place under the matitsa and its center must be considered the middle of the house, the topographic center, where a significant number of rituals were performed that were not associated with sitting at the table or with the stove41. Raising the matitsa was always accompanied by ritual actions. The log intended for the mother was wrapped in a fur coat and raised in this form. This technique was used to express the wish that the house would remain warm. “When lifting the mat, no matter how hard it is, not one of the workers should groan or scream. When they put the motherboard in place, they do not knock on it with an ax or any other object... If these requirements are not followed, then, according to the builders, the hut will be smelly, carbon monoxide, damp and smoky,” we read in N.V.’s notes. . Nikolsky42. Ukrainian carpenters also tried not to knock on the motherboard, since in this case the owners would have a constant headache43. There are different methods for lifting the matrix. In addition to covering with a fur coat, they hung a jug of beer, bread or a khuplu pie, and placed a spoonful of porridge at the ends of the matitsa. Having lifted the mat, the cord was cut. They picked up the loaf or watched the fall and the side on which the bread fell. The fate of the household depended on this44. The Russians wrapped bread, sometimes vodka and salt, in a tablecloth or fur and hung it from the matitsa. One of the builders scattered grain and hops near the house. At the top, the rope holding the tablecloth was cut. Like the Chuvash, in some settlements they picked up the package, and in other villages they watched the manner of its fall. The situation on earth predicted the future45. Informants confidently associate the installation of the matrix with the completion of one of the construction stages. Before lifting, two, four or six craftsmen involved in working with the matrix were seated on the log house. When there were not enough men, adult women rose to the top. Before getting up, they announced in a playful manner: “The uterus asks for vodka!” Bread or a khupla and a bottle of moonshine, vodka, and home-made beer were tied to the matitsa with a rope. They lifted it very carefully, showing mutual respect and maintaining silence. The carpenters sitting on the log house drank a glass and lowered the bottle down. In addition to the bottle, a treat was tied to the mat, which, after trying, was also lowered down. Among the riding Chuvashs. Antonovka, Gafuriysky district of the Republic of Belarus, under the laid matica in the center of the house, the owners set the table for the builders46. In the village Naumkino, Aurgazinsky district of the Republic of Belarus, for insufficient food, the craftsmen hid an empty bottle from the mother on the roof of the house with the neck towards the windy side so that it would buzz during strong gusts47. The rope with the hanging bread was cut off. A loaf falling flat side down was a good sign; a rounded side of the bread foreshadowed misfortune. In addition to pie, bread, bottles and snacks, the installation of the mother mat is associated with the placement of coins and wool, i.e. repeated the same steps as when laying the foundation. The coin and wool symbolized the prosperity and warmth of the future building. In the village Bishkain, Aurgazinsky district of the Republic of Belarus, they rolled flour, millet and other cereals into a ball of wool. Ukrainians of the Republic of Bashkortostan wrapped a matitsa in a scarf and placed grain and coins under it, which guaranteed a happy life. Under the influence of the Bashkirs, the Ukrainians replaced money with wool, “a symbol of happiness and prosperity among pastoral peoples”48. The use of coins and wool confirms the role of matitsa as the locus of concentration of the family’s material well-being49. Ritual actions under the matitsa at home during wedding celebrations, seeing off a recruit and other situations confirm “the decisiveness of the events taking place in the life of an individual, family and clan... the fateful task is being solved: to be behind the matitsa or to stay on this side”50. Thus, the Chuvash, like many other peoples, accompanied the construction of a new house with ritual actions. The location for the future home was chosen in accordance with religious beliefs, but paying attention to the features of the landscape. Significant events include the correct laying of the foundation, ensuring a comfortable and happy life in a new place. Symbols of prosperity were coins, wool, and rowan branches. The construction of the log house ended with the installation of the mat, which personified the middle of the space of the hut, its center. Naturally, home rituals are diverse and contain a large number of different types of procedures. However, the choice of the location of the house, the beginning of construction and the completion of one of the stages are important events in the Chuvash house-building tradition.
Chuvash Samara ethnocultural appearance
The earliest description of the “kartish” courtyard and the “pyurt-syurt” residential hut of the Samara Chuvash was given in the work of the 18th century Russian researcher I.I. Lepekhina: “Each resident has a special house, which, depending on the income of the peasant, is either fenced with a fence or fence. In the middle of the courtyard itself they put their living huts, which do not have any extensions, such as a canopy or closets, but the doors directly open into the courtyard. Those living between them have each winter hut and a summer one, which is placed opposite the winter one and connected to it by a passage.” The interior of the hut consisted of blind bunks located near the wall opposite the entrance. The bunks served as both a bed and a chest for storing household items, as well as a place to keep young livestock in winter period. A canopy was hung over the bunks. The huts were heated in black, and the small fiberglass windows were closed with bolts. In the yard, in addition to the residential hut, there were buildings for livestock and storage of bread and hay. There was also a steam bath here, in which, according to I.I. Lepekhina, they “steam weekly... in unbearable heat and two brooms.”
By the end XIX --beginning In the 20th century, the predominant type of housing among the Samara Chuvash became two-chamber houses, consisting of a hut and a vestibule, and in some, even a cage. The poor continued to have huts with a porch, without a canopy. Hushe huts, ser-pyurt half-dugouts, shacks, barns, and adobe huts served as temporary dwellings.
In Soviet times, especially in post-war period, there was an intensive growth in the intimacy of houses either through the construction of side-chapels or through the construction of cross houses.
Huts were traditionally built on a low basement. For its construction various Construction Materials: wood, adobe, brick, less often - stone. The main material was logs various breeds wood, but more often conifers. Used in house building technology various techniques: log, post, adobe masonry. The main method of cutting logs is “in the clear”. At the beginning of the 20th century, due to the rise in prices for timber and the impoverishment of peasants, adobe and adobe houses became widespread in the region.
When choosing a place for a house, we observed traditional customs: it was not allowed to build a house at the site of sacrifice to deceased relatives “tasa vyran” or spirits of the area “khayar vyran”. The place chosen for the house was consecrated - “chuk tuna”. Coins were placed in the front corner of the framed crown and under the mat, and coins, grains, and pieces of fabric were placed under the crossbars. In the basement of a house under construction, they made a sacrifice to the brownie “khert-surt”, and before moving into the house they celebrated a housewarming “sene surt”.
Residential buildings among the Samara Chuvash differed in the design and shape of the roof, and their location in relation to the street. In the northern regions, they had gable roofs and stood with the narrow side facing the street, and in the northeastern and eastern regions they had a hipped roof and were positioned with the wide side facing the street. Traditionally, roofs were thatched. In wooded areas they used planks and shingles, and in the steppe areas they used reeds and tiles. In the 20th century, iron and slate came into practice. The floor and ceiling were covered with boards. 2-3 slanted windows were cut into the wall onto the street (more for five-walled windows). The entrance to the house was located either from the street or from the yard.
The walls were also coated with clay or whitewashed, which, along with the hipped roof, gave the house a typological resemblance to a South Russian hut. The exterior design of such a dwelling was not burdened with architectural details - the pediment and window frames were minimally decorated with carvings. Carved ornaments have spread since the beginning of the 20th century.
The interior layout of the house has maintained traditional features over the centuries. The kamaka stove was located to the right or left of the entrance, faced the front wall and could have a built-in boiler. This layout is close to the Central Russian type. In five-walled houses, the front hut was heated with a Dutch oven. Currently, baking ovens are combined with water heating and heating. There was a table diagonally from the stove, and in the corner adjacent to the stove, at the entrance, there was a bed. In the “red corner” of the baptized Chuvash there was a shrine. The corner of the hut in front of the kamaka ume stove served as a kitchen; traditionally, the stove was placed on a wooden base, to which a fixed bench was attached. In the 19th century, a “polati centre” was installed above the entrance, fixed benches “sak” were installed around the table, along the front and side walls; a chest with things could stand next to it; in the kitchen there was a cupboard. Currently, homemade furniture has been replaced by factory furniture. In the past, the interior of a home was decorated with homespun towels, rugs, knitted tablecloths, napkins, and valances.
Plank or log canopies “selnik” were used for storing food and also as a summer home. In front of the entrance to the vestibule there was a porch decorated with architectural details.
Outbuildings (barn, cage, stable) were located in the courtyard either in the form of the letter G or P. In the eastern regions of the region, there was a free arrangement of buildings. In the courtyard there was a “la”, used for making beer or baking bread. For reasons of fire hazard, the “muncha” bathhouse was moved outside the yard and placed closer to the water source. The materials for the construction of outbuildings were wood, stone, and brick. Vegetables, canned and perishable foods were stored in the “nyukhrep” cellar. The yard was enclosed either by a wattle fence or a plank fence with a gate (with or without a roof). The first ones are called Russian gates, the second ones are called Chuvash gates.
In the 60-90s of the 20th century, significant changes took place in house-building techniques: intimacy increased (3-5 rooms), wood was partially replaced by brick, and in some villages block and panel houses were built. However, wood predominates in the construction of outbuildings.
There are almost one and a half million in Russia, they are the fifth largest people in our country.
What do the Chuvash do, their traditional activities
Arable farming has long played a leading role in the traditional Chuvash economy. They cultivated rye (the main food crop), spelt, oats, barley, buckwheat, millet, peas, hemp, and flax. Gardening was developed; onions, cabbage, carrots, rutabaga, and turnips were planted. From the mid-19th century, potatoes began to spread.
The Chuvash have long been famous for their ability to cultivate hops, which they also sold to neighboring peoples. Historians note that back in the 18th century, many peasants had capitally built field hop fields with oak pillars. At the beginning of the 20th century, wealthy owners acquired their own dryers and presses for producing hop briquettes, and instead of traditional, only slightly cultivated varieties, more productive ones were introduced - Bavarian, Bohemian, Swiss.
In second place in importance was livestock farming - large and small cattle, horses, pigs, and poultry were raised. They also engaged in hunting, fishing, and beekeeping.
The most common handicrafts were woodworking: wheelwork, cooperage, carpentry. There were carpenters', tailors' and other artels. Many carpenters in coastal villages were engaged in the manufacture of boats and small vessels. On this base, at the beginning of the 20th century, small enterprises arose (the cities of Kozlovka and Mariinsky Posad), where they built not only boats, but also schooners for the Caspian crafts.
Among the crafts, pottery, wicker weaving, and wood carving were developed. Carvings were used to decorate utensils (especially beer ladles), furniture, gate posts, cornices, and platbands.
Until the 17th century, there were many metal processing specialists among the Chuvash. However, after the ban on foreigners to engage in this craft, even at the beginning of the 20th century, there were almost no blacksmiths among the Chuvash.
Chuvash women were engaged in making canvas, dyeing fabric, and sewing clothes for all family members. Clothes were decorated with embroidery, beads and coins. Chuvash embroidery of the 17th-19th centuries is considered one of the pinnacles of folk culture; it is distinguished by its symbolism, variety of forms, restrained colorfulness, high artistic taste of the craftswomen, and precision of execution. The peculiarity of Chuvash embroidery is the same pattern on both sides of the fabric. Today, modern products using the traditions of national embroidery are manufactured at the enterprises of the Paha Törö (Wonderful Embroidery) association.
By the way, the Chuvash are the largest Turkic people, the majority of whom profess Orthodoxy (there are small groups of Muslim Chuvash and unbaptized Chuvash).
One of the most famous ancient holidays associated with agriculture that exists today is. Literally translated as the wedding of arable land, it is associated with the ancient Chuvash idea of the marriage of the plow (masculine) with the earth (feminine). In the past, Akatui had an exclusively religious and magical character, accompanied by collective prayer for a good harvest. With baptism, it turned into a community holiday with horse racing, wrestling, and youth entertainment.
To this day, the Chuvash have preserved the ritual of pomochi - nime. When there is a big and difficult job ahead, which the owners cannot cope with themselves, they ask their fellow villagers and relatives for help. Early in the morning, the owner of the family or a specially selected person goes around the village, inviting people to work. As a rule, everyone who hears the invitation comes to help with tools. Work is in full swing all day, and in the evening the owners arrange a festive feast.
Traditional elements have also been preserved in family rituals associated with the main moments of a person’s life in the family: the birth of a child, marriage, departure to another world. For example, among the riding Chuvash, back in the last century, there was such a custom - if children died in a family, then the subsequent ones (regardless of the name given at baptism) were called by the name of birds or wild animals - Çökç(Martin), Kashkar(Wolf) and so on. They tried to ensure that the false name became established in everyday life. They believed that in this way they would deceive evil spirits, the child would not die, and the family would survive.
Chuvash wedding ceremonies were very complex and varied. The full ritual took several weeks and consisted of matchmaking, pre-wedding rituals, the wedding itself (which took place in both the bride’s and the groom’s houses), and post-wedding rituals. A specially selected man from the groom's relatives kept order. Now the wedding has been somewhat simplified, but has retained the main traditional elements. For example, such as “buying the gate” at the entrance to the bride’s yard, crying and lamentation of the bride (in some places), changing the girl’s headdress to a headdress married woman, the bride and groom fetching water, etc., special wedding songs are also performed.
Family ties mean a lot to the Chuvash. And today the Chuvash tries to observe a long-established custom, according to which once or twice a year he had to invite all his relatives and neighbors to a feast.
Chuvash folk songs usually talk not about the love of a man and a woman (as in many modern songs), but about love for relatives, for one’s homeland, for one’s parents.
In Chuvash families, elderly parents and fathers and mothers are treated with love and respect. Word " amăsh"translated as "mother", but the Chuvash have special words for their own mother" Anna, api", pronouncing these words, the Chuvash speaks only about his mother. These words are never used in abusive speech or ridicule. About the sense of duty to the mother, the Chuvash say: “Treat your mother with pancakes baked in the palm of your hand every day, and even then you will not repay her good for good, labor for labor."
In the formation and regulation of moral and ethical standards among the Chuvash people, public opinion: "What will they say in the village" ( Yal myeon kalat). The Chuvash had special respect for the ability to behave with dignity in society. They condemned immodest behavior, foul language, drunkenness, theft... Special demands were placed on young people in these matters. From generation to generation the Chuvash taught: "Don't disgrace the name of the Chuvash" ( Chavash yatne an çert) .
Elena Zaitseva
The Chuvash people developed at the junction of forests and steppes. Geographical conditions had an impact on the nature of the settlement. Chuvash Yal settlements were located, as a rule, near water sources: rivers, springs, along ravines, most often, and were hidden from prying eyes in forests or green trees planted near houses. The favorite trees of the Chuvash were willow and alder (sirek); it is no coincidence that many villages surrounded by alder thickets received the name Sirekle (Erykla).
In the northern and central regions of Chuvashia, the villages were located crowded together, in bushes: daughter villages - Kasa settlements - are grouped around the mother village, forming a whole nest of settlements. In the south, among the lower Chuvash living in open areas, a riverine type of settlement is observed in which the village is extended in a chain along the river. Settlements of this type are larger in size than with nest settlement.
Chuvash settlements before mid-19th centuries did not have a clear layout, but consisted of separate neighborhoods inhabited by relatives. Therefore, it was difficult for a stranger to immediately find the desired estate. The crowding of houses and buildings also increased the potential for fire disasters.
The layout of the estate, its fencing, the placement of the house inside the Chuvash estate, noted A.P. Smirnov, is completely similar to the layout of the estate in Suvar. The estate of a Chuvash peasant consisted of a house and outbuildings: a cage, a barn, a stable, a stable, a summer kitchen, and a bathhouse. Rich peasants often had two-story buildings. This is how the ethnographer G. Komissarov described a Chuvash estate of the 19th century: In the yard they build: a hut, a canopy behind it, then a barn, then a barn, where they put firewood and put carts and sleighs; on the other side of the yard, in the foreground, counting from the street, a cellar is being built, then a storage room, then a barn again. In the background there is a povet, a hayloft, a stable and fenced-off premises for corralling livestock, called “vylyakh-karti”. They build a shack somewhat separately, which in the old days served as a summer home, and now they cook food and wash clothes in it. Another barn (a grain barn) is being built in the garden, and a bathhouse is also being built in the ravine." 40
In the old days, houses were built in a black style, with doors facing east. The house usually consisted of a hut and a vestibule, covered with a gable thatch or plank roof.
Since the beginning of this century, the exterior of the home began to be decorated with wooden carvings. The main motif of the ornament to this day remains solar signs - circles, crosses.
Later, long benches and wooden beds appeared. Dwellings equipped with stoves and chimneys became widespread among the wealthy part of the Chuvash peasantry from the second half of the 19th century century. Of course, the modern appearance of Chuvash dwellings is incomparable to what ethnographers captured at the beginning of the 20th century; today in the house you can see modern rubble appliances and furniture, but the craving for the traditional still remains, although it manifests itself in a stylized form - the use of embroidered and woven products and wooden carvings in the national style to decorate the exterior and interior of the home.
Wooden utensils. Wood processing was highly developed among the peoples of the forest belt, including the Chuvash. Almost all household utensils were made of wood. There were many woodworking tools: a drill (păra), a brace (çavram păra) used for drilling holes and holes in solid material; chisel, chisel (ăйă) – tools for gouging out holes, sockets, grooves (yra); a large chisel (kara) is used for cutting out grooves in logs, boards, in the manufacture of mortars, troughs, tubs and other chiseled products.
According to the manufacturing method and nature of use, wooden utensils can be divided into several groups: 1) hollowed-out utensils with a solid bottom; 2) hollowed-out vessels with an inserted bottom; 3) riveted products; 4) dishes made of birch bark, bast, bark; 5) wicker utensils made of wicker, bast, shingles, roots.
Tableware was made from soft (linden, willow, aspen) and hard (oak, birch) tree species, from a single piece of wood or rhizome. Made from strong roots best samples large ladles - bratin (altăr), small ladles for beer (kurka). They are shaped like a boat. The nasal side of the large bucket is raised upward and, turning into a narrow neck, is dismembered, forming a completion in the form of two horse heads (trigger duck). The peculiar two- and three-hole buckets “tĕkeltĕk” and “yankăltăk” are interesting. Honey and beer were poured into them at the same time, and “dust” (balm) from various herbs was also poured into a three-section ladle. These “paired ladles” (yĕkĕrlĕ kurka) were intended only for newlyweds. Small ladles, which were the pride of the family, were decorated with beautiful intricate carvings. They are also often boat-shaped. The handle is high with a slotted loop ending in a hook for hanging. The patterns on the handle are different: these are solar motifs, cords, recesses, grooves, sculptural forms.
In everyday life, the Chuvash widely used utensils made of birch bark - sewn tues and cylindrical bodies (purak).
Wicker containers were used to store and carry food and various things; a wide range of bast braids known as common name purse (kushel). Food and small belongings for the road were placed in a kusheel - a neatly made wicker bag with a lid. Pester (pushăt, takmak, peshtĕr) was in some places the bag of the manager of the wedding train (tui puçĕ). Ritual dishes were placed in this bag - bread (çăkăr) and cheese (chăkăt). Along with the bags, they used a wicker bast bucket for water and beer. Bread was proofed in wicker cups before baking, and wicker boxes were used as salt shakers. A vessel for water (shiv savăchĕ) and a container for gunpowder were taken with them when hunting.
Many utensils were woven from wicker. A basket for spoons (çăpala pĕrni) was made from bird cherry or willow twigs. There were vessels woven from shingles, wicker and strips of birch bark, bast, and tufts of grass. This is how bread bowls were made, for example. A hay purse (lăpă), various baskets (çatan, karçinkka), bodies, kurmans, chests, furniture, and fishing tackle were woven from willow vines.
Clay dishes. People have been making pottery since ancient times. Its production in Volga Bulgaria was at a high level. However, from the 16th century. local traditions in the production of highly artistic ceramics are gradually being forgotten. After joining the Russian state, the need for pottery was satisfied mainly by the products of urban artisans.
Pottery was made from pre-prepared clay. The clay was placed in a wooden box and thoroughly crushed with feet and hands so that it was soft, elastic and did not break when twisted into a rope. After this, clay blanks were made of various sizes depending on the size of the dishes. Blanks are small pieces of clay rolled into a thick and short rope.
The vessel was formed on a hand or foot potter's wheel. After drying, the manufactured dishes were covered with glaze, which gave them strength and shine. After that, it was fired in a special oven.
Chuvash potters made a variety of dishes: pots, korchagi (chÿcholmek, kurshak), milk jugs (măylă chÿlmek), beer jugs (kăkshăm), bowls (çu dies), bowls (tăm chashăk), braziers, washstands (kămkan).
They came in all different shapes and styles. Abashevo, Imenkovo, Bulgar and other styles differed in type, shape, and ornament.
Metal utensils (cast iron, copper, tin) were also used in Chuvash households.
One of the ancient vessels that no family could do without was a cast-iron cauldron (khuran). The farm had several types of boilers of various sizes.
The cauldron in which dinner was cooked hung over the fireplace in the hut. Boiler big size for brewing beer, food during major holidays, and heating water, it was suspended over the fireplace of the shack (summer kitchen). Cast iron appeared relatively late in the Chuvash economy. One of the ancient utensils is a frying pan (qatma, tupa).
Along with cast iron utensils, copper utensils were used: a copper jug (chăm), a washstand (kămkan), a valley (yantal), a vessel for drinking honey and beer, which in some cases was shaped like an ambling horse (çurhat). The kitchen utensils also included other metal objects - a poker (Turkka), a grip, a mower (kusar), knives (çĕçĕ), a tripod (takan).
Wealthy families purchased a samovar. Since the end of the 19th century. under urban influence, iron buckets appear in the village, glass bottles. Metal spoons, ladles, cups, pots, basins, troughs became widespread already in Soviet times.
