Peasant house life traditions interesting facts. On the traditions of Russian peasant education. For a husband to the next world
The spiritual and moral traditions of the Smolensk peasants developed in the general mainstream of the spiritual traditions of the peasantry of the Great Russian provinces. However, a feature of the Smolensk province was its location on the western outskirts of historical Russia. According to the population, the province was divided into counties with a predominance of the Great Russian tribe - 4 eastern counties and the Belsky county, and counties with a predominance of the Belarusian tribe. The traditions of the peasants of the Great Russian districts of the Smolensk province differed in many respects from the traditions of the peasants of the Belarusian districts. This was manifested in domestic life, and in folk costume, in folk superstitions, fairy tales, songs. Historically, the western part of the Smolensk province was more influenced by Poland and the Principality of Lithuania, the eastern part was more influenced by the Moscow principality.
The traditions and customs of the Smolensk peasants were closely connected with Christianity and church traditions. “A good beginning,” writes Y. Solovyov, “is found in piety, which seems to be stronger in the Great Russian districts than in the Belarusian ones,”112 but due to the lack of education, the Christian faith and tradition were perceived by the villagers in a distorted form. Often this was mixed with superstition, speculation, fears, incorrect conclusions that arose as a result of a lack of basic knowledge. The tradition that developed over the centuries was passed down from generation to generation only with the help of oral instruction, for the reason that most of the peasants were illiterate, which in turn prevented the penetration of information from the outside (non-peasant) world. Thus, informational isolation was mixed with estate isolation. The absence of schools in the village was an excellent breeding ground for all sorts of superstitions and false knowledge. The absence of a system of education and enlightenment in the countryside was the main reason for the backwardness of the peasants in comparison with the inhabitants of the cities.
Before the abolition of serfdom, the role of the state in the matter of enlightenment and education of the peasants was negligible, and this task was mainly entrusted to the Church everywhere and to the landlords, in privately owned villages. But very often the landlords did not see the need for the cultural development of their peasants, for the most part, the peasants were considered by the landowners as a source of prosperity and prosperity, and did not care about the general cultural level of their “baptized property”. The Church, as a structure subordinate to the state, was entirely dependent on the decisions of the Synod in this matter, and any improvements in the education and enlightenment of the peasants were private initiatives of one or another priest. Nevertheless, it should be noted that the church remained both before and after the abolition of serfdom the only "cultural center" in the countryside.
Gradually, the situation in public education begins to change. After the abolition of serfdom in the Smolensk province, schools were opened in many places for the education of peasant children. At the initiative of the zemstvo, peasant gatherings often made decisions on raising funds for the maintenance of schools in the amount of 5-20 kopecks per shower allotment.
Zemstvo in 1875 released up to 40 thousand rubles for the maintenance of gymnasiums, “educational institutions that are almost out of reach for children of the peasant class” (GASO, office of the governor’s office (f1), op. 5.1876, file 262, l. 77-78) Sometimes schools were opened on the initiative of the peasants themselves, at their expense. Some of the literate fellow villagers undertook to teach the children of their own, and sometimes the neighboring village, for this the “teacher” received small (no more than 50 kopecks per student per academic year, which could last no more than 3-4 months) money and food, if the “teacher” was not from the locals, then the peasants also provided a hut for the school. Often such a "school" moved from one hut to another. In a lean year, the number of students, and the number of schools, dropped sharply. We can say that after the abolition of serfdom, the situation in the education of the peasants changed slightly for the better. In rural schools, children were taught reading, writing, and the four rules of arithmetic, and in many schools, only reading. Interesting are the observations of A.N. This is due, of course, to the fact that people who saw the fruits of enlightenment in the cities understood better that a literate person had more prospects in life and, apparently, less than other peasants associated the future of their children with the village.
The situation was not the best in terms of medical care. Medical care for the rural population was practically non-existent. For 10 thousand population of the Smolensk province at the beginning of the 20th century. there were 1 doctor, 1.3 paramedics and 1.4 midwives per 10 thousand female population. (stat. yearbook of Russia. 1914) It is not surprising that various epidemics raged then, about which the population is now completely unaware. Periodically repeated outbreaks of smallpox, cholera, and various typhoid fevers. The mortality rate was also high, especially among children. A.P. Ternovsky calculated on the basis of the books of the church parish that from 1815 to 1886 3923 people died in the Mstislavskaya Sloboda, including 1465 children under one year old, or 37.4%, 736 aged 1-5 years, or 19.3%. Thus, children under the age of 5 make up 56.7% of all deaths. "Very often," writes Engelhardt, "good food, a warm room, getting rid of work would be the best cure."
Peasant morality, which was formed over the centuries, was closely connected with agricultural labor, as a result of which hard work was one of the most important moral guidelines. “To run a household - do not shake your trousers, to drive a household - do not walk open your mouth,” folk sayings say. A good, right person, according to the peasant, could only be a hardworking person, a good owner.
"Industriousness was highly valued by the public opinion of the village." Even the family was considered by the peasants, first of all, as a labor cell, as a labor collective sealed by mutual obligations, where everyone was an employee. "The matrimonial union was the basis of the material well-being of the economy ... Marriage for the peasants was necessary from an economic point of view." For this reason, newborn boys were seen as more valuable workers than girls. Here it is necessary to recall the traditions associated with family and marriage.
Matchmaking or conspiracy was the conclusion of a preliminary agreement between the families of the future bride and groom. At the same time, “the choice of the bride was the lot of the parents ... the opinion of the groom was rarely asked, personal sympathies were not decisive, and marriage was, above all, an economic transaction.” This is also confirmed by the Russian historian S.V. Kuznetsov: “The main motivation for marriage is the desire to enslave a free worker, but recently love marriages have become more frequent. When choosing a bride, good health, ability to work, modesty are especially valued; in addition, they take into account what kind of relatives the bride has. When choosing a groom, everything is most valued if the groom is one son of the parents. 119 The parents of the bride were obliged to give a dowry for their daughter, which was the parents' contribution to the household of the new family. The dowry consisted of money and property. The monetary part became the property of the husband, while the property part (household items) became either the joint property or the property of the wife and then passed on to the daughters. In general, it should be noted that family life, and indeed relations between peasants, were regulated by customary law - a law that has developed over the centuries, passed down from generation to generation and, according to the deep conviction of the peasants, is the only correct one. Based on the principles of customary law, the duties of the wife and husband within the family were divided. The husband did not interfere in the sphere of women's duties, the wife should not interfere in the sphere of her husband's duties. If these immutable rules were violated, the husband was obliged to restore order by any possible means - customary law allowed the head of the family to resort to violence and beatings in this case, this was considered a manifestation of love.
Another important moral ideal among the peasants was collectivism - the priority of the public over the personal. The principle of catholicity (common decision) was one of the basic principles of house building among the peasants. Only the decision that was made jointly was, according to the deep conviction of the peasants, correct and worthy of adoption.
The economic, social and family life of the Russian village was led by the land community. Its main purpose was to maintain justice in the use of land: arable land, forests, meadows. Hence the principles of conciliarity, collectivism, the priority of the public over the personal. In a system where one of the main values was the priority of the public over the personal, where the most important was the decision (albeit wrong) of the majority, in such a system, naturally, the role of individual actions, personal initiative was negligible and neglected. If personal initiative was welcomed, it was only if it was of general benefit to the entire “world”.
It is necessary to note the special role of public opinion in the life of the Russian village. Public opinion (the opinion of rural society) was an important factor in assessing certain actions of community members. All actions were considered through the prism of public benefit, and only socially useful acts were considered as good. “Outside the family, public opinion was no less significant, exerting a lasting influence on children and adults.”
As a result of the reforms of the 1960s and 1970s, the value system of the peasantry underwent serious changes. A tendency to shift the value orientation from the public to the personal begins to develop. The development of market relations influenced both the forms of activity and the consciousness of the traditional peasantry. Along with the emergence of other sources of information about the world around us besides parents, the views of the younger generation began to differ from the views of the older ones, and conditions arise for the emergence of new values. The penetration of new views and ideas into the countryside in the post-reform period was most facilitated by: 1) the departure of peasants to the cities to earn money; 2) military service; 3) the penetration of urban culture into rural life through the press and other sources of information. But the most important factor in the changes in the peasant consciousness, nevertheless, was non-agricultural waste. Peasant youth who spent a long time in large industrial cities absorbed urban culture and new traditions. All this they brought with them when they returned to the village. New traditions covered all areas of rural life, from costume and dance to religious views. Along with other changes in the traditional rural consciousness, the view of a person's personality is changing. This view is expressed in the idea that a person can exist outside the community as a separate person with his own individual needs and desires. In the 1970s, the number of family divisions began to increase. A large patriarchal family, in which several generations of relatives lived under one roof, is gradually turning into a small family consisting of a husband, wife and young children. This process intensified in the last quarter of the 19th century. At the same time, the view of a woman within a small family is changing, her economic importance and the degree of influence on the solution of family issues are increasing. This process contributed to the gradual increase in the personal freedom of the peasant woman, the expansion of her rights, incl. property rights. As the influence on peasant ideas of urban culture grew and the small family actively spread, the importance of women in the household increased, family relations were humanized.
At this time, there is a merging of urban (more secular) culture and rural culture. The traditions of the village are gradually being replaced by the traditions of the city. As the rural population leaves for the cities, there is a change in the spiritual traditions of the peasants. The changes that took place during the period of great reforms led to irreversible processes in the traditional way of rural life, in spiritual traditions and relationships within the rural community. Together with the liberation from serfdom, urban culture began to penetrate into the countryside - this process takes place gradually and slowly, but its effect becomes irreversible. The rural dweller looked at the city dweller as a more educated and mentally developed person, as a bearer of a higher culture, and most of all this view was inculcated among young people. The process of property stratification in the peasant environment only accelerated the destruction of peasant traditions and the penetration of urban culture into the countryside. It should be noted that the life of a city dweller was private - he was guided in making daily decisions only by his views and beliefs, while the life of a peasant was communal - a villager was entirely dependent on the community and its opinion, personal initiative was under the constant control of the community . Along with the termination of the isolation of the village from the city and urban traditions, the process of changing traditions within the rural community begins. This is manifested in the attitude of young people to the church and church tradition, and in an increase in the number of family divisions, and in less significant manifestations, such as wearing urban clothes (cap, boots) and borrowing urban songs and dances.
Peasants and peasant life
The peasant dwelling is described by de Custine. Most of the Russian house was occupied by the canopy. “Despite the draft,” writes the Frenchman, “the characteristic smell of onions, sauerkraut and tanned skin overwhelmed me. A low and rather cramped room adjoined the entrance hall ... Everything - walls, ceiling, floor, table, benches - are a set of boards of various lengths and shapes, very roughly finished ...
In Russia, uncleanliness is conspicuous, but it is more noticeable in dwellings and clothes than in people. Russians take care of themselves, and although their baths seem disgusting to us, this boiling mist cleanses and strengthens the body. Therefore, you often meet peasants with clean hair and a beard, which cannot be said about their clothes ... a warm dress is expensive, and you have to wear it for a long time ... ”(248).
About peasant women, watching their dances, de Stael wrote that she had not seen anything more pretty and graceful than these folk dances. In the dance of the peasant women, she found both bashfulness and passion.
De Custine argued that silence reigns at all peasant holidays. They drink a lot, talk little, do not shout, and either remain silent or sing sad songs. In their favorite pastime - swings - they show miracles of agility and balance. From four to eight guys or girls got on one swing. The poles from which the swing was hung were twenty feet high. When young people were swinging, foreigners were afraid that the swing was about to describe a full circle, and it was not clear to them how it was possible to stay on them and keep their balance.
“The Russian peasant is industrious and knows how to extricate himself from difficulties in all situations of life. He does not leave the house without an ax - an invaluable tool in the skillful hands of a resident of a country in which the forest has not yet become a rarity. With a Russian servant, you can safely get lost in the forest. In a few hours, a hut will be at your service, where you will spend the night with great comfort ”(249), - noted de Custine.
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Fedot Vasilyevich Sychkov (1870 -1958)
"Peasant Girl"I love to walk in the field
I love making hay.
How to see a sweetheart
Three hours to talk.
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| On hay. A photo. Early 20th century | B. M. Kustodiev. Haymaking. 1917. Fragment |
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| A. I. Morozov. Rest in the hayfield. OK. I860 | Women in mowing shirts harvesting hay. A photo. Early 20th century |
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| A group of young women and girls with a rake. A photo. 1915. Yaroslavl province. | Drying hay on stakes. A photo. 1920s Leningrad region. |
Haymaking began at the very end of June: "June went through the forests with a scythe", from the day of Samson Senognoy (June 27 / July 10), from Peter's Day (June 29 / July 12) or from the summer day of Kuzma and Demyan (July 1/14 ). The main work was in July - "senozornik".
Hay was harvested in water meadows located in river valleys, and in small plots of land reclaimed from the forest. The hayfields could be located both near the village and at some distance from it. The peasants went to distant meadows with the whole family: "Everyone who has grown up, hurry to hay." Only the old men and women remained at home to look after the little ones and care for the livestock. Here is how, for example, the peasants of the villages of Yamny, Vassa, Sosna, Meshchovsky district, Kaluga province, went to haymaking in the late 1890s: , with braids, rakes, pitchforks. There are three or four people on almost every cart, of course, with children. Some carry a barrel of kvass, jugs of milk. They ride dressed up: men in cotton shirts of all colors and the wildest fantasy; young people in jackets, and, moreover, vests... The women imagine from their sundresses with frills and Cossack blouses to the waist such a flower garden that dazzles before the eyes. And scarves! But it is better to keep silent about scarves: their variety and brightness is innumerable. And in addition aprons, that is, aprons. Now sailors are also found here, so meet a pretty peasant woman, and you may well think that this is a city young lady, or, what’s good, a landowner. Teenagers and children also try to dress up in their best. They go and sing songs with all their might” [Russian peasants. T. 3. S. 482).
The girls looked forward to the hay season with great impatience. The bright sun, the proximity of water, fragrant herbs - all this created an atmosphere of joy, happiness, freedom from everyday life, and the absence of the stern eye of the old men and old women - the village guardians of morality - made it possible to behave somewhat more relaxed than in normal times.
The inhabitants of each village, having arrived at the place, arranged a parking lot - a machine: they put up huts in which they slept, prepared firewood for a fire on which they cooked food. There were many such machines along the banks of the river - up to seven or eight per two square kilometers. Each machine usually belonged to the inhabitants of one village, who worked in the meadow all together. The cut and dried grass was divided by the machine according to the number of men in the family.
They got up early in the morning, even before sunrise, and, without having breakfast, went to mow, so as not to miss the time while the meadow was covered with dew, since wet grass is easier to mow. When the sun rose higher above the horizon and the dew began to "hide", families sat down to have breakfast. On a fast day they ate meat, bread, milk, eggs, on fast days (Wednesday and Friday) - kvass, bread and onions. After breakfast, if the dew was heavy, they continued to mow, and then laid out the grass in even thin rows in the meadow so that it dried out. Then they ate and rested. During this time, the grass withered a little, and they began to turn it with a rake so that it would dry better. In the evening, dried hay was piled into piles. In the common work of the family, everyone knew his job. Guys and young men mowed the grass. Women and girls laid it out in rows, turned it and collected it in shocks. Haystack throwing was the work of boys and girls. The guys served hay on wooden forks, and the girls laid it out in a haystack, kneaded it with their feet so that it lay down more densely. The evening for the older generation ended with beating off the braids with hammers on small anvils. This ringing was carried through all the meadows, meaning that the work was over.
“The man’s senator knocked down the peasant’s arrogance that there was no time to lie on the stove,” says the proverb about the employment of people on the kosovishche from morning to evening. However, for guys and girls, haymaking was a time when they could demonstrate to each other the ability to work well and have fun. Not without reason, on the Northern Dvina, the communication of young people at the time of haymaking was called flaunting.
Fun reigned at lunchtime, when the elders rested in huts, and the youth went for a swim. The joint bathing of boys and girls was not approved by public opinion, so the girls went away from the bench, trying not to be tracked down by the guys. The guys still found them, hid their clothes, causing the indignation of the girls. They usually returned together. The girls sang to their boyfriends, for example, this song:
It will rain, the senzo will get wet,
The aunt will scold -
Help me, good
My foetus to sweep.
Frequent rain pours
My dear remembers me:
- Wetting my sweetheart
At the hayfield, the poor.
The main fun came in the evening, after sunset. Young people were drawn to one of the machines, where there were many "slavnits". The accordion played, dances, songs, round dances, walks in pairs began. The joy of the festivities, which lasted almost until the morning, is well conveyed by the song:
Petrovskaya night,
The night is small
And relay, okay,
Small!
And I, young
Didn't get enough sleep
And relay, okay,
Didn't get enough sleep!
Didn't get enough sleep
Didn't walk!
And relay, okay,
Didn't walk!
me with a nice friend
I didn't insist!
And relay, okay,
I didn't insist!
Didn't insist
Didn't talk
And relay, okay,
Didn't talk!
At the end of the festivities, a “collapsible” song of the girls was performed:
Let's go home girls
Dawn is doing it!
Zorka is engaged
Mommy gets pissed off!
Haymaking remained "the most pleasant of rural work" even if it took place near the village and therefore every evening it was necessary to return home. Eyewitnesses wrote: “The season, warm nights, swimming after a tiring heat, the fragrant air of the meadows - all together has something charming, gratifying effect on the soul. It is customary for women and girls to work in the meadows to put on not only clean linen, but even dress in a festive way. For the girls, the meadow is a promenade, on which, working together with a rake and accompanying the work with a common song, they draw themselves in front of the suitors ”(Selivanov V.V.S. 53).
Haymaking ended by the feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God (July 8/21) or by Ilyin's Day (July 20 / August 2): "Ilya the Prophet - mowing time." It was believed that "after Ilya" the hay would not be so good: "Before Ilya's day, there is a pood of honey in hay, after Ilya's day - a pood of manure."
You already reap, you reap
My young!
Zhnei young,
Golden sickles!
You already reap, reap
Live don't be lazy!
And squeezing the cornfield,
Drink, have fun.
Following the haymaking came the harvest of "bread" - that was the name of all grain crops. In different regions, bread ripened at different times depending on climatic conditions. In the southern part of Russia, the harvest began already in mid-July - from the feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, in the middle lane - from Ilyin's Day or from the day of Sts. Boris and Gleb (July 24 / August 6), and in the north - closer to mid-August. Winter rye ripened first, followed by spring bread, oats, and then buckwheat.
Sorry, I sting oats,
I switched to buckwheat.
If I see a sweetheart -
I am towards him.
Harvesting was considered the work of girls and married women. However, the main reapers were girls. Strong, strong, dexterous, they easily coped with rather difficult work.
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| P. Vdovichev, Harvest. 1830s | The rye is ripe. Photo by S. A. Lobovikov. 1926-1927 |
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| Reaper. Photo by S. A. Lobovikov. 1914-1916 | A. G. Venetsianov. At the harvest. Summer. Before 1827 |
The harvest was supposed to start on the same day. Before that, the women chose from among their midst a zazhelnitsa who would make a symbolic zazhinel of the field. Most often it was a middle-aged woman, a good reaper, with a "light hand." Early in the morning, secretly from everyone, she ran to the field, reaped three small sheaves, saying, for example, like this:
Shh, polyshko, at the end,
Like a Tatar stallion!
Run and rye, die and tear
And look for the end of the field!
Run out, run out
Give us the will!
We came with sharp sickles
With white hands
With soft spines!
After that, the zazhalnitsa laid the sheaves crosswise on the edge of the field, and next to it left a piece of bread with salt for Mother Earth and the icon of the Savior to protect the crop from evil spirits.
The entire female half of the family, headed by the hostess, went out to harvest. Girls and women wore special harvest clothes - belted white linen shirts, decorated along the hem and on the sleeves with a red woven or embroidered pattern. In some villages, the upper part of the shirt was sewn from bright chintz, and the lower part was made from canvas, which was covered with a beautiful apron. Heads were tied with cotton scarves. Harvest clothes were very smart, corresponding to such an important day when Mother Earth will give birth to a harvest. At the same time, the clothes were also comfortable for work, loose, it was not hot in them under the summer sun.
The first day of the harvest began with a common prayer of the family in their lane. The reapers worked in the field in a certain order. The hostess of the house walked ahead of everyone, saying: “Bless, God, clamp the cornfield! Give, Lord, ergot and lightness, good health! (Folk traditional culture of the Pskov region. P. 65). On her right hand was the eldest daughter, after her in seniority - the other daughters, and after them the daughters-in-law. The first sheaf was supposed to be squeezed by the eldest daughter in the family, so that she would marry in the fall: "The first sheaf to reap is to make a groom." It was believed that the first piece of cut rye stalks and the first sheaf collected from them possessed “argument”, “argument” - a special life-giving force, so necessary for the future hostess and mother.
The reapers went to the field after the sun had dried the dew. Bread covered with dew could not be harvested, so that the grain and straw would not rot before threshing. The girls went to the field together, sang songs that were called reaping. The main theme of the songs was unhappy love:
Sooner, our courtyard is overgrown.
Our courtyard has overgrown and bloomed with grass-ant.
That is not a grass in the field, not an ant, pink flowers.
There, flowers bloomed in the field, bloomed, and withered.
The guy loved the red girl, but left.
Leaving the girl, he laughed at her.
Don't laugh at a girl, boy, you're still single yourself.
Single, unmarried, no wife taken.
During work, girls were not supposed to sing - it was the prerogative of only married women. Married women turned in songs to God, the field, the sun, field spirits with a request for help:
Yes, take away, God, a thundercloud,
Yes, God save the labor field.
Peasant fields (bands) were located nearby. The reapers could see how the neighbors work, call to each other, cheer up the tired, reproach the lazy. The songs were interspersed with the so-called gurgles, that is, shouts, exclamations of “Oooh!”, “Hey!”, groaning, hooting. The gook was so strong that it could be heard in villages far from the fields. All this polyphonic noise was beautifully called "singing of the stubble."
In order for a certain part of the work to be completed by the evening, the lagging behind were urged on: “Pull up! Pull up! Pull! Pull your goat!” Each girl tried to press more sheaves, get ahead of her friends, and not fall behind. They laughed at the lazy, shouted: “Girl! Kila to you!" - and at night, they “put a keel” on the strip for negligent girls: they stuck a stick into the ground with a bunch of straw tied to it or an old bast shoe. The quality and speed of the work determined whether the girl was “hard-working”, whether she would be a good housewife. If the reaper left an uncompressed groove behind her, then they said that she would have “a man will be a nut”; if the sheaves turned out to be large, then the peasant will be large, if even and beautiful, then he will be rich and hardworking. In order for the work to be argued, the girls said: “A strip to the edge, like a white hare, shoo, drive, shoo, drive!” (Morozov I.A., Sleptsova I.S.S. 119), and in order not to get tired, they girded themselves with a flagellum of stems with the words: “As mother rye became a year old, but she was not tired, so my back would not be tired to reap” ( Maykov L. N. S. 204).
The work ended when the sun went down and the stubble was covered with dew. It was not allowed to stay on the field after sunset: according to legend, this could prevent the dead ancestors from “walking through the fields and enjoying the harvest.” Before leaving the uncompressed strip, it was supposed to put two handfuls of stems crosswise to protect it from damage. The sickles, hidden, were usually left in the field, and not carried into the house, so as not to invite rain.
After a hard day, the girls again gathered in a flock and all together went to rest, singing about unhappy love:
She sang songs, her chest hurt,
The heart was breaking.
Tears rolled down my face -
I parted with my sweetheart.
Hearing loud singing, guys appeared who flirted with the girls, counting on their favor. The jokes of the guys were sometimes quite rude. For example, the guys frightened the girls by unexpectedly attacking them from behind the bushes, or put "gags": they tied up the tops of the grasses that grew on both sides of the path along which the girls were walking. In the dark time, the girls could not notice the traps, they fell, causing the guys to laugh joyfully.
Then they walked together, and the girls “sang” to the guys of the brides:
Our Maryushka was walking in the garden,
We have Vasilievna in green.
Ivan-well done looked at her:
“Here comes my valuable, priceless beauty.
I went through the whole village,
Better-better, I did not find Mary.
You, Maryushka, darling,
Embrace me joyfully
Kiss me on the mouth, please."
1 - oats; 2 - barley; 3 - wheat; 4 - rye; 5 - buckwheat
They tried to complete the harvest in one day. If someone did not cope on time, the neighbors hurried to help him. This was caused by a natural desire to help a neighbor, and also by the fact that uncompressed strips interfered with the removal of sheaves from the fields to the threshing floor and the grazing of livestock, which was released for harvest.
The end of hard suffering work was celebrated very festively. Girls and women sang dozhinal songs in which they glorified the field and God:
And thank God
Until the new year
Thank God,
They shook the field
Suffered!
Thank God
Until the new year!
On the last day of the harvest, many rites were performed. Their essence was to thank the field for the harvest, ask it to bear fruit for the next year and take health from the field for yourself and your loved ones. In some villages, girls and women stood in a circle, took sickles, raised them up and asked: “Freak, Lord! next year, so that the rye is a wall. In others, a sickle was thanked for the work, winding stalks of rye on it: “Thank you, seryapok, that you took care of me, now I will take care of you, feed you with wheat.”
Almost throughout Russia, the custom of “curling a beard” was widespread, that is, ears of corn specially left uncompressed on the field were tied with ribbons or braided, and under them a piece of bread with salt was placed on the ground. The “beard” was tied up by the mistress of the house in the presence of all the reapers of the family. Before the beginning of the ceremony, the girls were allowed to squeeze a few little balls left by Ilya on the beard of the ears. If a girl reaped a pair of ears, this meant that matchmakers would come to her on Pokrov, if it was odd, she would have to wait for matchmakers until the winter meat-eater. After that, the girls went off to have fun with their flock, and the women, holding hands, began to dance around their beards, saying the spell:
We are already weaving, we are weaving a beard
Gavrila on the field
Curling a beard
Vasilyevich has it on a wide,
Vasilievich has yes on a wide one.
On the great fields
On wide stripes
Yes, to the mountains on high,
On the black-arable land,
On the arable land.
After harvesting all the bread in the village, a collective meal was arranged with beer, boiled meat, “squeeze” pies, and scrambled eggs. Girls and guys, after sitting with everyone, went for a walk and had fun until the morning.
In the folklore version of the tale "Turnip", recorded by the researcher Afanasyev (1826-1871),
legs are involved in pulling out turnips from the ground: “A friend's leg has come; another leg by leg ... "
Image: John Atkinson (1775-1833) Hut, 1803
“For the mockery of a child over an old man or a cripple, as a rule, flogging will follow. For mimicking a drunk, a stutterer, or a person with a tic, a very strict debriefing." l_eriksson collects memories of his mother, her sisters, grandmother and her fellow villagers from a village in the Kostroma region.
On upbringing by labor from infancy:
Everyone knows that the basis for raising children in the Russian countryside was work. This work was perceived by the child not as a heavy burden, but as a demonstration of his ever-increasing status, approaching adulthood. The reward for this work has always been recognition of the importance of the work done, praise, demonstration of the results to family, friends, neighbors. The child acted not as a servant of adults, but as a junior comrade in a common cause. It was unthinkable not to praise him for the work done, to ignore him: apparently, the long experience of generations inspired people that this is an effective reinforcement of the education of diligence.
Learning new labor skills took place patiently, and the one who had time for this, grandmother, older children, did it. On the farm in my aunt's family, I saw children's tools that were serviceable, carefully made and updated as they wore out: in the set of children's rakes, for example, there were a variety of ones - both for a seven-year-old and a thirteen-year-old child. Among children's tools there were no dangerous ones - children's scythes did not exist. A shovel with a child's handle - please. Entrusting a child with an unbearable or dangerous task was considered a whim.
During training in this or that business, in the first place, of course, was an example. But they did not spare time for words either.
Once a skill was mastered, the activity almost automatically became a duty. But the children were not afraid of this, because in the family team everyone knew how to do everything, and there was always someone to insure, replace.One more moment. The child was shown the place of his help in the system of common affairs, there was an acquaintance with related ones. For example, the collection and cleaning of mushrooms (at first - under the guidance of adults - so as not to miss the poisonous ones) was followed by the science of their preparation. I remember when I was 8 or 9 years old I used to pickle collected mushrooms in a tiny jar - not only to boast about them later, but also to remember the process.
The more complex and significant the skill mastered by the child was in the household, the more formal, ritualized signs of respect appeared.- Girls, give Yura a towel, he mowed! Pour some milk for Yura. Sit down, Yurochka, girls, give Yura cheesecakes. Teenager Yura himself can perfectly reach everything - but no, he is shown respect, he is carefully served. Sitting next to him, smiling, is his uncle - they don’t dance like that in front of him anymore, he’s an adult, he’s used to it, but Yura needs to be taught, encouraged.
And what a clean porch today! Take off your boots, Yura! (I washed the porch - cleaning the house is a matter for older children, and the canopy, porch - for the kids).
What else? Bringing water (we didn't have running water) was also a common thing. Even the smallest child could carry a liter bucket from the river - it would come in handy. Rinsing clothes, cleaning copper dishes (basins, samovars). Washing dishes in the house. Minor cleaning - dust, rugs - adults did not do this. But at the same time, praise and recognition were the main tool for forming habits. As far as I remember, no one shouted at the children about work duties, it happened for other reasons - pranks, fights, tricks.
Garden. No matter how great were the duties of children in the garden, there was still an agricultural strategy. Therefore, the kids usually went there on a specific assignment, and adults gave instructions - when and what to water, weed. Older children could do this without being reminded - they themselves knew what to do there. Usually, the garden is the domain of grandmothers, who will no longer go to graze, mow, or carry hay. But their experience is huge - it can be passed on to children. (The traditions of the peasant garden are very different from modern summer cottages. If you follow them, there is no “sadism” in gardening, all this plowing over the beds is empty pampering that does not affect the harvest).
Animal care had age gradations. Small and not too dangerous animals were entrusted to small ones, large and strong ones - only to physically strong and reasonable teenagers. Bees - also with caution, and under the guidance of adults. Children were mainly engaged in chickens and sheep. (Feeding, corralling, collecting chicken eggs, caring for chickens are all childish things.)
But gradually there was also training in handling large cattle. They put me to milk a cow when I was 10 years old, to try. Aunt stood nearby, prompted, advised.I got on a horse at 11. No saddle, no bridle - they let me ride, get used to the animal, with the understanding that no one can replace the experience of communication. After several hours of riding (8 kilometers in total), the horse threw me off. I was comforted, but not particularly sorry. The process of stuffing cones was not hindered, they simply had in mind which cones could be allowed to be stuffed and which not.
"Girl" work: acquaintance with the spinning process. I tried to spin late - at the age of 9. It was a mess. My grandmother “spun” my thread into her skein - I saw it and knew that there would be socks that I was involved in.
Small construction, repair - boys were attracted to this. Fix the fence, carve the handle for the tool - under the supervision of adults. But the first tool that the boy carved himself was a rod. Fishing is leisure and pleasure. In addition to fishing with a fishing rod, our young relatives were taught to catch fish in the muzzle, to install “hooks” (large rods for pike). The kids caught small fish - live bait for pike. The older guys were catching crayfish.
In general, when they laugh at the Chinese, they say, they eat everything that crawls, except for a tank, that floats, except for a boat, and everything that flies, except for an airplane - I want to object - but aren't we? Children in the village were encouraged to collect everything edible. Mom collected "pestles" - the upper sprouts of horsetails, they were fried in vegetable oil and eaten - they taste like mushrooms. Sorrel, nettle, gout, many types of berries, a huge list of mushrooms - everything that you can eat, you need to be able to find and cook deliciously. The "School of Survival" worked constantly, and most importantly, it was not cut off from everyday life. Even if there was plenty of “normal” food, a couple of times in the spring one could feast on “pestles”, and sorrel soup was cooked, even if there was also cabbage. The constant picking of mushrooms and berries in the summer is children's and old people's fun and work. We were shown how to dry mushrooms and berries, how to make jam, and salt mushrooms.
But there were things that children were not entrusted with - no matter how you beg. Even the presence of animals and birds during the slaughter was not allowed from childhood. This prohibition has also been verified by generations. If the child is allowed to experience such processes too early, he will either get scared (treat him later, there are no neuropathologists in the village!), or cruelty will develop in him, which later can result in terrible things. Therefore, everything that was connected with the killing of the living - only for older teenagers, and then - at first only in the role of observers, so that they get used to it.
(By the way, in the Vyatka Territory, these restrictions were also in effect. I heard that one hunter friend, who attracted his first-grader son to skinning dead fur animals, was condemned by his comrades - they unanimously and reasonably criticized him, advised him to help in this matter find and hire an adult or handle it yourself).
The result of peasant labor education was the formation of a personality ready for life in any conditions, actually owning several specialties at an informal level, and most importantly, not only ready for work, but not thinking of life without it. At the same time, the socialization of the child took place, the development of his ability to cooperate with others. For centuries, developed educational methods in this direction made it possible to do without violence and - in most cases - even without coercion.
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On respect for elders:
F. G. Solntsev. "Peasant family before dinner", 1824
One of the most frequently observed reasons for the use of punitive pedagogy in the peasant environment was the demonstration by the child of disrespect for elders. It was probably one of the biggest sins.
As soon as a parent found out that his child had been rude to an adult, an elderly person, the most stringent measures were immediately applied.Moreover, no connection between the behavior of this adult, the old man and the reaction of the child was not taken into account. The old one could be guilty a hundred times, unfair, out of his mind - the children had no right to refuse him formal respect.
Even at school, the most absurd teacher could count on the support of his parents in any of his requirements. Another thing, I don’t remember a case when a stupid student was scolded at home for deuces if he was hardworking and dexterous in everyday work. Parents patiently endured the reproaches of the teacher, but did not fall into some kind of sadness because of this and did not torment the child.It was possible to intercede for a child in front of another adult only in the form of dialogues - in persuasion, explanations. But only up to a certain limit, usually related to assault.
No matter how much was said in the Russian peasant environment about forgiveness, about the dangers of revenge, these words did not always serve as a guide to action. Hidden resentment smoldered for years, and very often found a way out, and a merciless way out - at a convenient time. The Russian peasant eats the dish of revenge not cold, but completely icy! But the one who provides the products for this dish can be sure that it is waiting in the wings.
Events, the reaction to which I sometimes observed, took place 30-40, or even 50 years before the response to them. You can say that this is bad, but it is true, and this must be borne in mind.
Older teenagers are often introduced into the course of family grievances, and willingly take over the baton of relations with this or that person or family. At the same time, there were also talks that “it is necessary to forgive” with them. But it always happens, under the influence of opposite suggestions, that which was done with greater passion and fell into the soil of a greater personal disposition to prevail.
It appeared, for example, like this. The child has committed some kind of trick against a neighbor. Shake off the apple tree in his garden. Formally, he will always be scolded. But if he heard from his parents a hundred times what he, this neighbor, is a bastard, all this will be like water off a goose, even if he is brought by the scruff of the neck to this neighbor and forced to apologize.By the way, for just as long, from generation to generation, gratitude for the good, especially done in some extraordinary, important and difficult circumstances, is transmitted. Helping a widow, supporting an orphan is not only a charitable deed. The orphan will grow up and at the most unexpected moment will repay kindness for kindness. Children and grandchildren are taught to honor the benefactor and his family.
Tolerance
For mocking a child over an old man or a cripple, as a rule, flogging will follow.
For mimicking a drunk, a stutterer, or a person with a tic, a very strict debriefing, verbose, with examples, formidable, but without violence.
Open mockery of a foreigner, if discovered, will be condemned, but gently, in the form of exhortations. If they were rude, and their target is an adult, elderly or helpless, a beating is coming.
If this is a child of the same age, the parents will remain indifferent "until the first blood." You can't sew words into action. In the event of a fight due to “national hostility” without a clear reason, parents can punish the child, and most often they will do this, keeping in mind the rules of conduct in relation to any person.Children's conflicts
The main rule: "Toys are not revushki".
Some parents refuse to listen to complaints, but this is an individual feature, not a tradition. Most often, such deafness is inherent in incomplete, unhappy, poor families - in short, families with a defect.In general, any mention of the fact that in peasant families they did not talk with children is an absolutization of particulars, distortions, human damage. They did, and a lot. Firstly, families in the villages were almost always large and branched out, several generations lived in them - it would be convenient for someone to listen to the complaint of the child, to answer his question. Judging by the stories of my mother and her sisters, these conversations, conversations, suggestions - there were more than they would like. Only they were engaged, for example, by the old people. Sometimes, for patiently listening to the instructions, the child was even given encouragement - a nut, a candy, a pie, that is, adults understood that sometimes it is not easy to listen to them.
The structure of peasant work also suggests both very busy periods - from dawn to dawn, and pauses, even associated with the same seasons and weather conditions. There were no opportunities for isolation either - "our own rooms", etc., except perhaps the corner behind the stove by the old man, so that he would not be disturbed by noise and fuss. Sometimes other people's children could also wander in to listen to conversations - but no one spared this goodness - a tongue without bones!Parsing a child's conflict or a conflict between a child and an adult is entertainment and an educational moment, parents did not shy away from this, and only in the case of incredible employment in suffering or personal unhealthy unsociableness on the verge of sociopathy did they shy away from this task.
Epics, stories, tales, and even gossip often served as one of such "informational occasions" for pedagogical conversations. The parent expressed his attitude to this or that event, the way of behavior, and the child listened, but shook his head.
Lesser gods
With these words, I decided to designate the role for a peasant child of his father and mother. Respect for parents was absolute, but, frankly, I didn’t see how it was planted? This, perhaps, is one of the mysteries of traditional education - its basis is the unquestioned authority of the elders.
I only encountered evidence, not the formation of this phenomenon. It is not at all necessary for a parent to be strong, honest, smart, successful, fair, kind, sober - it is enough for him to just be. Violence could not be the basis for this. I have seen situations where a parent was so weak, insignificant and pathetic that even his own child would not be afraid of him. But love and external reverence were always demonstrated. It was possible to “leave” your parents only with their blessing - to go to foreign lands to look for happiness. As a rule, all those who left for a long time experienced torment, “breaking”.With such a basis for the relationship between parents and children, a very diverse and effective arsenal of pedagogical influences turned out to be in the hands of parents. This made cruelty unnecessary and even undesirable. If it is enough for a father or mother to frown so that the child realizes that he has acted badly, there is no need to flog him like a Sidorov's goat. In most of the peasant families I know, children were not spanked, much less flogged. And they didn't scold. They were just sometimes reproached, and they immediately rushed headlong to correct mistakes, so as not to upset dad and mom. Parental praise, a smile, a mean caress also meant a lot to children.
By the way, I talked a lot with the generation that called my father "tya", "dad" - it came from seminarians who studied Latin. (They didn’t hear about the French and the French in the village of F. - the master was from the Baltic Germans, the baron, and it was tight with foreigners besides him: nearby, in more or less settled places, Ivan Susanin led someone somewhere. And in the village of F there were practically no brunettes).I have seen examples of childish devotion and faith in parents such that the same samurai legends about persistent ronin fade.
This, and not religion and not labor on earth, in my opinion, was the basis of Russian peasant education. When this pillar staggered, the whole structure went at random.
But I will talk about other features of it later.
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