The book "Life of the Russian people" was published a century and a half ago. By this time, the name of the author of a huge work was already known in the scientific and cultural circles of Russia. Alexander Vlasevich Tereshchenko (1806–1865) - tireless archaeologist, ethnographer who studied antiquity home country. He studied the history of the nomads of the Black Sea steppes, conducted numerous excavations. His works “Essays on the Novorossiysk Territory”, “On Burial Grounds, Mounds and Stone Babs in the Ekaterinoslav and Tauride Provinces”, “An Experience of Reviewing the Life of Dignitaries…” and many others were a significant contribution to the knowledge of the past of Rus'.
The appearance of "Life of the Russian people" in 1847–1848. brought the scientist well-deserved popularity. Both before and after the publication of this monograph, many serious and talented works on this issue. Suffice it to name "The Russian people: its customs, rituals, legends, superstitions and poetry" by M. Zabylin, "Tales of the Russian people" by I. Sakharov, "Vagabond Russia for Christ's sake" by S. Maksimov, "About the beliefs, superstitions and prejudices of the Russian people" V. Dalia... But the seven parts-volumes of A. Tereshchenko significantly surpass all the listed and many other works both in volume and in the thoroughness of the study.
In fact, delve into the content of only one first part of "Life of the Russian people." It fully and vividly reveals the concept and essence of nationality, gives a detailed description of the dwellings in which our ancestors lived, tells about their way of life, talks about housekeeping and clothing. Musical culture has not been forgotten - without it it is unthinkable to imagine a Russian person. Sincere songs and round dances, dance melodies, original musical instruments such as horns, harps, flutes, etc. - the author tells about all this with skill.
We flatter ourselves with the hope that readers will wait for the publication of the other six, no less interesting, parts of this extraordinary book.
The second part contains over 600 pages. It is entirely devoted to weddings in all their diversity in connection with the immensity of the Russian state. This is truly an encyclopedia of marriage! The third part describes the rites of baptism, burial, commemoration. Here we also get acquainted with the chronology, with Dmitrievskaya Saturday, about deep sense which many today are no longer aware of. Part four is devoted to fun, games, round dances. And in the next, fifth, it’s hard to tear yourself away from the fascinating story about the meeting of spring-red, the celebration of Krasnaya Gorka, Ivan Kupala, how the roasting, brothers, how Indian summer was celebrated ... The penultimate part is devoted mainly to the description of the celebration of Easter and the Trinity in Rus' , and the last, seventh - Christmas time and a wide Maslenitsa.
We are publishing the first part of the most popular in its time and never republished unique research. Of course modern reader some of the author's statements may seem naive or outdated, but let's not forget that this work was written many years ago.
The old spelling and punctuation have been brought to the norms of the modern Russian language. Where possible, the author's style has been preserved.
Translations of foreign words, expressions and quotations, as well as some editorial explanations, are given in angle brackets. At the end of the book is a short dictionary of rare and ancient words.
Time has no power over books loved by the people, especially over those in which the hero is the people themselves. Long life- already in the next edition - destined for this wonderful work.
Alexander CHISTYAKOV
Foreword
Foreigners looked at our manners and way of life for the most part out of curiosity; but we must look at all this not out of curiosity alone, but as history folk life, his spirit and life and draw from them touching examples of good nature, hospitality, good<го>vein devotion to their homeland, fatherland, Orthodoxy and autocracy. If foreign observers were surprised at many things and praised, and more condemned, then we must not forget that they looked at us superficially, with prejudice and without studying our people, therefore they fell into great errors, often went into strange conclusions, went from one extreme to the other in such a way that one writer presented it as laudable and beautiful, another found the same vicious and ridiculous; what one copied from the stories, the other supplemented with unrealizable interpretations of his own and always directed them in a bad direction. Rereading descriptions, narratives and legends in many European languages, you constantly read, and not without a smile, that all foreign writers seem to have agreed once and for all to blaspheme and scold us, and this passion is so permeated into their writings that there is not a single book that would not exclaim in the name of Russia: "Barbarian Muscovy! The land is wild, the people in it are schismatic and have completely departed from the pure Catholic faith.- Anyone familiar with the history of their fatherland knows that these postscripts to our ancestors expired from their inflexibility to submit to the yoke of Catholic preachers and their supreme representative, who, together with them and frivolous writers, also called us “lost children”, “forsaken children from God”, “sheep without a shepherd”, and therefore unable to inherit the kingdom of heaven and enjoy the blessings of this life. - Such criticisms are the consequences of passions, and not of truth; movements of savage thoughts, and not the purity of the Gospel; such slanderous proclamations refer to the honor of our ancestors, and not to their infamy: they defended their right and property and wisely endured all the condemnations that fell on the heads of our detractors.
Leaving human passions, which we attribute to the concepts of the age, it is comforting for us to recall that the life of our ancestors, not bound by the conditions of multilateral education, poured out from their heartfelt sensations, flowed out of the nature of their homeland, and this reminds us of the patriarchal simplicity that is so alive in their actions that as if it were in all of us. Whoever wants to investigate the way of life of a people must go back to its youth and gradually descend through the steps of change of all its ages. Then the world of our ancestors will not be lifeless, dead for us: it will appear stronger to our imagination, with all its quirks and concepts; then we will see all sides of the picture: severe and proud, militant and peaceful, unhappy and triumphant, sad and virtuous; on it we will see ancestors crowned with glory, and our heart will beat faster!
For a long time I had the intention to depict the life of our Rus', but I was always stopped by the thought: work is beyond my strength. This thought - indeed a fair one - took away from me all hope of starting someday; but arguing that a poor introduction, as accurate as possible, should not be blamed - I decided to draw it in "Life of the Russian people". It is not without timidity that I present him to my compatriots. If they find him worthy of their attention, I will rejoice with them. I confess, engaging in loving exposition "Life of the Russian people", I was still strengthened by the hope that gifted people would eventually develop this work, which, due to the scarcity of the information collected, was divided into VII parts, and placed in them:
In parts I-I. Nationality. P. Dwellings. III. Home economics. IV. Outfit. V. Lifestyle. VI. Music.
Part II - Weddings.
In parts III-I. Time reckoning. II. Baptism. III. Funeral. IV. Wake. V. Dmitrievskaya Saturday.
In part IV - Fun: I. Games. II. Round dances.
In part V - Folk rites: I. First of March. P. Meeting of spring. III. Red hill. IV. Radunitsa. V. Plow. VI. Cuckoo. VII. Kupalo. VIII. Yarilo. IX. Roasting. X. Indian summer. XI. Brothers.
Part VI. - I. Ritual holidays. II. Wai week. III. Easter. IK Rusal week. V. Semik. VI. Trinity day. VII First of April. VIII. May Day.
In Parts VII-I. Christmas time. II. Maslenitsa.
For a long time, housing has been not only an area for satisfying a person's need for housing, but also a part of his economic, economic life.
Of course, the social differentiation of society was also reflected in the features of the dwelling, its size, and amenities. Each era has its own special features in residential and commercial buildings, in their complexes.
The study of these features gives us additional knowledge about the past era, provides details not only about the everyday life of past generations, but also about the social and economic aspects of their existence. The end of the 15th and 16th centuries is a kind of milestone in our sources on the history of the material culture of the Russian people; archaeological data, as a rule, do not rise chronologically higher than the 15th century. Separate observations of archaeologists on the material culture XVI- XVII centuries. are mined along with the study of more early periods and relatively fragmented. Special works on the late Russian Middle Ages are rare, although their data on dwellings are very valuable to us.
But with the decrease in archaeological data, the amount of documentary information also increases. Fragmentary and accidental references to dwellings in the annals, which we are forced to content ourselves with for periods up to the 16th century, are now significantly supplemented by an ever-increasing number of act records and other official documents. Dry, brief, but very valuable in their mass character, the data of cadastral books make it possible to make the first generalizations, calculations, and comparisons of various types of buildings. In some places in these sources, a description of curious details in the characterization of residential and outbuildings also slips. To these data from written Russian sources, one must add the notes of foreigners who visited Russia at that time. Not everything in their observations and descriptions is reliable and clear to us, but many details of Russian way of life XVI V. they are noticed and conveyed accurately, and much is understood taking into account the comparative study of other sources. Sketches of Russian life, made from outside, brought to us something that was not at all reflected in Russian documents, since for Russian authors a lot was so familiar that, in their opinion, it was not worth paying special attention to.
Perhaps, only since the 16th century we have the right to talk about the appearance of another type of sources on material culture, the significance of which can hardly be overestimated, various materials graphic character. No matter how accurate the written information, they give us at best a list of the names of buildings or their parts, but from them it is almost impossible to imagine what they looked like. Only from the 16th century did drawings come into our possession, which quite fully reflect the life of then Rus'. The manner of these drawings is sometimes unusually conventional for us, subject to certain canons of icon painting or book miniatures, but, having carefully looked at them, having mastered the language of conventions to some extent, one can quite accurately imagine the real features of the life of that time. Among the monuments of this kind, an outstanding place is occupied by the colossal illustrated Chronicle, created according to the plan and with the participation of Ivan IV in 1553-1570. Thousands of miniatures of this collection provide the researcher with excellent visual material on many aspects of Russian life, including housing. They are successfully complemented by some iconic scenes and miniatures of other books of this era. The social structure of Russian society was also reflected in the system of subdivision of settlements into certain units, which for the peasantry were at the same time units of taxation, taxable units and actually existing cells of the settlement of a peasant family. Yards were such units. Documents and chronicles know a courtyard, a courtyard place, a courtyard in these two, at first glance, not equivalent, meanings. Of course, where we are talking about monastery yards, boyar yards, clerks’ yards, clerk yards, craftsmen’s yards, or even more specific names cow yard, stable yard, gross yard, we are dealing only with the designation of a certain space occupied by a complex of residential and outbuildings. But for the main taxable population, for the peasantry, the concepts of a yard as a farmstead, a complex of buildings and a yard as a taxable unit coincided to a certain extent, since only a full-fledged peasant household, which had a full set of buildings necessary for farming and residence of a peasant family.
The composition of buildings typical of a medieval Russian peasant household in Lately provoke lively controversy. It is believed that the composition of buildings and even those types of buildings that ethnography knows from the life of a Russian village in the 19th century are primordial and almost unchanged in Rus' from ancient times, even from the period before Mongolian Rus. However, the accumulation of archaeological data on the Old Russian dwelling, a more careful analysis written sources and medieval graphics cast doubt on this conclusion. Archaeological data speak quite clearly about a more complex history of the development of the Russian complex of residential and outbuildings, this was drawn earlier. The most striking thing seemed to be the minimum number of buildings for livestock, although there is no doubt that the population had a lot of livestock. For hundreds of open residential buildings, there are literally a few fundamental buildings for livestock. Equally unusual was the conclusion about the predominance of single-chamber residential buildings. Quite complex types of multi-chamber and two-chamber communication of residential and utility premises were also known, but they are a minority. From these facts one inevitably has to draw a conclusion about the gradual and rather complex development of residential complexes, moreover, this development in different geographical zones went its own way, led to the formation of special zonal types. As far as our sources allow us to judge this, the beginning of this process falls at the turn of the 15th to the 17th centuries, although the addition of ethnographic types in the 19th century also increased. can hardly be considered completely finished, since by their nature residential complexes were closely connected with changes in the socio-economic life of the population and reflected these changes constantly.
The earliest documentary records of the composition of peasant households describe it to us very succinctly: a hut and a crate. The above extracts from documents of the end of the 15th century might seem random and atypical, if some sources did not allow their typicality to be supported by mass material. One of the scribe books contains a more detailed than usual list of buildings in peasant households that were abandoned during tragic events last decade of the 16th century. The analysis of these descriptions gave very demonstrative results. The vast majority of peasant households were very poor in terms of the composition of buildings: 49% consisted of only two buildings at all ("hut and cage", "hut and hay"). These documents are confirmed by another, original source - the Illuminated Chronicle of the 16th century. It is difficult to say why, but even the latest researchers consider the architectural background of the miniatures of this vault to be a borrowing from Byzantine sources. Research by A.V. Artsikhovgov in his time convincingly showed the Russian basis of the nature with which these miniatures were painted, the Russian character of things, household parts, scenes. And only the dwelling is made dependent on foreign sources and the conventions of the "fantastic chamber writing of Russian icon painting." In fact, the dwelling, which is mostly made up of miniature scenes (although there are very realistic images not only of temples, but also of ordinary huts, cages), basically has the same Russian reality, the same Russian life, well known to the creators of miniatures. both according to the more ancient facial manuscripts that have not come down to us, and according to our own observations. And among these pictures there are few images of villages. The language of the miniatures of the Facial Vault is notable for its conventionality. The pictogram of dwellings is deciphered quite simply. The hut always has on the end wall, three windows and a door, a cage, two windows and a door. The walls are not lined with logs, they do not have the remnants of logs in the corners so typical for a log dwelling, and the windows and doors are smoothed, rounded, provided with curls for the sake of beauty, it is difficult to recognize them, but they are always there and always in a firmly established place, in the traditional number for each type of building. Villages, and even more so separate peasant households, are rarely depicted, since the main content of the chronicle remains the life of the feudal elites, the feudal city. But where we are talking about villages, they are, and the pictographic formula for them is built from two buildings, which, by signs, are easily identified as a hut and a crate. This was, in all likelihood, the real basis of the peasant household, its typical composition until the 16th century.
But for the 16th century, such courtyards are already becoming a relic. Economic recovery after the final liberation from the Tatar yoke, the elimination of feudal fragmentation, the general ordering in life in a centralized and strong state could not but affect the changes in the complex of peasant households. Previously, this process began in the northern regions, where social relations also favored it, where more severe nature required it, later we notice this in the central regions, but it is the 16th century that can be considered the beginning of those changes both in the composition and in the layout of the peasant household, which to XIX century give us an ethnographic scheme of various types of Russian peasant households. All the main buildings of the peasant household were log cabins - huts, cages, senniks, mshaniks, stables, barns (although there are also mentions of wattle barns). obligatory element such a yard was a hut, a heated building, insulated in the grooves with moss, where a peasant family lived, where they worked and worked in the winter (weaving, spinning, making various utensils, tools), and cattle found shelter here in cold weather. As a rule, there was one hut per yard, but there were peasant yards with two or even three huts, where large undivided families were accommodated. Apparently, already in the 16th century, two main types were distinguished peasant dwelling in the northern regions, huts on the basement, under the hut, i.e. having underground. In such cellars they could keep livestock, store supplies. In the central and southern regions, ground huts still continue to exist, the floor of which was laid at ground level, and, possibly, was earthen. But the tradition was not yet established. Ground huts are mentioned in documents up to Arkhangelsk, and huts in the basement of rich peasants were also placed in the central regions. Often here they were called upper rooms.
According to documentary records of dwellings of the 16th century, we know rare cases of mentioning the passage as part of peasant households. But just in the 16th century, the vestibule began to be mentioned more and more often as an element, first of the urban, and then of the peasant dwelling, and the vestibule definitely served as a connecting link between the two buildings - the hut and the cage. But the change in the internal layout cannot be considered only formally. The appearance of the vestibule as a protective vestibule in front of the entrance to the hut, as well as the fact that now the firebox of the hut was turned inside the hut - all this greatly improved housing, made it warmer, more comfortable. The general upsurge of culture was also reflected in this improvement of the dwelling, although the 16th century was only the beginning of further changes, and the appearance of canopies even at the end of the 16th century became typical for peasant households in far from all regions of Russia. Like other elements of the dwelling, they first appeared in the northern regions. The second obligatory construction of the peasant household was the cage, i.e. a log building that served to store grain, clothes, and other property of peasants. But not all districts knew exactly the crate as the second utility room.
There is another building, which, apparently, performed the same function as the crate. This is a canopy. Of the other buildings of the peasant household, first of all, barns should be mentioned, since grain farming in the relatively damp climate of Central Russia is impossible without drying the sheaves. Sheep are more often mentioned in documents related to northern regions. Cellars are often mentioned, but they are better known to us from urban materials. The "bayna" or "mylna" was just as obligatory in the northern and part of the central regions, but not everywhere. It is unlikely that the baths of that time were very different from those that can still be found in deep villages - a small log house, sometimes without a dressing room, in the corner - a stove - a heater, next to it - shelves or beds on which they bathe, in the corner - a barrel for water, which is heated by throwing red-hot stones into it, and all this is illuminated by a small window, the light from which drowns in the blackness of the sooty walls and ceilings. From above, such a structure often has an almost flat shed roof, covered with birch bark and turf. The tradition of washing in baths among Russian peasants was not universal. In other places they washed in ovens. The 16th century is the time of the spread of buildings for livestock. They were placed separately, each under its own roof. In the northern regions, already at that time, one can notice a tendency towards two-story buildings of such buildings (shed, mshanik, and on them a hay barn, that is, a hay barn), which later led to the formation of huge two-story household yards (below - barns and pens for cattle, above - povit, a barn where hay, inventory is stored, a crate is also placed here). The feudal estate, according to the inventories and archaeological evidence, differed significantly from the peasant one. One of the main signs of any feudal court, in a city or in a village, was special watch, defensive towers - tumblers. Such defensive towers in the 16th century were not only an expression of boyar arrogance, but also a necessary building in case of an attack by neighbors - landlords, restless free people. The overwhelming majority of these towers were log cabins, with several floors. The residential building of the feudal court was the upper room. These chambers did not always have skewed windows, and not all of them could have white stoves, but the very name of this building suggests that it was on a high basement. The buildings were logged, from selected wood, had good gable roofs, and on the tumblers they were of several types gable, four-slope and covered with a figured roof - barrels, etc. Close in composition and names of buildings to the boyar courts and the court of a wealthy citizen, and the Russian cities themselves in those days, as foreigners have repeatedly noted, were still very similar rather to the sum of rural estates than to a city in the modern sense.
We know very little about the dwellings of ordinary artisans from documents; they did not often have to describe their poor inheritance in legal acts. Archaeologists do not have enough information about them either. There were entire settlements of artisans. But many of them lived in the yards of the monasteries, boyars, with rich townspeople in the courtyard. Based on the materials of the 16th century, it is difficult to distinguish them into a separate group. It can be thought that the yards of artisans of urban settlements were closer in terms of the composition of buildings to peasant yards, they did not have a rich choir. Stone residential buildings, known in Rus' since the 14th century, continued to be a rarity in the 16th century. The few residential stone mansions of the 16th century that have come down to us amaze with the massiveness of the walls, the obligatory vaulted ceilings and the central pillar supporting the vault. Researchers of ancient architecture and folklore paint us a colorful picture of antiquity as a world of patterned, carved, ornate huts, towers, chambers with chiseled porches, with gilded domes. However, our data do not allow us to judge how richly and how the peasant huts and other buildings were decorated. Apparently, peasant huts were decorated very modestly, but some parts of the huts were decorated without fail; roof ridges, doors, gates, oven.
Comparative materials of the ethnography of the 19th century show that these adornments played, in addition to an aesthetic role, the role of amulets that protected the "entrances" from evil spirits, the roots of the semantics of such adornments date back to pagan ideas. But the dwellings of wealthy townspeople and feudal lords were decorated magnificently, intricately, colorfully with the hands and talent of the peasants. Little do we know about interior decoration dwellings, although it is unlikely that the interior of peasant huts and artisans' houses was very different from what was typical for the peasantry in the 19th century. But no matter how fragmentary our information on some elements of the dwelling of the 16th century, we can still state a significant shift in this area of the culture of the Russian people in the 16th century, associated with general processes historical development countries.
The Russian people are representatives of the East Slavic ethnic group, the indigenous inhabitants of Russia (110 million people - 80% of the population of the Russian Federation), the largest ethnic group in Europe. The Russian diaspora has about 30 million people and it is concentrated in such states as Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus, in the countries of the former USSR, in the USA and EU countries. As a result of sociological research, it was found that 75% of the Russian population of Russia are followers of Orthodoxy, and a significant part of the population does not identify themselves with any particular religion. national language Russian people is the Russian language.
Each country and its people have their own meaning in modern world, the concepts of folk culture and the history of the nation, their formation and development are very important. Each nation and its culture is unique in its own way, the color and originality of each nation should not be lost or dissolved in assimilation with other nations, the younger generation should always remember who they really are. For Russia, which is a multinational power and home to 190 peoples, the issue of national culture is quite acute, due to the fact that over the recent years its erasure is especially noticeable against the background of cultures of other nationalities.
Culture and life of the Russian people
(Russian folk costume)
The first associations that arise with the concept of "Russian people" are, of course, the breadth of the soul and fortitude. But the national culture is formed by people, it is these character traits that have a huge impact on its formation and development.
One of the distinguishing features of the Russian people has always been and is simplicity, in the old days, Slavic houses and property were very often plundered and completely destroyed, hence the simplified attitude to everyday life. And of course, these trials, which befell the long-suffering Russian people, only tempered his character, made him stronger and taught him to get out of any life situations with his head held high.
Kindness can be called another of the traits that prevail in the character of the Russian ethnos. The whole world is well aware of the concept of Russian hospitality, when "they will feed and drink, and put to bed." The unique combination of such qualities as cordiality, mercy, compassion, generosity, tolerance and, again, simplicity, very rarely found in other peoples of the world, all this is fully manifested in the very breadth of the Russian soul.
Diligence is another of the main features of the Russian character, although many historians in the study of the Russian people note both her love for work and huge potential, and her laziness, as well as complete lack of initiative (remember Oblomov in Goncharov's novel). But all the same, the efficiency and endurance of the Russian people is an indisputable fact, against which it is difficult to argue. And no matter how scientists all over the world would like to understand the “mysterious Russian soul”, it is unlikely that any of them can do it, because it is so unique and multifaceted that its “zest” will forever remain a secret for everyone.
Traditions and customs of the Russian people
(Russian meal)
Folk traditions and customs are a unique connection, a kind of "bridge of times", linking the far past with the present. Some of them are rooted in the pagan past of the Russian people, even before the baptism of Rus', little by little their sacred meaning was lost and forgotten, but the main points have been preserved and are still observed. In villages and towns, Russian traditions and customs are honored and remembered to a greater extent than in cities, which is associated with a more isolated lifestyle of urban residents.
A large number of rituals and traditions are associated with family life (this includes matchmaking, wedding celebrations, and the baptism of children). The conduct of ancient rites and rituals guaranteed a successful and successful future. happy life health of offspring and the general well-being of the family.
(Colorized photograph of a Russian family in the early 20th century)
Since ancient times, Slavic families have been distinguished by a large number of family members (up to 20 people), adult children, having already married, remained to live in their own home, the father or elder brother was the head of the family, they all had to obey and implicitly fulfill all their orders. Usually wedding celebrations were held either in autumn, after harvesting, or in winter after Epiphany (January 19). Then the first week after Easter, the so-called "Red Hill", was considered a very good time for a wedding. The wedding itself was preceded by a matchmaking ceremony, when the groom’s parents came to the bride’s family together with his godparents, if the parents agreed to give their daughter in marriage, then the bride was held (acquaintance of the future newlyweds), then there was a rite of conspiracy and handshaking (the parents decided the dowry and the date of the wedding festivities ).
The rite of baptism in Rus' was also interesting and unique, the child had to be baptized immediately after birth, for this they chose God-parents who will be responsible for the life and well-being of the godson all his life. At one year old, the baby was put on the inside of a sheepskin coat and sheared it, cutting out a cross on the crown, with such a meaning that impure forces could not penetrate his head and would not have power over him. Every Christmas Eve (January 6), a slightly grown godson should bring kutya (wheat porridge with honey and poppy seeds) to his godparents, and they, in turn, should give him sweets.
Traditional holidays of the Russian people
Russia is a truly unique state, where, along with the highly developed culture of the modern world, they carefully honor the ancient traditions of their grandfathers and great-grandfathers, which go back centuries and keep the memory of not only Orthodox vows and canons, but also the most ancient pagan rites and sacraments. And to this day, pagan holidays are celebrated, people listen to the signs and centuries-old traditions, remember and tell their children and grandchildren ancient traditions and legends.
Main national holidays:
- Christmas Jan. 7
- Christmas time January 6 - 9
- Baptism January 19
- Maslenitsa from 20 to 26 February
- Forgiveness Sunday ( before Great Lent)
- Palm Sunday ( the Sunday before Easter)
- Easter ( the first Sunday after the full moon, which occurs no earlier than the day of the conditional vernal equinox on March 21)
- Red hill ( first Sunday after Easter)
- Trinity ( Sunday of Pentecost - 50th day after Easter)
- Ivan Kupala July 7
- Day of Peter and Fevronia July 8
- Ilyin's day August 2
- Honey Spas August 14
- Apple Spas August 19
- Third (Bread) Spas August 29
- Veil day October 14
There is a belief that on the night of Ivan Kupala (from July 6 to 7), once a year, a fern flower blooms in the forest, and whoever finds it will gain untold wealth. In the evening, large bonfires are kindled near rivers and lakes, people dressed in festive old Russian robes lead round dances, sing ritual chants, jump over the fire, and let wreaths go with the flow, hoping to find their soul mate.
Shrovetide is a traditional holiday of the Russian people, celebrated during the week before Lent. A very long time ago, Shrovetide was rather not a holiday, but a rite, when the memory of departed ancestors was honored, appeasing them with pancakes, asking them for a fertile year, and spending the winter by burning a straw effigy. Time passed, and the Russian people, longing for fun and positive emotions in the cold and dull season, turned the sad holiday into a more cheerful and daring celebration, which began to symbolize the joy of the imminent end of winter and the arrival of the long-awaited warmth. The meaning has changed, but the tradition of baking pancakes has remained, exciting winter entertainments have appeared: sledging and horse-drawn sledge rides, the straw effigy of Winter was burned, all the Shrovetide week a relative went to pancakes either to mother-in-law or to sister-in-law, everywhere there was an atmosphere of celebration and fun , various theatrical and puppet shows with the participation of Petrushka and other folklore characters. One of the most colorful and dangerous entertainments on Maslenitsa was holding fisticuffs, they were attended by the male population, for whom it was an honor to take part in a kind of “military business”, testing their courage, courage and dexterity.
Christmas and Easter are considered especially revered Christian holidays among the Russian people.
Christmas is not only a bright holiday of Orthodoxy, it also symbolizes the rebirth and return to life, the traditions and customs of this holiday, filled with kindness and humanity, high moral ideals and the triumph of the spirit over worldly concerns, in the modern world are re-opened to society and rethought by it. The day before Christmas (January 6) is called Christmas Eve because the main course is holiday table, which should consist of 12 dishes, is a special porridge "sochivo", consisting of boiled cereals poured with honey, sprinkled with poppy seeds and nuts. You can sit at the table only after the first star appears in the sky, Christmas (January 7) - family celebration, when everyone gathered at the same table, ate a festive treat and gave gifts to each other. 12 days after the holiday (until January 19) are called Christmas time, earlier at this time the girls in Rus' held various gatherings with fortune-telling and rituals to attract suitors.
Bright Easter has long been considered a great holiday in Rus', which people associated with the day of general equality, forgiveness and mercy. On the eve of Easter celebrations, Russian women usually bake Easter cakes (festive rich Easter bread) and Easter, clean and decorate their homes, young people and children paint eggs, which ancient tradition symbolize the drops of blood of Jesus Christ crucified on the cross. On the day of Holy Easter elegantly dressed people, meeting, they say “Christ is Risen!”, Answer “Truly Risen!”, Then follows a triple kiss and the exchange of festive Easter eggs.
A person all his life - from birth to death - is surrounded by household items. What is included in this concept? Furniture, dishes, clothes and more. A huge number of proverbs and sayings are associated with household items. About them in question in fairy tales, they write poems about them and come up with riddles.
What items of folk life in Russia do we know? Have they always been called that? Are there things that have disappeared from our lives? Which Interesting Facts associated with household items? Let's start with the most important.
Russian hut
It is impossible to imagine the items of Russian folk life without the most important thing - their homes. In Rus', huts were built on the banks of rivers or lakes, because fishing has been one of the most important industries since ancient times. The place for the construction was chosen very carefully. The new hut was never built on the site of the old one. An interesting fact is that pets served as a guide for selection. The place that they chose to rest was considered the most favorable for building a house.
The dwelling was made of wood, most often of larch or birch. It is more correct to say not "build a hut", but "cut down a house". This was done with an ax, and later with a saw. Huts were most often made square or rectangular. Inside the dwelling there was nothing superfluous, only the most necessary for life. The walls and ceilings in the Russian hut were not painted. For wealthy peasants, the house consisted of several rooms: the main dwelling, a canopy, a veranda, a closet, a yard and buildings: a flock or a corral for animals, a hayloft and others.
In the hut there were wooden household items - a table, benches, a cradle or cradle for babies, shelves for dishes. Colored rugs or paths could lie on the floor. The table occupied a central place in the house, the corner where it stood was called "red", that is, the most important, honorable. It was covered with a tablecloth, and the whole family gathered behind it. Everyone at the table had his own place, the most convenient, the central one was occupied by the head of the family - the owner. There was space for icons.
Good speech, if there is a stove in the hut
Without this subject, it is impossible to imagine the life of our distant ancestors. The stove was both a nurse and a savior. In extreme cold, only thanks to her, many people managed to keep warm. The Russian stove was a place where food was cooked, and they also slept on it. Her warmth saved from many diseases. Due to the fact that there were various niches and shelves in it, various dishes were stored here.
Food cooked in a Russian oven is unusually tasty and fragrant. Here you can cook: delicious and rich soup, crumbly porridge, all kinds of pastries and much more.
But the most important thing is that the stove was the place in the house around which people were constantly. It is no coincidence that in Russian fairy tales, the main characters either ride it (Emelya), or sleep (Ilya Muromets).
Poker, grip, pomelo
These household items were directly related to Kocherga, who was the first assistant at work. When firewood burned out in the stove, the coals were shifted with this object and they looked so that there were no unburned logs. The Russian people have composed many proverbs and sayings about the poker, here are just a few of them:
- In the bath, a broom, gentleman, in the oven, a poker.
- No candle to God, no poker to hell.
- Black conscience and the poker seem like a gallows.
The grip is the second assistant when working with the stove. Usually there were several of them, of different sizes. With the help of this item, cast-iron pots or pans with food were put into and removed from the oven. The grips were taken care of and tried to handle them very carefully.
Pomelo is a special broom with which they swept excess garbage from the stove, and it was not used for other purposes. The Russian people came up with a characteristic riddle about this subject: “Under the floor, under the middle, it sits. Usually, the pomelo was used before they were going to bake pies.
A poker, a fork, a broom - they certainly had to be at hand when food was cooked in a Russian oven.
Chest - for storing the most valuable things
In every house there had to be a place where the dowry, clothes, towels, tablecloths were put. Chest - items of folk life They could be both large and small. Most importantly, they had to meet several requirements: spaciousness, strength, decoration. If a girl was born in the family, then the mother began to collect her dowry, which was put into a chest. A girl getting married would take him with her to her husband's house.
There were a large number of curious traditions associated with the chest. Here are some of them:
- The girls were not allowed to give their chest to someone, otherwise they could remain an old maid.
- During Maslenitsa, it was impossible to open the chest. It was believed that in this way one could unleash one's wealth and good luck.
- Before marriage, the bride's relatives sat on the chest and demanded a ransom for the dowry.
Interesting names of household items
Many of us do not even imagine that the usual things that surround us in Everyday life, were once called quite differently. If for a few minutes we imagine that we are in the distant past, then some items of folk life would remain unrecognized by us. We bring to your attention the names of some of the things familiar to us:
Broom - naked.
A closet or small closed room was called a cage.
The place where large domestic animals lived is a flock.
Towel - rukoternik or utirka.
The place where they washed their hands is a washstand.
The box where the clothes were stored is a chest.
Place to sleep - bed.
A wooden bar with a short handle, designed for ironing linen in the old days - a rubel.
A large cup for pouring drinks - valley.
Folk household items in Russia: interesting facts
- The city of Tula is considered the birthplace of the samovar. This item was one of the favorites among the Russians, it was difficult to find a hut in which it was not. The samovar was a source of pride, it was protected and passed on by inheritance.
- The first electric iron appeared at the beginning of the 20th century. Until that time, there were cast-iron irons in which coals were put or heated for a long time over a furnace flame. It was very inconvenient to hold them, they could weigh more than ten kilograms.
- One of the most prestigious household items was the gramophone. In the villages, you could exchange a cow for him.
- A large number are associated with the table folk traditions and rites. Before the wedding, the bride and groom had to walk around the table, the newborn was carried around the table. These customs, according to popular beliefs, symbolized a long and happy life.
- Distaffs appeared in Ancient Rus'. They were made of wood: birch, linden, aspen. This item was given by the father to his daughter for the wedding. It was customary to decorate and paint spinning wheels, so none of them looked like another.
- Household items for children - rag homemade dolls, balls made of bast and wool, rattles, clay whistles.
home decoration
The decor of folk household items included wood carving and artistic painting. Many things in the house were decorated with the hands of the owners: chests, spinning wheels, dishes and much more. The design and decoration of household items concerned, first of all, the hut itself. This was done not only for beauty, but also as a talisman against evil spirits and various troubles.
Handmade dolls were used to decorate the house. Each of them had its own purpose. One drove away evil spirit, the other brought peace and prosperity, the third did not allow squabbles and scandals in the house.
Items that have disappeared from everyday life
- Chest for storing clothes.
- Rubel for ironing linen.
- A bench is an object on which they sat.
- Samovar.
- Spinning wheel and spindle.
- Gramophone.
- Cast iron iron.
A few words in conclusion
Studying the objects of folk life, we get acquainted with the life and customs of our distant ancestors. Russian stove, spinning wheel, samovar - without these things it is impossible to imagine a Russian hut. They united families, next to them grief was easier to endure, and any work was argued. Nowadays, special attention is paid to household items. Buying a house or country cottage area, many owners tend to purchase them with a stove.
By the beginning of the 16th century, Christianity played a decisive role in influencing the culture and life of the Russian people. It played positive role in overcoming the harsh customs, ignorance and wild customs of ancient Russian society. In particular, the norms of Christian morality had a huge impact on family life, marriage, raising children. Is it true. theology then adhered to a dualistic view of the division of the sexes - into two opposite principles - "good" and "evil". The latter was personified in a woman, determining her position in society and the family.
At Russian peoples for a long time there was a large family, uniting relatives in direct and lateral lines. Distinctive features a large peasant family was collective farming and consumption, the common ownership of property by two or more independent married couples. The urban (posad) population had smaller families and usually consisted of two generations of parents and children. The families of feudal lords were, as a rule, small, so the son of a feudal lord, having reached the age of 15, had to serve state service and could receive both his own separate local salary and the granted fiefdom. This contributed to early marriages and the emergence of independent small families.
With the introduction of Christianity, marriages began to be formalized through a church wedding ceremony. But the traditional Christian wedding ceremony ("joy") was preserved in Rus' for about another six or seven centuries. Church rules did not stipulate any obstacles to marriage, except for one: the "possession" of the bride or groom. But in real life, the restrictions were quite severe, especially in social relations which were governed by custom. The law did not formally forbid the feudal lord to marry a peasant woman, but in fact this happened very rarely, since the class of feudal lords was a closed corporation, where marriages were encouraged not just with persons of their own circle, but with equals. A free man could marry a serf, but he had to get permission from the master and pay a certain amount by agreement. Thus, both in ancient times and in the city, marriages, in general, could only take place within one class-estate.
The dissolution of the marriage was very difficult. Already in early middle ages divorce ("dissolution") was allowed only in exceptional cases. At the same time, the rights of the spouses were unequal. A husband could divorce his wife in the event of her infidelity, and communication with strangers outside the home without the permission of the spouse was equated to treason. IN late middle ages(since the 16th century) divorce was allowed with the condition that one of the spouses was tonsured a monk.
The Orthodox Church allowed one person to marry no more than three times. Solemn ceremony weddings were performed, usually, only at the first marriage. A fourth marriage was strictly forbidden.
A newborn child was to be baptized in the church on the eighth day after baptism in the name of the saint of that day. The rite of baptism was considered by the church to be the main, vital rite. The unbaptized had no rights, not even the right to burial. A child who died unbaptized was forbidden by the church to be buried in a cemetery. The next rite - "tons" - was held a year after baptism. On this day, the godfather or godfather (godparents) cut off a lock of hair from the child and gave the ruble. After the tonsure, they celebrated the name day, that is, the day of the saint in whose honor the person was named (later became known as the "angel's day"), and the birthday. The royal name day was considered an official public holiday.
All sources testify that in the Middle Ages the role of its head was extremely great. He represented the family as a whole in all its outward functions. Only he had the right to vote at the meetings of residents, in the city council, and later - in the meetings of the Konchan and Sloboda organizations. Within the family, the power of the head was practically unlimited. He disposed of the property and destinies of each of its members. This even applied to the personal life of children whom he could marry or marry against his will. The Church condemned him only if he drove them to suicide in the process. The orders of the head of the family were to be carried out implicitly. He could apply any punishment, up to physical. "Domostroy" - an encyclopedia of Russian life of the 16th century - directly indicated that the owner should beat his wife and children for educational purposes. For disobedience to parents, the church threatened with excommunication.
Intra-estate family life was relatively closed for a long time. However simple women- peasant women, townspeople - did not lead a reclusive lifestyle at all. The testimonies of foreigners about the terem seclusion of Russian women refers, as a rule, to the life of the feudal nobility and eminent merchants. They were rarely even allowed to go to church.
There is little information about the daily routine of people in the Middle Ages. The working day in the family began early. Mandatory meals at ordinary people There were two - lunch and dinner. At noon, production activity was interrupted. After dinner, according to the old Russian habit, there followed a long rest, sleep (which was very striking for foreigners). then work began again until supper. With the end of daylight, everyone went to sleep.
With the adoption of Christianity, especially revered days became official holidays church calendar: Christmas, Easter, Annunciation, Trinity and others, as well as the seventh day of the week - Sunday. According to church rules holidays should be devoted to pious deeds and religious rites. working on public holidays was considered a sin. However, the poor also worked on holidays.
The relative isolation of domestic life was diversified by the receptions of guests, as well as festive ceremonies, which were arranged mainly during church holidays. One of the main religious processions arranged for Epiphany - January 6, Art. Art. On this day, the patriarch consecrated the water of the Moscow River, and the population of the city performed the Jordanian rite (washing with holy water). On holidays, street performances were also arranged. Wandering artists, buffoons, are known in ancient Rus'. In addition to playing the harp, pipes, songs, buffoon performances included acrobatic numbers, competitions with predatory animals. The buffoon troupe usually included an organ grinder, a gaer (acrobat), and a puppeteer.
Holidays, as a rule, were accompanied by public feasts - brothers. However, common ideas about the supposedly unrestrained drunkenness of Russians are clearly exaggerated. Only during the 5-6 largest church holidays, the population was allowed to brew beer, and taverns were a state monopoly. The maintenance of private taverns was strictly persecuted.
Public life also included games and amusements - both military and peaceful, for example, the capture of a snowy city, wrestling and fisticuffs, towns, leapfrog, etc. . Of gambling, dice games became widespread, and from the 16th century - in cards brought from the west. Hunting was a favorite pastime of kings and nobility.
Thus, although the life of a Russian person in the Middle Ages, although it was relatively monotonous, was far from being exhausted by the production and socio-political spheres, it included many aspects of everyday life that historians do not always pay due attention to.
In historical literature at the turn of the 15th - 16th centuries. rationalistic views on historical events are established. Some of them are explained by causal relationships due to the activities of the people themselves. Authors historical works(for example, "Tales of the Princes of Vladimir", the end of the 15th century) sought to affirm the idea of the exclusivity of the autocratic power of Russian sovereigns as successors Kievan Rus and Byzantium. Similar ideas were expressed in chronographs - summary reviews world history, in which Russia was seen as the last link in the chain of world-historical monarchies.
Expanded not only historical. but also the geographical knowledge of the people of the Middle Ages. In connection with the complication of the administrative management of the grown territory of the Russian state, the first geographic Maps("blueprints"). The development of trade and diplomatic relations of Russia also contributed to this. Russian navigators made a great contribution to the geographical discoveries in the North. By the beginning of the 16th century, they explored the White, Studenoe (Barents) and Kara Seas, discovered many northern lands - the Bear Islands, New Earth, Kolguev, Vygach and others. Russian Pomors were the first to penetrate the Arctic Ocean, created the first handwritten maps of the examined northern seas and islands. They were among the first to master the Northern sea route around the Scandinavian Peninsula.
Some progress was observed in the field of technical and natural - scientific knowledge. Russian craftsmen learned how to perform rather complex mathematical calculations during the construction of buildings, they were familiar with the properties of the main building materials. During the construction of buildings, blocks and other building mechanisms were used. For the extraction of salt solutions, deep drilling and pipe laying were used, through which the liquid was distilled using a piston pump. In military affairs, the casting of copper cannons was mastered, wall-beating and throwing guns became widespread.
In the 17th century, the role of the church in influencing the culture and life of the Russian people intensified. At the same time, state power penetrated more and more into the affairs of the church.
The reform of the church was supposed to serve the purpose of the penetration of state power into church affairs. The tsar wanted to get the sanction of the church for state reforms and at the same time take measures to subjugate the church and limit its privileges and lands necessary to provide for the energetically created noble army.
The all-Russian church reform was carried out at the Stoglav Cathedral, named after the collection of its resolutions, which consisted of one hundred chapters ("Stoglav").
In the works of the Stoglavy Cathedral, issues of the internal church order were brought to the fore, primarily related to the life and life of the lower clergy, with the administration of church services to them. The flagrant vices of the clergy, the careless performance of church rites, moreover, devoid of any uniformity - all this aroused among the people a negative attitude towards the ministers of the church, gave rise to freethinking.
In order to stop these phenomena dangerous for the church, it was recommended to strengthen control over the lower clergy. For this purpose, a special institution of archpriests was created (an archpriest is the main among the priests of this church), appointed "by the royal decree and with the blessing of the saint, as well as priestly elders and tenth priests." All of them were obliged to tirelessly supervise that ordinary priests and deacons regularly conduct divine services, in churches "stand with fear and trembling", read there the Gospels, Cholomoust, the lives of the saints.
The Council unified the rites of the Church. He officially legalized, under pain of anathema, two-fingered addition when committing sign of the cross and "double hallelujah". By the way, the Old Believers later referred to these decisions and justified their adherence to antiquity.
The sale of church positions, bribery, false denunciations, extortion became so widespread in church circles that the Stoglavy Cathedral was forced to adopt a number of decrees that somewhat limited the arbitrariness of both the higher hierarchs in relation to the ordinary clergy and the latter in relation to the laity. From now on, the duty from the churches was to be collected not by tenants who abused their position, but by zemstvo elders and tenth priests appointed in rural areas.
The listed measures and partial concessions, however, could not somehow defuse the tense situation in the country and in the church itself. The reform envisaged by the Stoglavy Council did not set as its task a deep transformation of the church structure, but only sought to strengthen it by eliminating the most egregious abuses.
With its decisions, the Stoglavy Cathedral tried to impose the seal of ecclesiasticism on the entire folk life. Under fear of tsarist and ecclesiastical punishment, it was forbidden to read the so-called "renounced" and heretical books, that is, books that at that time constituted almost all secular literature. The Church was instructed to interfere in the daily life of people - to turn away from barbering, from chess, from playing on musical instruments etc., persecute buffoons, these carriers of folk culture alien to the church.
Grozny time - time big changes in the field of culture. One of the greatest achievements of the 16th century was printing. The first printing house appeared in Moscow in 1553, and soon ecclesiastical books were printed here. Among the earliest printed books are the Lenten Triodion, published around 1553, and two Gospels printed in the 50s. 16th century.
In 1563, Ivan Fedorov, an outstanding figure in the field of book printing in Russia, was entrusted with the organization of the "sovereign's Printing House". Together with his assistant Peter Mstislavets, on March 1, 1564, he published the book "Apostle", and the following year "The Clockworker". With the name of Ivan Fedorov, we also associate the appearance in 1574 in Lvov of the first edition of the Russian Primer.
Under the influence of the church, such a peculiar work as "Domostroy" was also created, which has already been noted above, the final edition of which belonged to Archpriest Sylvester. "Domostroy" is a code of morals and rules of life intended for the wealthy sections of the urban population. It is permeated with sermons of humility and unquestioning obedience to the authorities, and in the family - obedience to the householder.
For the increased needs of the Russian state, literate people were needed. At the Stoglavy Cathedral, convened in 1551, the issue of taking measures to spread education among the population was raised. The clergy were offered to open schools for teaching children to read and write. Children were taught, as a rule, at monasteries. In addition, home schooling was common among wealthy people.
A tense struggle with numerous external and internal enemies contributed to the emergence in Russia of an extensive historical literature, the central theme of which was the question of the growth and development of the Russian state. The most significant monument of historical thought of the period under consideration was the annals.
One of the major historical works of this time is the Facial (i.e. illustrated) chronicle: it consisted of 20 thousand pages and chalk 10 thousand beautifully executed miniatures, giving a visual representation of the various aspects of Russian life. This set was compiled in the 50-60s of the 16th century with the participation of Tsar Ivan, Alexei Alexei Adashev and Ivan Viskovaty.
Particularly significant in the late 15th and 16th centuries were advances in architecture. In 1553-54, the church of John the Baptist was built in the village of Dyakovo (not far from the village of Kolomenskoye), exceptional in originality of decoration and architectural design. An unsurpassed masterpiece of Russian architecture is the Church of the Intercession on the Moat (St. Basil's), erected in 1561. This cathedral was built to commemorate the conquest of Kazan.
