Traditions and life of the Cossack family. Information about the Cossack communities on the Don

Ancient Cossack customs and traditions are of well-deserved interest. Despite the abundance of studies, books, films dedicated to this distinctive culture, many facts from the life of the most militant class can still surprise readers.

1. Ilya Muromets - the first Cossack in Russian folklore

Sometimes the epic hero Ilya Muromets is called the first Cossack in Russia, although the action of the legends about him takes place at a time when no one had heard of the Cossacks. This is probably due to the fact that in later folklore works the image of the hero was mixed with the image of his namesake Ileyka Muromets, who was hanged in Moscow in 1607. AT Time of Troubles"Muromets Jr." pretended to be Tsarevich Peter, the never-existing son of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich. Prior to this, the future impostor managed to change many fields. Among other things, he served in the Cossack detachment of Prince Khvorostinin.

2. "Foreigners" and "Gentiles"

The Cossacks is a painting by Russian artist Ilya Repin.

The ethnic composition of the Cossacks was heterogeneous. Often the Cossacks received representatives of the local population of those regions where they settled and served.

Among the Orenburg and Altai Cossacks one could meet Tatars, Kalmyks, Buryats, Nagaybaks. Germans and Litvins served in Yermak's detachment. During the war of 1812, captured Poles from the Napoleonic troops were enrolled in the Siberian Cossacks. After the victory over Bonaparte, many of them did not want to leave for their homeland. Some rose to the ranks of officers.

"Foreigners" married Cossack women, the stanitsa themselves married local girls, and children from mixed marriages became hereditary Cossacks.

There was no uniformity in religion. The Cossack troops included Buddhists and Muslims. After church schism XVII centuries, Orthodox Cossacks were divided into followers of Nikonianism and Old Believers.

3. Freemen and the Tsar's service

The notorious Cossack "freemen" rested on a rather rigid code of rules and strict discipline within the armed detachments. But brave warriors, ready to give their lives for those to whom they swore allegiance, did not tolerate any encroachment on the restriction of their rights.

AT XVII-XVIII centuries attempts by the government of the Russian Empire to rein in the "freemen" became one of the main reasons for numerous uprisings and riots, including the Bulavin uprising and the peasant wars, led by the Don Cossacks Stepan Razin and Emelyan Pugachev.

4. Scouts

Plastun units were on a special account in the Cossack troops. Experienced warriors replenished the number of their ranks, selecting the most suitable young Cossacks. Scouts needed different qualities than cavalrymen, and they were trained in a different way.

They were scouts, participants in ambushes and search parties. They had to be able to lie without moving or sit for hours in uncomfortable positions, without moving a single muscle, move silently over long distances, climb trees and walls. Scouts were taught to calmly endure frost, heat, rain, snowfall and annoying midges. Among other things, they needed to flawlessly own a fitting, a pistol and a dagger.

5. Cossack and his horse

For Terek and Kuban Cossacks The warhorse was not just a mount. The wife saddled the horse before the campaign and gave her husband a rein with the saying: “On this horse you leave, Cossack, on this horse you will return home with victory.” Then she bowed to the animal at the feet, asking to save the faithful in battle. Meeting her husband from the war, the wife bowed to his faithful friend with words of gratitude.

At the funeral of a Cossack, his horse, covered with a black saddlecloth, and with a weapon attached to the saddle, walked behind the coffin in front of the family and friends of the deceased.

6. Cossack trousers

In the form of Cossacks, details of an old costume are preserved to this day. The cut of trousers, clothes ideally adapted for nomadic life, was inherited from the ancient Scythian tribes.

According to legend, stripes on trousers appeared in the 16th century, when the tsar rewarded the Cossacks with blue and scarlet cloth. Blue fabric was in abundance, and scarlet was scarce. The clerk, who had brought gifts from Moscow, advised him to cut off the red cloth for the ataman's caftan. They did so, but on the advice to give the remaining red matter to the heroes, they answered that the heroes were all here, otherwise it would not have been possible to survive. The Cossacks divided the scarlet fabric in a brotherly way, cutting it into ribbons.

Lanterns are a symbol of justice in relations between the Cossacks. Subsequently, they began to mean that the person wearing them is free from state taxes.

7. Hairstyles of the Cossacks

Hairstyles adopted by the Cossacks in different regions, have had symbolic meaning. So, forelock-settler (chupryna) was a sign of belonging to the military brotherhood of the Zaporizhzhya Sich. It is curious that similar long tufts of hair on a shaved head were worn by the Normans, who dedicated themselves to the god Odin, as well as the soldiers of Svyatoslav of Kyiv.

With oaths of revenge, the Cossacks threw the torn or cut strands of the settlers into the graves of their comrades. Hair was pulled out of forelocks even when curses were pronounced.

The Yaitsky and Terek Cossacks cut their hair “under the pot” (“bracket”), which distinguished them from representatives of local tribes. Sheared hair was buried in the ground to avoid damage.

8. Cossack hospitality

The traditions of hospitality among the Cossacks were observed as inviolably as in the Caucasus. It was believed that any guest was sent by God. The stranger was not supposed to be asked for three days who he was and where he was heading. At the table, the guest, regardless of his age and wealth, was given an honorable host's place. The Cossack did not take food for himself and food for the horse on the road, knowing that in any village he would be warmly received and provided with everything necessary.

9. "Kidnapping" of the bride

Similar to the Caucasian and the ancient custom of kidnapping brides. Often it took place by agreement of a young man and a girl. As a rule, the case ended with a wedding. The guy who abandoned the “kidnapped” girl took a big risk: her brothers, relatives, cousins ​​and second cousins ​​brutally dealt with him.

The Kuban and Terek Cossacks, before the matchmaking, threw the hat out the window or into the yard of the girl, guessing so that she would see it. If the hat did not immediately fly back, matchmakers were sent in the evening. By order of her father, the girl brought a hat and put it on the table: bottom up if the candidate for husband was indifferent to her, and bottom down if she liked him. The latter served as an unambiguous hint for the parents that it was not worth capturing the daughter, since in the event of their refusal, she would hardly resist the “kidnapper”.

10. Attitude to alcohol

Not supporting the company and not raising a glass to your lips at a feast was considered the height of impoliteness. However, a participant in the meal could only symbolically sip wine or vodka. Intrusive demands to "drink to the bottom" did not bother him.

In the 17th century, the French engineer Guillaume de Beauplan, who lived and worked for a long time in Southern Russia, wrote: “In drunkenness and vagrantism, they tried to surpass each other ... and there is no people in the world that could compare with the Cossacks in drunkenness.” But during military campaigns, drinking was forbidden. Violation of the ban was punishable by death. The Cossack chieftains did not abuse alcohol even in between campaigns, otherwise they were denied respect and trust.

Those who died from drunkenness were not spared. They were buried behind the church fence, in the same place where the suicides were, and instead of a cross, an aspen stake was erected on the grave.

The social composition of the Cossacks

1. Philistines - residents of castles-fortresses and towns that bordered on the Wild Field. Some of them in the spring went to the southern steppes to fisheries, where they surrendered before hunting, fishing, beekeeping. they were called vіdkhіdniki. In autumn they returned home, paying a tenth of their own production to the elders.

Some of the survivors eventually did not return home for the winter. They began to unite in communities, detachments and build fortifications (sichs) in different parts of the Wild Field.

2. Natives of the boyars who did not have letters of commendation for their possessions. They formed the prosperous part of the Cossacks and the Cossack administration - the foreman.

3. Peasantry. With the advent of Lithuanian and Polish feudal lords to the Ukrainian lands, the exploitation of the peasants increased significantly, and with the creation of estates, their mass enslavement. One of the forms of struggle was the mass escapes of peasants to the steppe, where they joined the ranks of the Cossacks.

Economic activity of the Cossacks

At first the Cossacks led economic activity, which was seasonal and did not need outbuildings, settled way of life.

These were various trades:

beekeeping;

Fishing.

Subsequently, winter quarters (Cossack farms), which consisted of two or three houses and outbuildings, appeared in places that were the safest from attacks by the Tatars, in the places of fishing.

Sometimes such a farm had a mill or a smithy.

The owner of the winter hut could be anyone who wanted to.

In winter quarters, only personal or hired labor was used.

In addition to crafts, the occupations of the Cossacks were:

field cultivation,

cattle breeding,

gardening,

Popular craft industries:

shipbuilding (building "seagulls"),

production of gunpowder and ammunition (bullets, cores, etc.),

blacksmithing and the like.

The Cossacks did not disdain trade either - they sold the products of their activities and booty, bought bread, clothes, weapons.

The position of the Cossacks

The social composition of the Cossacks was not homogeneous.

1. There was a prosperous Cossacks, owners of large farms.

2. Numerous Cossack hoards.

There was no serfdom, hired and personal labor was practiced.

Adoption to the Zaporozhian Sich

The conditions for acceptance into the Sich were:

Knowledge of the Ukrainian language;

Orthodox faith;

Weapon proficiency.

The Sich Cossack was supposed to:

Adhere to the traditions of society and an oath of allegiance to it;

Be unmarried.

Family Cossacks were not allowed in the Sich.

They lived outside the territory of the Sich, on farms; their occupations were agriculture, cattle breeding, crafts, trade.

The Cossacks valued fidelity to the law and society above all else.

For violation of the customs of the Zaporizhzhya Sich, the Cossacks were tried and severely punished, in particular:

Theft was punishable by death;

If someone killed a comrade, then they buried him alive together with the dead man in the ground;

For drinking alcohol during the campaign could be sentenced to murder;

The Cossacks were severely punished if he brought a woman to the Sich.

There was no place in the Sich society for treason, cowardice, meanness, and fraud.

The heaviest punishment for the Cossack was his expulsion in disgrace from the Sich.

The Cossacks were fearless warriors who treated death with contempt, did not know fear in battles with the enemy, and heroically defended their native land.

Nationality of the Cossacks

The solidarity and friendship of the sons of different peoples is growing in the Sich - the Sich brotherhood.

In addition to the Ukrainians, who made up the vast majority, there were many Russians and Belarusians, Jews, Lithuanians and Poles, immigrants from the South Slavic lands.

The Italians and the French, even the Tatars and Arabs, came to the Sich.

Life of the Cossacks

In the Sich, the Cossacks took care of physical training and military skills.

We swam every morning, regardless of the season.

In the morning, the Cossacks petitioned for housekeeping, combat training.

Cossack clothes

Until the middle of the 17th century. Cossack clothing was varied.

Ordinary Cossacks dressed simply: shirts, trousers, inferior scrolls and hats.

They also wore raincoats (kobenyaki).

Subsequently, typical Cossack clothing appeared: a long caftan (caftan), girdled with a soft belt, to which a saber is attached on the left side, a hat trimmed with fur, the bottom hung a little.

A noble Cossack over a caftan wore a wide kireya, lined with fur, sometimes with a rich collar. The ceremonial clothes of the Cossacks were rich and luxurious.

Appearance of the Cossacks

The Cossacks shaved their heads and left only one forelock above their forehead - a herring that his Cossack put behind his ear.

The mustache was not cut, but smeared with something and twisted up to the eyes. If someone grew a very long mustache, then they twisted it and laid it right behind the ears. It was a special pride of the Cossacks.

There were tables in each kuren, and around them there were benches on which the Cossacks sat.

The cooks poured food into large wooden bowls and placed them on each table, and next to the food, all kinds of drinks were in large buckets, on which wooden scoops were hung. The chieftain sat down in the first place, the Cossacks around the table and began to eat.

Cossack dishes:

black grouse, scars, dumplings, fish, pork head to hell, noodles, buckwheat and millet porridge, Rye bread, wheat cakes, milk.

Black grouse was called dough made from rye flour, diluted with milk or water with honey.

From the Tatars, the Cossacks adopted the use of garlic and onions.

After dinner, the Cossacks bowed to the ataman, to each other and thanked the cooks.

The chieftain left the table and threw money into the box. All the Cossacks did the same: the cook got the money and used it to buy food at the market on the second day.

Cooks cooked food in separate huts in copper or iron cauldrons.

The Cossacks were famous for fun, jokes, ridicule.

They especially liked to invent surnames for their comrades.

Schools were created in the Sich at the churches.

1. It is known about 6 schools that existed in the Sich.

2. Two schools specialized in physical and military training.

3. There was a school that trained scribes, military clerks, heads of palankas and kurens.

4. Was alone in the Sich School of Music(school vocal music and church singing). It was led by "chitak and scribbler" (as it is written in the documents of that time) Mikhail Kathisma.

The schools trained readers and singers for churches, trained trumpeters, trumpeters, dovbishivs.

A group of performers-actresses was created at the school, who staged a crib folk puppet drama. They also organized various celebrations and carnivals during the holidays and in honor of the return of the Cossacks from military campaigns.

Kobzars in the Sich

Kobzars also lived in the Setch. From historical sources it is known that the kobzar went on campaigns, composed songs and thoughts.

Many kobzars visited the Crimea and Turkey. Nobody touched the musicians, the borders were open for them. That's why folk singers from Ukraine could be found in Cafe and Istanbul. It was they who brought news of the slaves to their homeland, created thoughts about the prisoners, their horrific torments in a foreign land. The Lament of the Slaves, the thoughts The Flight of the Slaves and the Death of the Cossacks in Azov have come down to us.

Kobzars were officially part of the Zaporizhian Army and, together with Dovbishes, trumpeters and other performers of the halyard, Cossack regimental music. Such warriors wore a bandura next to a spear and a saber. They created many songs and thoughts during their campaigns.

Cossacks who lost their sight in battles or in captivity, but were musically and poetically gifted, also became bandura players.

Kobzars enjoyed great respect in the army and among the people.

Church in the life of the Cossacks

The Sich Church became the center of the spiritual life of the Cossacks. The Zaporozhian Cossacks were deeply religious people.

There were about 60 churches within the Liberties of the Zaporozhye Host.

The Cossacks constantly attended services, read the Bible, and when they returned from a campaign with trophies, they gave a significant part of them to the church.

In each kuren there were icons - rich, beautifully decorated, luxurious candlesticks and lamps hung in front of them. During the reading of the Gospel in the church, the Cossacks kept their sabers at the ready, as a sign that they were ready to defend the Orthodox faith at any moment.

Each Cossack, dying, unsubscribed to the church an icon, an ingot of gold and silver, money, and the like.

COSSACK LIFE AND CUSTOMS OF THE COSSACKS:

LIFESTYLE

The current ethnic and "other" Cossacks argue and discuss the purpose of the modern Cossacks, and as "grandfather" Karamzin said: "To understand the purpose of a people or country, you need to know their history well ...". But we will proceed from the fact that the past of the Cossacks, and indeed of Russia in general, is vague and controversial, then we will look at the textbooks of the Historian of the “Soviet” times: “There were tribes of Russ and Ross ... People settled in clans, a clan of plowmen-craftsmen and a clan of nomadic warriors. Over time, the clans united (warriors guarded the tillers in exchange for food), forming towns surrounded by a simple palisade or log walls of a special design to protect against raids of animals and militant tribes.
Since it is known that the Cossacks were forbidden to engage in agriculture, it turns out that, relying even on the facts of history, you come to the conclusion that the Cossacks were a militant people. In addition, at the baptism of a child (boy), the father put him on a horse, and in the lower reaches of the Don and in the Caucasus (in addition to this), a dagger or a knife in a leather sheath lit in the church was placed in the cradle of the child. It is obvious that farmers and ordinary people do not need such customs (to the same "runaway serfs"). It turns out that from birth, fathers developed in their children (as Academician Pavlov would say) a stable reflex - ALWAYS BE ARMED! Remember the seal of the Don Cossacks: "Naked Cossack on a barrel, but with weapons in both hands."
The main livelihoods of the Cossacks were hunting, fishing, cattle breeding and military booty. Farming until 1695 among the Cossacks was strictly prohibited. The entire male population was required to serve. In independent campaigns and in the composition of the troops Russian state, as "irregular" (that is, not regular - these were precisely the Cossack formations before the revolution of 1917), no more than 2/3 of the combat strength of the village or farm left, and 1/3 remained to protect their lands and replace field regiments after a three-year stay them on the trip. The Cossacks successfully coped with their task before the story was told.
The chieftain must know how many orphans are in his community, they have long been called "ataman children", they were taken care of by the whole community. The old people made sure that the orphans were not offended, the godparents watched over their morality and physical health. Especially gifted orphans and Cossacks were sent to study at public expense. The Cossacks did not have kindergartens, they were replaced by the Elders - a gathering of the old Cossacks of a farm or village. They monitored the observance of all traditions (customs) in their village and in the upbringing of children, resolved disputes and conflicts and imposed punishments.

Kazakh food.

The basis of the diet of the Cossack family was wheat bread, fish, livestock and gardening products ... The most popular was borsch, which was boiled with sauerkraut, beans, meat, lard, in fast days- with vegetable oil. Each hostess had her own unique taste of borscht. This was due not only to the diligence with which the hostesses prepared food, but also to various culinary secrets, among which was the ability to make frying (pre-frying vegetables was used exclusively in Cossack families and is still used by the descendants of the Cossacks). Cossacks loved dumplings, dumplings. They knew a lot about fish: they salted it, dried it, boiled it. They salted and dried fruits for the winter, cooked compotes (uzvars), jam, prepared watermelon honey, made fruit marshmallows; honey was widely used, wine was made from grapes. Cossacks ate more meat and meat dishes (especially poultry, pork and lamb) than other peoples of Russia. Fat and fat were highly valued, as often meat products were used as a seasoning for dishes. In large undivided families, all products were run by the mother-in-law, who gave them to the “duty” daughter-in-law ... Food was cooked, as a rule, in the oven (in the winter in the house, in the kitchen, in the summer - also in the kitchen or in the summer oven in the yard): Each family had the necessary simple utensils: cast iron, bowls, bowls, frying pans, stag tongs, cups, pokers.

Chub, crest, pot, bracket and sedentary.

The famous Cossack forelock and the obliquely planted cap are covered with a special legend. Although there were no special instructions on this matter, the Cossacks stubbornly wore forelocks and twisted their hats over their ears. The legend also says that on the Don there has always been a law of personal immunity for anyone who came to seek asylum and protection from the Cossacks. “There is no extradition from the Don!” This principle has been observed for centuries, it was especially clearly manifested in the Civil War, when the entire persecuted and exterminated Russia sought refuge with the Cossacks. On the Don, they never asked a refugee where he came from, what he had done, even his name - until he himself said, they did not torture him. Sheltered, fed, protected. And woe was to the one who violated the laws of hospitality or tried to plant among the Cossacks principles and views alien to them, "to sow temptations." Such a person disappeared without a trace in the steppes. In ancient times, the Cossacks wore three well-known hairstyles. The Cherkasy Cossacks left a crest all over their clean-shaven head (similar to this modern hairstyle is called the "Mohawk"), he gave the basis for the derisive nickname of the Ukrainians. This hairstyle was worn by the Cossacks who underwent initiation, that is, the rite of initiation of a boy into a man. It is curious that among the neighbors of the Cossacks - the Persians, the very word "Cossack" means "tuft". The second rare hairstyle is the sedentary, which was worn only by warriors. Leaving one strand of hair on a shaved head is a rite dating back to ancient times. So, among the Normans, the “settler” meant a dedication to the one-eyed god Odin, it was worn by warriors - the servants of Odin, and the god himself. It is known that pagan Slavs, warriors of Svyatoslav of Kyiv, also wore sedentary people. Subsequently, the "settler" became a symbol of belonging to the military order of the Cossacks. The first two hairstyles were common among the Slavs Sabir or Severov (see Severshchina in Ukraine, Novgorod-Seversky, Seversky Donets). The Cossacks of the middle Don, Terek and Yaik cut their hair in a "bracket" when their hair was cut in a circle - the same in front and behind. This hairstyle was called “under the pot”, “under the watermelon peel”, etc. The custom of cutting hair singled out the Cossacks from the Khazars and, later, the Polovtsy, who wore braids. In the rules of all ancient magics, cut hair has tremendous power, so they were carefully hidden: they were buried in the ground, fearing that the hair would fall to the enemy and he would cast spells on them that would cause damage. In all Cossack lands, the most ancient custom of the first haircut of a child has been preserved. When the boy turns one year old, the godmother, surrounded by female relatives, but without his own mother, who is not present at the christening of the child, puts him on a felt mat and cuts his hair for the first time in his life. It is appropriate to note here that the Cossacks wore forelocks on the left side, since it was believed that a devil is on the left of a person (who pushes for a bad (bad) deed), and an angel on the right (who inspires good). Here the Cossacks with this forelock, as it were, brush off the devil. And here is an ancient custom associated with hair: when the Cossacks buried a friend, most often treacherously killed, they threw strands of hair cut or torn from forelocks into the grave, which meant their oath to take revenge on the enemy without mercy. A strand torn from a forelock always meant "curse" , because the forelock among the Cossacks meant a connection with God, and it was believed that for the forelock God during the battle would pull the Cossack into paradise. Remember, N.V. Gogol about the traitor Andrii: “Old Taras will tear out a gray tuft of hair from his chupryna and curse both the day and the hour in which he gave birth to such a son to shame himself.” However, the Cossacks, who pulled out strands of hair as a sign of a curse, knew that God forbids revenge! And so they considered themselves cursed. Deciding on revenge, they understood their doom. “I am a finished man! - the Cossack said in such cases. “And there will be no rest for me either in this or this world ...” By the way, Gogol’s Taras also died ...

Rites and holidays.

The Cossacks had various ceremonies: matchmaking, wedding, maternity, "naming", christening, seeing off for service, funerals.

Matchmaking
In each Cossack army (military community) there were somewhat different, but in general terms similar rites of matchmaking. The Kuban and Tertsy had such a custom, and the Don people had a custom in many respects similar to this. In front of the girl he liked, the Cossack lad threw his hat out the window or into the yard, and if the girl did not immediately throw the hat out into the street, in the evening he could come with his father or godfather to woo. The guests said: - Good people, do not be angry, the guy lost my hat, you didn’t find it for an hour? - They found, they found ... - the father of the bride answers, - they hung it on a fur coat, let him take it and no longer lose it. This meant that the matchmaking did not take place - the bride's parents were against it, the matchmaker could object to this, they say, the thing is not ours, we will begin to look for ours. And this meant that there was an agreement between the girl and the guy, and the groom would try to steal her. Somewhat frightened by this turn of events, the girl's father shouted: - Hey, Maryana! Come on, give me a papakha, whose is it with us! If a girl brought a hat and put it upside down (hereinafter she became the “Pawn”, in which they put money for the wedding), this meant that she agreed to go for the guy, and the parents risked embarrassment, losing their daughter and offending the future son-in-law. If the hat lay on the table upside down with the cross up, this meant that the issue of marrying a girl was not agreed upon. These are the unfortunate groom's own fantasies. - Well, guess! - strictly ordered the father or godfather to the groom. - Here you go! - Joyfully said the father of the bride. - It's your dad! Wear it to your health and don't lose any more! So the Cossacks have gone scattered, we have lost almost half a yard of these dads!

Wedding.
A complex and lengthy rite, with its own strict rules. In the old days, a wedding was never a display of the material wealth of the parents of the bride and groom. First of all, it was a state, spiritual and moral act, an important event in the life of the village. The ban on weddings during fasting was strictly observed. The most preferred time of the year for weddings was considered autumn, winter, when there was no field work and, moreover, this is the time of economic prosperity after harvesting. The age of 18-20 years was considered favorable for marriage. The community and the military administration could intervene in the procedure for concluding marriages. So, for example, it was not allowed to extradite girls to other villages if there were many bachelors and widowers in their own. But even within the village, young people were deprived of the right to choose. The decisive word in the choice of the bride and groom remained with the parents. Matchmakers could appear without the groom, only with his hat, so the girl did not see her betrothed until the wedding. “There are several periods in the development of a wedding: pre-wedding, which included matchmaking, handshaking, arches, parties in the house of the bride and groom; wedding and post-wedding ritual. At the end of the wedding, the main role was assigned to the groom's parents: they were rolled around the village in a trough, locked in a mountain, from where they had to pay off with the help of a "quarter". The guests also got it: they "stole" chickens from them, at night they covered the windows with lime. But in all this, there was nothing offensive, senseless, not aimed at the future good of man and society. Ancient rituals outlined and consolidated new ties, imposed social obligations on people. deep meaning were filled not only with actions, but also with words, objects, clothes, tunes of songs. Young people, leaving the church, pass under three "gates". The third gate is formed from a raised towel, a symbol of family customs. After a long towel flew up over the heads of the newly married couple with a white arch, a rain of grain, small coins and sweets in pieces of paper fell on them. In front of the third gate there was a second one: two Cossacks held caps or hats taken off over the heads of the newlyweds. This is what is called - to pass under caps, which meant giving the family and all offspring legal (as we would say now) protection, all the fullness of the legal rights that protected the family. And the first gate under which young people passed, immediately leaving the doors of a cathedral or church, was the gate of two naked blades. It was called "to pass under checkers". But about what the checker meant and what it was for the Cossack - next time.

COSSACK VERA
Since ancient times, the Cossacks did not recognize either the Byzantine or the Moscow Patriarchy. They had priests, but very little is known about them, it is known that before the times of Peter the Great they were, as a rule, hereditary, but there were also those who “took a haircut”. An obsessed priest (going against the Cossack honor, the will of the Circle (Rada) - the Cossacks could flog with whips). Ancient sources (foreign historians) describe evidence that there were as many churches and temples in the basins of the Don and Kuban rivers as there were not in the whole ancient Russia. Moving in whole farms or villages, the Cossacks dismantled wooden churches and transported them with them (with all the utensils), and in a new place they first assembled the temple, and then built the rest of the buildings. Many Cossacks became monks after major and significant battles (a special example is the Seat of Azov). The Cossacks chose priests from among the priests, who were many on the Don: recaptured from the captives, refugees from devastated monasteries and churches, fugitives from repressions, etc. A stripped or self-proclaimed non-ordained priest could not serve with the Cossacks. The Cossacks were deeply devoted to their Orthodox Christian faith, but at the same time they were distinguished by complete religious tolerance. Not to mention the Old Believers, of whom there were many among the Cossacks, in the Kuban Army there were Mohammedan mountaineer Cossacks, and in the Donskoy there was a large group of Buddhist Kalmyk Cossacks. Returning from their campaigns, the Cossacks gave part of the spoils of war to their church, and this pious custom was preserved until later, when the Cossacks of one or another village, having served their legal term in a military unit, returned home, they brought silver church vessels to the village church, the Gospel in expensive frames, icons, banners and other church items. Creating their own independent order, their own administration, their own Cossack "award" - their military law, the Cossacks, however, maintained a close connection with Russia - a religious, national, political and cultural connection. Moscow Tsar, later Russian emperor, was recognized by the Cossacks as the supreme power. He was in their eyes the bearer of the state and national unity of Russia.

COSSACK CLOTHES

Ancient Cossack clothes are very ancient (this is evidenced by the statuettes found from the time of the Scythians). The costume of the Cossacks took shape over the centuries, long before the Cherkasy tribes began to be called Cossacks. First of all, this refers to the invention of the Scythians - bloomers, without which the life of a nomad - a horseman is impossible (you can’t sit on a horse in tight pants, and they will wash your legs, and fetter the rider’s movements). Over the centuries, their cut has not changed, so those bloomers that were found in ancient barrows were the same as those worn by the Cossacks in the 17-19 centuries.

Cossack right.

Noted by all historians as the main feature of the Cossack troops “on the right”, that is, equipment at their own expense, in fact, for the Cossack it made not only economic sense and placed a heavy burden on the family, but also had a deeper philosophical content. In the understanding of our ancestors, “right” is not only a set of things necessary for service, but also a special, often mystical, ritual meaning that the Cossack endowed with a hat, saber, uniform, etc. “Right” is not only military uniforms, a horse and weapons, in a broad sense, in general, a national costume, and even more broadly - Cossack morality, everyday and economic way of life, the whole complex of objects and customs that surrounded the Cossack. The Cossack was "celebrated" long before he went to serve. This was due not only to the huge material costs of ammunition and weapons, but also to the fact that the Cossack got used to a new world of objects for him, in new world surrounding the male warrior. Usually his father said to him: - Well, son, I married you and celebrated. Now live with your mind - I am no longer responsible before God for you! As a rule, this meant that the father taught his son both the trade and everything that a grain grower needs to know, and not only collected the necessary ammunition and weapons, and the son understood that he no longer had the right to demand anything from his father. The measure is measured out to him completely. He is a cut piece and a free Cossack. Therefore, the story about the Cossack right should not begin with a story about objects, but with concepts and the inner meaning that is embedded in each concept and object. The most important and first was the concept of "serviceability". "The Cossack must be correct." Our ancestors invested a very broad meaning in the concept of serviceability. This is the clarity of the soul, the clarity of the worldview, fidelity in word and deed, physical health and neatness in appearance. A special part of the concept of "serviceability" was constant combat readiness (horse, ammunition, equipment, weapons) and a strong economy. The Cossack could be poor, but could not be faulty. It was as unthinkable as an untidy Cossack. In all conditions, the rules of personal hygiene were carefully observed. The Cossack went to the bathhouse every day, washed and changed his underwear, washed his feet every day, washed himself, and shaved. Seniors in rank could at any time, even in peacetime, order the Cossack to undress, show the cleanliness of the body of the “underwear”. This was due not only to the requirements of the war - the neglect of personal hygiene led to the loss of fighting qualities: abrasions of the legs, diaper rash, the spread of diseases, but also with a higher spiritual meaning. Constantly keeping oneself “in shape”, as they would say now, made the Cossack constantly remember the purpose for which he came into this world - serving God through serving his Fatherland and People. Each army had its own hygiene rules adapted to local conditions. So, in deserts where there was no water, the Cossacks every three days on a campaign roasted clothes in the sun or over a fire, in the absence of water they arranged a “dry bath” - they lay naked in the fine sand and wiped themselves with a cloth in the wind. They shaved even in trench warfare. In the absence of soap and hot water they shaved in the “pig way” - the bristles that had grown on their cheeks were scorched and washed off with a wet towel. But this concerned only young and unmarried Cossacks and Cossacks of the Guard, who wore only mustaches. Married Cossacks wore, as a rule, a beard. The beard was carefully trimmed and shaved. The special style of the Cossack beard was determined by the method of shaving. The Cossacks shaved with a saber. The saber was hung by the lanyard and the Cossack shaved with a blade at the combat end. Therefore, three planes were shaved: the cheeks and the neck under the chin. So they shaved until the 17th century and later, when the “straight razor” began to be included in the mandatory set of Cossack equipment, the style of the beard was preserved. The Cossack valued clothes not for their cost, but for that inner spiritual meaning which she had for him. So, he could swaddle a sick horse with a piece of trophy atlas, tear precious silk into bandages, but he kept his eyes on his uniform or tunic, Circassian coat or beshmet, no matter how dilapidated or patched they were. Of course, one of the important circumstances was the convenience of the combat suit, its "shabby". So, the scout went on a search only in old, well-worn and comfortable ichigi, and the cavalryman first wore his uniform, and only then sat in the saddle, fearing to earn destructive diaper rash and scuffs from new clothes. But the main thing was different. According to the beliefs of all ancient peoples, clothes are the second skin. Therefore, a Cossack, especially an Old Believer Cossack, never put on trophy clothes, especially if it was the clothes of a dead man. The wearing of trophy clothes was allowed only in case of emergency, and only after it had been carefully washed, ironed, and cleansing rites were performed on it. The Cossack was afraid not only of the possibility of getting infected through someone else's clothes, but of a special mystical danger. He was afraid that with someone else's clothes he would inherit the fate of her former owner (“the dead one will drag him to the other world”) or his bad qualities. Therefore, clothes made “at home” by the mother, sisters, wife, and later, although state-owned, but bought from their own capital or taken from their captain, acquired special value for him. In ancient times, the ataman gave especially distinguished Cossacks “for a caftan”. And in Moscow, the meaning that frightened the Cossack was lost. For example, a boyar who received a “fur coat from the king’s shoulder” rejoiced at the honor, but the Cossack remembered that this “award” had another meaning: to put on someone else’s clothes or put on “foreign covers” meant entering someone else’s will, and it could be good and evil. Putting on someone else's clothes could "fall into someone else's will", that is, he would act contrary to his own understanding of good and evil, his own common sense. This is what caused the Cossack "mortal fear" - that is, fear from which he could actually die or go crazy. After all, it meant a loss of will. It should be remembered that the loss of will for the Cossack was the worst thing. And this is not imprisonment in a dungeon, not the fulfillment of some heavy vow or order, but the fear of doing something apart from one's desire, one's understanding, one's WILL. But back to clothes. The first garment was the baptismal shirt. The shirt was sewn and given by the godmother. The shirt was worn only once - at the time of the baptism of the child, and after that it was preserved and burned all its life after the death of a person, along with the first cut strand of hair and things that belonged to him personally, subject to ritual destruction (letters, underwear, bedding, etc.). P.). The baptismal shirt was preserved by the mother and burned by her when the Cossack son died. Sometimes a woman could not believe that her son, her blood, who always remained small for her, died in a foreign land for the Faith, the Tsar and the Fatherland. And then the baptismal shirt was preserved until last days mother herself, with the order to put her in her mother's coffin. There, in the coffin of the mother, they put the shirts of the missing, who could not be remembered either among the dead or among the living. Not only baptismal, but also any body shirt had a ritual magical meaning: from a sick child, a shirt was “let on the water” if the disease was severe, but not contagious, and burned in a fire if it was “glottis” (diphtheria) or some other attack, so that water and fire - pure elements - devoured disease. For a Cossack, a very important step was getting the first pants. It was from that time that they began to teach him horseback riding. And in the mind of the child, getting pants was forever combined - a brilliant invention of the nomads, without which proper riding is impossible, and the first lessons of skill, without which the Cossack could not imagine his life. "The best cavalry in the world" began with these wide, homespun panties on the straps, crossed at the back, with two buttons on the belly. For a Cossack, pants are not only the first tackle for riding, but also recognition of his manhood. That, now indisputable circumstance, that he is already big.

Fathers! - the old people sitting on the Maidan clasped their hands. - Grigory Antipych, you, in any way, in your pants!
- And then! I'm already big! - proudly answered the little one.
- Long! - the old people heat up the situation.
- With pockets! - the owner of new pants gilds the pill.
- And with pockets! - the old people agree. - Not otherwise than your father will marry you in the fall!

Bloomers or trousers were considered “real pants”, but even for “little” clothes, the Cossack girl demanded and still requires stripes of stripes. What is it - lampas? Where did they come from? Why did the Bolsheviks fight with them, as they say, with fire and sword. By order of the Donburo, for wearing stripes, as well as for wearing epaulettes, royal awards, caps, uniforms, for the word “Cossack”, “village”, etc., they were supposed to be shot on the spot. Lampas were carved on the legs of the Cossacks by the punishers of Lenin, Sverdlov and Trotsky, who had previously gouged out their eyes and nailed shoulder straps with nails. In the jargon of the punishers, the “colonel”, for example, was called the “crutch”, because his shoulder strap without stars was nailed to the victim’s shoulder with a railway crutch, the shoulder straps of the captain, centurion, cornet were nailed with nails or stole according to the number of stars. So our shoulder straps and our stars, our stripes are stained with the blood of the victims of the revolution and the genocide that followed it. So what did the lampas mean? Why did the proletarian dictatorship and totalitarianism that gave birth to them hate them so much? There is a legend according to which stripes appeared in the 16th century ... The Tsar of Moscow granted the Cossacks a reward for the fact that they alone stopped the Tatar and Nogai invasion of Russia, scattering the enemies in the steppe, own lives shielding the kingdom of Moscow from destruction. The tsar granted the Cossacks bread, gun supplies and cloth... The cloth was of two colors: a lot of blue and little scarlet, since scarlet English paint was in short supply in Russia. If the blue cloth was enough for everyone, then about the scarlet it turned out to be a difficulty on the Cossack duvan. The Cossacks turned to the Moscow official - the ordering clerk: - How to divide? The clerk advised to allocate red cloth for the ataman's caftan. They obeyed. Allocated. How to share the rest? - Dress up the heroes in red! - advised the deacon. We don't have heroes here! - answered the Cossacks. - We are all heroes here - otherwise we will not survive. The deacon was confused. Then the Cossacks divided the cloth according to their conscience, in fairness, that is, equally. Two palms and a quarter. They dismantled long ribbons, completely unsuitable for sewing any clothes, and the clerk complained: - They ruined the cloth. To which the Cossacks replied: - It was ruined in your Moscow brains! And in our Cossacks, maybe our justice will be in our descendants! We shared it honestly, according to conscience, therefore, the God of our justice will not let us go into oblivion. This is a legend, but in confirmation of it, in old drawings, we see Cossacks in trousers, to which ribbons are arbitrarily sewn - a sign of democracy, circular justice. Lampas were legalized by the tsarist government as a symbol of the fact that their owner did not pay taxes to the treasury. The right to stripes and bands had, for example, the nobles. But in no army, in no estate, stripes did not become part of the national costume, like ours, the Cossacks. Scarlet stripes and scarlet band are among the Donets and Siberians, raspberry - among the Urals and Semirechensk, blue - among the Orenburgers, yellow - among the Transbaikalians, Yakuts, Daurians-Amurs, Astrakhans. Only the guards regiments did not wear stripes, but ordinary Cossacks and even guards regiments, returning home, sewed them on. The Civil War gave birth to a cut-in lampas and a sewn-on epaulette as a sign that a person decided to die, but not change his word and his decision. Tightly sewn shoulder straps that cannot be torn off, or shoulder straps, drawn by poverty with an indelible pencil on a tunic, are a Cossack invention that also existed during the Great Patriotic War. Lampas, not sewn on top of trousers, but "cut" into the seam, have been preserved by the Cossacks to this day. Even now you can meet an old man, especially from the Old Believers, who is dressed with all the rules of old-fashioned clothing adopted according to custom, where each stitch of the needle is significant and covered with ritual. Here comes such an old man from the steam room, wringing out his beard with his hand. Resting. Now on his naked body, bullet, shrapnel, and even saber scars are especially visible. The Cossacks stopped the blood with a special composition: they chewed the web with gunpowder and lubricated fresh small wounds with this composition. In the absence of cobwebs (which are pure protein and have fantastic healing properties), larger wounds were simply sprinkled with gunpowder for disinfection. From gunpowder, the scar turned blue ... On another old man, such hieroglyphs are drawn that a lump rolls up to the throat. The rest of the body is clean. The Cossacks never disfigured their own body, created in the image and likeness of God, with a tattoo. In general, in the old days, people were afraid of any marks on the body, even moles were considered a devilish obsession, because, say, in the guard with large birthmarks did not take on the body. Recovering his breath, the old man puts on the cross. The Cossacks took off the cross in the bath. There was also an ancient mystical meaning and purely worldly interest: the Cossacks never wore a cross on a chain, but only on a silk or gaitan woven from a harsh thread, which, naturally, would get wet in the bath. An amulet was worn over the cross. If an old man put on an amulet, it means that he is not a local, he came to friends, relatives or on business and is afraid to die on the road. The amulet is sewn from a flap of a father's or mother's shirt. It is flat, like a pillow, it has two compartments, like in a wallet. In one - the earth from the father's court or, as they said, from the native ashes (which was not an artistic image, but exactly indicated where the earth was taken from, but more on that in the chapter "Death and Burial"), in the other - a sprig of wormwood. Having put on a cross and be sure to cross himself, the old man puts on a long white shirt and underpants, underpants, on the right side of the underpants a buttoned purse is sewn, here (“if you put it further away, you will take it closer”) the acquired rubles are hidden by labor sweat and corns. The harem pants worn over the linen "sneakers" are pulled over at the waist with a long thin rawhide strap - a gashnik. The purse is pressed by this strap to the stomach “in a poultice”. This wallet is called a "stash". What the expression “hide in a stash” means, all of Russia knows, but only the Cossacks know where it is. The time is not far off when several strong, stubborn old men met in the bazaars, who could bargain for a long time and beat hands. Sometimes they, quite by agreement, lifted up their tunics, lowered their bloomers and began to unwind the gas caps, but then again some previously unaccounted for terms of the deal arose, and the swearing and handshaking began again - now with trousers lowered onto boots, in the radiance of snow-white spodniki . This could go on for hours, the Cossack women passing by only burst out laughing and turned away, looking at the cockereling old men, who continued to haggle in completely broken voices. This went on until some old woman in a scarf black to the eyes grabbed a lump of dirt and threw it at the old people. Then they immediately gasped! Sometimes they even squatted, trying to cover their underpants with a tunic, and, to the laughter of the Cossacks, they hurriedly pulled on their trousers and fastened them. But the bargaining did not stop, and after a while the old men were again standing with their pants down. But in general, the passion for trade, freedom in clothing was condemned by public opinion. Both were considered sinful, as, for example, gambling, cock, goose and ram fights ... The main clothes of the Cossack men were uniforms. There was a military reform - the military uniform changed - the costume of the villagers inevitably changed. In general, this applies not only to the Cossacks, but also to the entire folk costume, which it would be wrong to perceive as something accepted once and for all, unchanged and influenced by fashion. True, changes in the costume of the stanitsa took place much more slowly than in the military uniform, in addition, there were changes and details that did not take root in the villages ... In addition, any fashionable innovation inevitably underwent a change in the village performance, and having taken root, existed for a long time. For example, in the army it has long been canceled and forgotten, and the old people in the villages continue to wear clothes, including new-sewn ones, according to the patterns that were familiar to them. In what uniforms they served in their youth, they died in such uniforms in old age. So, in the photographs of the First World War and even post-revolutionary ones, one can see old people in the uniforms of the Russian-Turkish war, and in the post-war and current costumes adopted on the Don, uniforms and tunics of the beginning of the century are easily read. However common features, inherent in the Cossack costume, are traced like a red thread in Cossack clothes from ancient times to the present day. ...But back to the old man in the bathhouse. Here he was dressed in wide cloth trousers. Over the centuries, they have changed their cut slightly and have never been “slip-on” - you can’t sit on a horse in tight pants. In "Notes of a Cossack Officer" Kvitka tells how an officer who joined the Cossack regiment from the guards hussars felt sorry for the Cossacks because they were soaring in cloth trousers. He himself was dressed in thin chakchirs and was languishing from the heat. So, if he had put on Cossack trousers, after putting on clean underpants, he would have understood that the Cossacks felt much better than he, the officer who pityed them. Spacious cloth pants played the role of a kind of thermos, and linen underwear (always clean) did not allow the legs to sweat and wear out in the cloth on the saddle. Having tied up his bloomers with a damper, the old man pulled on a spacious tunic. She is the daughter of a Russian shirt and the sister of a Caucasian beshmet. Probably, that is why the white, originally “gymnastic shirt”, worn before under the uniform, took root, because it is flesh from the flesh of a peasant shirt, and even earlier - Slavic. Girdling himself with an old belt with a simple buckle about one peg, the Cossack threw on arkhaluk - quilted clothes with a standing collar. Here is what V. Dahl wrote about these clothes: “ar-kalyk (Tatars) prm. through the saddle. From the same word (arch (Tatar) - ridge, back) in the meaning of a half-caftan, came out arkhaluk - a coat, a kind of domestic chekmen, for the most part unclothed, quilted. These are very old clothes. Our grandfathers sewed it already in the form of outerwear, they were satin and silk. Most likely, a quilted jacket was born from the arkhaluk, the famous Russian padded jacket, originally worn only under an overcoat, like an arkhaluk under a caftan. And the ancient caftan itself with an open chest, without a collar, gave rise to a suit for at least two large regions. Don Cossacks and the Urals have been wearing them since ancient times, in the 19th century they received a uniform caftan, buttoned tightly, with loops and hooks end-to-end, and the Cossacks of the Caucasian troops sewed gazyry-patronoliers to an ancient caftan without a collar, and the famous Circassian turned out. So the postulate that, having come to the Caucasus, the Cossacks borrowed Caucasian clothes, is very controversial. With the same success it can be said that the Caucasians borrowed the clothes brought by the Cossacks and still wear them without changing the cut. And in fact, no one borrowed anything from anyone! The ancestors of the Cossacks and modern Caucasian peoples, living side by side since ancient times, together went through the same phases of the development of military art, for the sake of which the military costume changed. So, with the invention of firearms and the advent of rifle formations, such as archers or musketeers, a need arose for a measured charge. That is, during the battle there was no time to measure the gunpowder, it was necessary to pour the required portion into the barrel as quickly as possible, hammer a bullet, pour gunpowder from the powder flask onto the shelf and shoot. And such a capacity with a pre-measured charge appeared. It can be seen both on Russian and on foreign old engravings and popular prints - these are wooden “chargers” that dangled from the archers on a shoulder strap. But if the chargers suited the infantry, then the cavalrymen were not suitable. While driving, such a charger could not be caught by hand, therefore special mounts were invented that held the "chargers" tightly, and the chargers themselves turned into the current gazyri. By the way, the bandolier worn by infantrymen on the belt was uncomfortable for the Cossack, and therefore, in the so-called steppe Cossack troops, the bandolier was worn on a sling over the left shoulder so that the clip could be easily pulled out right hand. The Cossacks traditionally, unlike the regular cavalry, wore a rifle over their right shoulder ... Hat and cap. Hats are a very special part of any folk costume. And among the Cossacks, the hat and cap are fanned with so many legends, historical traditions and signs, so merged with the fate of the Cossack that even three quarters of a century of genocide of storytelling, exile, which destroyed the entire Cossack way of life, led to the desolation of the earth, to oblivion - customs, could not destroy Cossack hat and cap. The cap was, is and will be the subject of reverence, worship and pride of the Cossack. Peter I was struck by one Cossack performance, which the unkindness of the Cossacks turned into an anecdote, as a result of which we were supposedly "graciously" granted a coat of arms - a naked drunkard on a barrel with a saber in his hands and a hat on his head. Say, a Cossack can drink everything except a pouch, a hat and checkers. Indeed, in the royal taverns it was forbidden to take a saber, a hat and a pectoral cross as a pledge. But this happened for other, much more ancient and serious reasons. The Middle Ages is the time of symbols, and these three details: a cross, a hat and a checker (or even earlier a saber) made up special symbols and therefore inviolable. The pectoral cross is a symbol of the fact that its owner is a Christian. Cossacks, entering the service in the Soviet army, did not have the right to wear a cross on their chests, and therefore, in order not to be left without a cross, they heated it red-hot and applied it to their breasts. Whoever saw it, how hot copper burns hissing skin to the bone, was speechless. They were ready to attribute a “psychic article” to the soldier, since it was difficult to imagine that in the “epoch of the full-scale construction of communism” a different worldview could be maintained. The Cossack soldiers did this not to show their patience or oppose themselves to the authorities. In their Old Believer worldview there was an exact, unquestioned cliché: he who removed the cross is doomed. If you like, they did it out of fear. Just don't confuse this fear with cowardice. This is the highest fear - the fear of God - the fear of losing your soul, and in modern terms, the fear of ceasing to be a person and a person. The second most important symbol of the Cossacks is a hat, because a Cossack could give it away only with his head. Throughout Russia, it was an extensive deadly insult for a married woman to “bluff” her - to tear off her headscarf. Remember, it was for this crime that the merchant Kalashnikov killed the guardsman Kiribeevich. When punished with whips, the executioner first of all tore off the scarf from the criminal. It was a great shame for a married woman to appear not only in front of guests, but even in front of own husband without a warrior. For a man, for a Cossack, a hat knocked off or torn off his head was such a deadly insult. This attitude to the hat, to the papakha, has remained so in the Caucasus among the Cossacks and mountain peoples. The hat knocked off his head was a challenge to a duel. Thrown "on the ground" meant that in the upcoming dispute he stakes his head, "answers with his head", that is, the price of losing is life. Only in the Cossack circle, Esaulets could remind that it was necessary to speak before the Circle, baring his head. He could also snatch the hat from the hands of the speaker and put it on his head, which meant: the speaker is deprived of the word. Everyone took off their hats in the church without exception. Even a policeman, flying into a church in pursuit of a thief, had to take off his hat. So what did the hat symbolize, what did it mean? First of all, his belonging to the Cossacks. By the way, this appointment of a cap or hat is preserved today. Lamps were not worn recent years thirty or forty, and caps, no one knows where embroidered, have always existed. The hat played a very important role both in the civilian life of the Cossack and in the family. She was a symbol of the legal rights of the head of the family, the head of the family. She had a special place in the decoration of the Cossack kuren. By the number of caps in the hallway, one could judge how many Cossacks lived in this house, how many were united in a family. Caps or hats without cockades formally belonged to Cossacks of non-combatant ages. But this custom was almost never observed, perhaps because the Cossacks wanted to appear older, and the old people - younger! It was possible to check the guess about the number of men in the house by entering the room, where checkers hung on the carpet - a symbol of Cossack adulthood, full rights and the presence of a land allotment. The cap of a killed or deceased Cossack was taken home. The Cossack, who brought the terrible news of the death of his son, husband, father, baring his head, got off his horse at the gates of an orphaned house, took out a shot or chopped cap from a saddle bag and silently passed by relatives dumbfounded with grief into the upper room, where he put a headdress on a shelf in front of icon. This meant that there was no longer a protector in the house, that the protection of this family was entrusted to God and Christians. On memorial days and on Parental Saturday, a pile of wine was placed in front of the cap and covered with a piece of bread. In the morning, bread was brightened up for sparrows, and wine was splashed into the fire of the hearth or poured into the river with a memorial prayer. When the owner was not at home, the old man or chieftain, having entered the room and crossed himself, sat down without invitation, saying to the hostess: “Run away, call your own ...”. In the widow's house, where there was a cap under the icon, neither the old man nor the ataman dared to cross the threshold of the room without permission, they spoke quietly and addressed the widow either by name and patronymic, or affectionately: Katenka, Egorovna-darling ... If a woman went out again married, then her new husband removed the cap of the former owner after the wedding. Secretly, alone, he carried his cap to the river and lowered it into the water with the words: “Forgive me, comrade, but do not be angry, not by a mortal sin, but by honor I took your wife for myself, and your children under my protection ... Let it be rest in peace to you, and heavenly peace to your soul ... ”But in general, the hat was an object of worship not by chance. An icon was often sewn onto an old hat, or some sacred relic was sewn into the lining, so in the steppe, in war, on a campaign, a Cossack put on some hill, on a mound or on a saber stuck in the ground, a hat and prayed for the shining on her forehead scapular. After the split that occurred in Russia (it should be remembered that many Cossacks were Old Believers, that is, they did not recognize Nikon's reforms), a tradition arose to sew up Old Believer images in a hat, under a cockade or above it. In the Soviet army, Cossack soldiers secretly sewed up icons (often paper ones bought from a nearby church) into their hats or caps. At the same time, they could be non-believers, but the tradition was preserved. The law adopted in the Russian army on sewing awards for mass heroism on the cap further increased the value of the headdress. So it was possible to see brass badges “For Courage”, “For Shipka”, etc. on almost all Cossack hats.

The chieftain wore a special high hat that did not belong to him, as well as a caftan of a special cut made of expensive material. The hat was a sign of his chieftainship and belonged to the Cossack society. The customs that speak of the high role of the cap in the civil life of the Cossacks have survived to this day. During the election of the ataman, each candidate or each speaker, leaving the circle, takes off his hat. If there are several candidates, then all of them sit without hats when nominated. In fact, the custom of baring one's head means humility and obedience, bringing one's will into submission to the will of another (the one in the hat). All the other Cossacks of the circle sat in headdresses. But as soon as the ataman was chosen, the roles changed. The chieftain solemnly put on the chieftain's hat, and all the Cossacks, without exception, took off their hats. From that moment on, the will of the ataman was recognized over their heads.

THE UPPER SECTION IS COMPILED FROM ALMAZOV'S WORKS

Men's suit - consisted of military uniform and everyday clothes. The uniform suit went through a difficult path of development, and the influence of the culture of neighboring peoples most of all affected it. They were not always at enmity, more often they sought mutual understanding, trade and exchange, including cultural and household. The Cossack form was approved by mid-nineteenth century: Don sample - chekmen, gray-blue trousers with a red stripe (4-5 centimeters wide), boots or shoes (nagovitsy), hood, winter chekmen or bekesha, cap or hat; Kuban sample - Circassian coat made of black cloth, dark trousers, beshmet, hood, winter cloak or bekesha, hat or truncated hat (kubanka), boots or chabotki. According to the beliefs of the ancients, clothes echo the skin, so ethnic Cossacks never wore someone else's clothes without performing cleansing rites, and even more so the clothes of the dead (all the clothes of the killed Cossack were burned so that their negative energy would not be transferred to another wearer, but the headdresses were preserved - their placed under the icons in military temples or in the house). The clothes sewn by the mother or wife were most valued. Atamans, rewarding their Cossacks, gave them material for the “right”. Uniform, horse, weapons were an integral part of the Cossack "right", i.e. equipment at your own expense. The Cossack was "celebrated" long before he went to serve. This was connected not only with the material costs of ammunition and weapons, but also with the entry of the Cossack into a new world of objects that surrounded the male warrior. Usually his father said to him: “Well, son, I married you and made you happy. Now live with your mind - I am no longer responsible for you before God. The bloody wars of the early 20th century showed the inconvenience and impracticality of the traditional military uniform on the battlefield, but they put up with them while the Cossack was on guard duty. Nevertheless, since 1915, the traditional Cossack uniform has become exclusively ceremonial, from 1915-1946. it was either banned up to - execution for the lampas, then again allowed; and since 1946 it was finally forbidden to wear it. Only at the end of the 80s of the 20th century did the Cossack national costume begin to revive from oblivion.

Women's costume - formed by the middle of the XIX century. It consisted of a skirt and a blouse (kokhtochka) made of chintz. She could be fitted or with a peplum, but always with long sleeves, trimmed with elegant buttons, braid, home-made lace. Skirts were sewn from chintz or wool, gathered at the waist for splendor.
“..Skirts were sewn from purchased material, wide, in five or six panels (shelves) on an upturned cord - “uchkur”. Canvas skirts in the Kuban were worn, as a rule, as "lower" ones, and they were called in Russian - hem, in Ukrainian "spidnitsa". Petticoats were worn under chintz, satin and other skirts, sometimes even two or three, one on top of the other, the lowest was necessarily white. The value of clothing in the system of material values ​​of the Cossack family was very high: beautiful clothes raised prestige, emphasized wealth, distinguished from non-residents. Clothing, even festive, in the past cost the family relatively cheaply: every woman knew how to spin, and weave, and cut, and sew, embroider and weave lace.

Describing the Yaik Cossacks, contemporaries wrote: “The Uralian is not great in stature, but he is dense, broad in the shoulders; in general, these people are beautiful, healthy, lively, businesslike and hospitable. In battle they are brave, in campaigns they are hardy. The Urals are not afraid of frosts, because the frost “strengthens”; they are not afraid of heat either - steam does not break bones; and even less water and dampness, because from childhood they got used to fishing.”

Cossacks lived in villages. Housing was crowded. Houses were built of wood or adobe (a mixture of earth and straw). In houses, depending on wealth, there were from one to five rooms.

Unlike the Don Cossack kurens, houses of the Yaik Cossacks were on the same level and functionally subordinated to the continental climate. Houses, as a rule, consisted of two halves, separated by cold passages. The kitchen had a large Russian stove. Over the entrance, from the stove to the wall, stretched the floor. In the winter they slept on them, in the summer they kept clothes Under the armor, in the corner, a wooden bed-bed, a clothes hanger on the wall, wide benches and a table along the walls. In the XVIII-XIX centuries, houses became richer. In the front corner was a goddess, laden with icons. All houses had a samovar. There was also a cellar for storing potatoes, vegetables, pickles (later).

There was a room for rest and reception of guests. The walls (later) were pasted over with wallpaper, they had paintings, portraits, letters, weapons. Many houses had yellow floors and blue ceilings. Flowers and birds were painted on the stove (and even on the ceiling). In the XVIII-XIX centuries, Dutch ovens appeared in Cossack houses, in the upper rooms - in the corner, near the door. The Dutchwoman often had cornices and decorations. There were wardrobes and chests of drawers. There are flowers in pots on the windows; table and chairs. In the front, "red" corner, there is a goddess with icons and a lamp.

They heated houses with firewood, straw, weeds, dung (mixed with straw and dried manure) - depending on the place of housing (near the forest or in the steppe). Houses were lit with tallow candles or kerosene lamps.

The courtyard was quite large and was divided into two parts. In the front there was a house, one or two barns, a barn. In the back are rooms for livestock and fodder. The whole courtyard was surrounded by a strong fence with wooden gates and was often partially or completely closed from above, which is very important in stormy winters. All families had baths, which were built near a river or lake in the garden.

The dishes were mostly earthenware or wood. The Cossacks brought metal and porcelain dishes from campaigns or bought them from merchants, as well as carpets.

The food was simple: cabbage soup, meat, milk, fish. Despite the fact that the Cossacks caught a lot of "red fish" - beluga, stellate sturgeon, sturgeon, they ate little of it, and sold more. They ate simple fish.

On holidays, they prepared a plentiful treat - fried poultry, scrambled eggs, milk noodles, cereals, pickles, fried fish and fish soup, pies, kissels, compotes. Meat pies, jellies, jellies, sweet pies, muffins, fruits, and vegetables were additionally prepared for receiving guests and for weddings. In Lent, the food was modest, without animal food. On a hike they took wheat bread with baked eggs - “kokurki”, dried meat, fish.

The clothes were simple. The Cossacks preferred to wear military clothes (since they introduced the uniform). They wore a cap or hat (in winter) on their heads.

Later, when life on Yaik settled down and got back on track, most of the Cossacks had families. Families tend to be large. The head of the family was the oldest Cossack. They entered into marriage early: boys from the age of 18, girls - at the age of 16. Weddings were usually held in winter and lasted for several days.
The girls were not given a dowry; on the contrary, the groom, by agreement, had to give the bride's parents a "masonry", that is, financial assistance, from 50 to 200 rubles, depending on the state. This custom has been carried on since the time when there were more Cossacks than brides.

Children grew up helping their parents from an early age, from the age of 10 they helped to graze cattle and catch fish. Children were more often given the name of the saint who was celebrated a week before birth, so common Russian names in the Urals were not common.

The Cossacks were in charge: weaved, sewed sundresses, knitted, washed, boiled. The cattle were usually taken care of by men. In the summer, young people were fond of games, round dances, and chants. The girls were modest and shy: their favorite pastime was “sinchik”, or the first ice on which you can slide in smart boots.

Preparing for military service started from childhood, by the time of the call the young Cossack was already a good rider, wielded weapons. Before being drafted, he went through military training in training camps. Seeing off to the service is solemn. Before leaving, the Cossack went around his relatives, and on the day of the performance, everyone gathered in his house. After the treat, the parents blessed their son. In the yard, the brother or father brought the horse to the young Cossack, the young Cossack bowed to the horse, asking him not to betray him in battle and on the campaign. Then he said goodbye to everyone and left.

The Urals sent the service not in turn, but as “help”, which they considered more profitable for themselves, because the poor Cossack could get better. The military government annually made a cash layout, how much was due for each Cossack of “helpers” (to contribute), it also collected them and issued them to those who entered the hunting service, “hunters”. Those who went to the army regiments received less, about 200 rubles, and more to the guards squadron, for example, 250 rubles. If a Cossack, due to poverty, cannot contribute helpers, he remains in the “netchik” (debtor), and after 2 or 3 years, when this “netchik” money accumulates behind him, he is credited directly to the service, and all the accumulated arrears are deducted from his help .

However, not a single Cossack, being of service age, that is, between 21 and 35 years old, could constantly pay off the service; he had to serve at least one year. Wealthy Cossacks entered the Ural training hundred, where they served for one year, on their grub and apartment, and all the rest went to the regiments for 3 years. These are the so-called mandatory, must serve.

In the case of the call of the entire army, all Cossacks capable of carrying weapons rose.

Old people enjoyed special honor in the villages and farms. These were, as a rule, the Cossacks who had been honored in battles and survived in many alterations. The old people were the keepers of the Cossack traditions and the "conscience" of the Cossacks.

Ensemble "Cossack Duke" artistic director Igor Sokurenko tel. 8 917 554 22 84 [email protected]

He who does not respect the customs of his people,

does not keep them in his heart, he dishonors not

only his people, but above all not

respects himself, his family, his

ancient ancestors.

The thousand-year history of our fatherland is inextricably linked with Orthodoxy, and about half of this period is also inextricably linked with the Cossacks. After the October Revolution of 1917, a long period of godlessness began, most of the believers were persecuted and destroyed, or forced to emigrate. Subsequently, other ideals were designated before people in accordance with the new ideology, devoid of a religious basis and a traditional way of life. Russian man. For the next seventy years, our state tried to build a new world. Several generations have grown up, deprived of a spiritual connection with their ancestors. People were treacherously deprived of God, traditions, culture and customs, and instead the ideology of universal communism and socialism was imposed on them. After the collapse Soviet Union, our compatriots were deprived of this new ideology. This was followed by a period of spiritual emptiness and the search for new meanings of life. In the period of the nineties of the last century and the middle of the decade of the new century, man was looking for the meaning of his being.

Since ancient times, the Cossacks have been defenders of the Orthodox faith. Wherever the Cossacks appeared, everywhere they carried the cross, first of all they built a temple, and then the rest of the buildings. The Cossack does not think of himself without faith.

In order for the church and the Cossacks to interact effectively, in the matter of spiritual education and enlightenment of our compatriots (especially the younger generation), it is necessary to turn to the traditions and Cossack way of life of the Cossack. Remembering our roots, we will be able to raise a highly moral, spiritually developed, loving Motherland young people who are able to protect their faith and their state from external and internal threats.

A Cossack is not considered a Cossack if he does not know and does not observe the traditions and customs of his ancestors - the Cossacks. During the years of godlessness, hard times and the destruction of the Cossacks, these concepts have been fairly weathered and distorted under alien influence. Today, even old people born in Soviet time, the unwritten Cossack laws are not always correctly interpreted.

Merciless to enemies, the Cossacks in their midst were always complacent, generous and hospitable. The complex nature of the Cossack was characterized by some kind of duality. On the one hand, he is cheerful, playful, funny, on the other hand, he is unusually sad, silent, inaccessible. This is explained by the fact that, constantly looking into the eyes of death, the Cossacks tried not to miss the joy that fell to their lot. In between military campaigns, they are philosophers and poets at heart - they often think about the eternal, about their life and the inevitable outcome of this life. The moral foundations of the Cossacks were formed from 10 Christian commandments. When raising children, the Cossacks taught them to observe the commandments of the Lord, the elders taught: do not kill, do not steal, do not commit adultery, work according to your conscience, do not envy another, forgive offenders, take care of your children and parents, value girlish chastity and female honor, help the poor , do not offend orphans and widows, protect the Fatherland from enemies. But first of all, strengthen the Orthodox faith: go to church, observe fasts, cleanse your soul from sins through repentance, pray to the one God Jesus Christ and added: if something is possible for someone, then we are not allowed - we are Cossacks.

Very strictly among the Cossacks, along with the commandments of God, traditions and customs were observed, which were the vital necessity of every Cossack family. Non-observance or violation of these traditions was condemned by all residents of the village or farm.

So, consider the way of life of the Cossack and the Orthodox faith intertwined with an inseparable thread called Russian Cossacks. The attitude of the Cossacks towards their parents was truly untouchable. The reverence for parents was so strong that no business could be started without their blessing, no decisions were made on the most important issues. It was considered a great sin not to honor a father or mother. Without the consent of the parents, and relatives in general, it was impossible to resolve the issue of creating new family. Divorces among the Cossacks were extremely rare. These customs are preserved in the Cossack patriarchal families today.

According to Orthodox laws, godparents played an important role in the upbringing of children. The godmother helped her parents prepare the Cossack girl for future life married, taught her to housekeeping, thrift and work, taught needlework. The godfather was entrusted main duty- preparation of the Cossack for the service. For the military training of the Cossack, the demand from the godfather was even greater than from his own father.

Respect for elders is one of the main customs of the Cossacks. Paying tribute to the hardships suffered, the Cossack lot, the years lived, the coming old age and the inability to fend for themselves - the Cossacks always remembered the words of the Holy Scriptures: “Get up before the face of the gray-haired man, honor the face of the old man and fear your God - I am the Lord your God.”

The tradition of respect and honoring the elder obliges the younger to take care, show restraint and readiness to help. Also, the younger ones were required to observe a certain etiquette (when the old man appeared, everyone had to stand up, the Cossacks in uniform - put their hands on the headgear, and without uniforms - take off their hats and bow). In the presence of a senior, it was forbidden to smoke, sit, talk, and even more obscenely expressed.

The younger had to give way to the older. The younger must show patience and restraint, in any case not to argue. The words of the elder were obligatory for the younger. In conflict situations, disputes, strife, fights, the word of the old man (senior) was decisive and its immediate execution was required. Respect for the elder was instilled in the family from an early age.

Immeasurable respect for the guest was due to the fact that the guest was considered God's messenger. A stranger from distant places, was considered the dearest guest in need of a roof over his head, rest and care. In the playful drinking Cossack song “Ala-verda”, the guest’s respect is most accurately expressed: “Each guest is given to us by God, no matter what environment he is, even if he is in a wretched rag - ala-verda, ala-verda.” Deservedly despised that Cossack who did not show due respect to the guest. Regardless of the age of the guest, he was given the best place at rest and at meals. The old man also gave way, despite the fact that the guest was younger. It was considered indecent for 3 days to ask the guest from which places he was and what was the purpose of his arrival. The Cossacks had a rule: wherever he went on business or on a visit, never take food with him either for himself or for his horse. In any village, farm, village, he always had a distant or close relative, a matchmaker, godfather, brother-in-law or just a colleague, or even just a resident who would meet him as a guest, feed both him and the horse. To the credit of the Cossacks in our time, this custom has not changed much.

Respect for a woman - mother, wife, sister - was due to the concept of "Honor of a Cossack", the honor of a daughter, sister, wife. By the behavior and honor of a woman, the honor and dignity of a man were measured.

In the past, in the Cossack villages, only married people participated in wedding celebrations. Before the main wedding, separate parties were held for the unmarried both in the groom's house and in the bride's house. Thus, they took care of the moral foundations of young people, since certain liberties were allowed at weddings.

Family relationships between husband and wife were determined according to the teachings of Christ ( Holy Scripture). “Not a husband for a wife, but a wife for a husband.” "Let the wife of her husband be afraid." The Cossacks adhered to the foundations of their ancestors: a man should not interfere in women's affairs, a woman - in men's. Responsibilities were strictly distributed by life itself. Who and what does in the family is clearly divided. It was considered shameful if a man was engaged in women's affairs. Strictly observed the rule: no one has the right to interfere in family affairs.

Whoever a woman is, she must be treated with respect and protected, for a woman is the future of your people.

The custom did not allow the presence of a woman in the Cossack circle, even to resolve her personal issues. Her father, elder brother, godfather or ataman spoke for her with a petition or submitted a petition or complaint.

In the Cossack society, women enjoyed such respect and reverence that there was no need to give her the rights of a man. In the past, housekeeping was entirely the responsibility of the Cossack mother. The Cossack spent most of his life in the service, in campaigns and battles, on the cordon. His stay with the family was short-lived. However, the man had the leading role both in the family and in the Cossack society, he had the main responsibility of providing for his family and maintaining the strict order of the Cossack life. The word of the owner of the family was obligatory for all its members, and the main example in this was the wife of a Cossack - the mother of his children.

Children were raised not only by their parents, but also by the entire adult population of the village, farm. For the unworthy behavior of a teenager, an adult could not only make a remark, but also easily “kick his ears”, or even “hang” a light slap in the face, the parents were informed about the incident, who immediately added punishment.

Parents did not sort out their relationship in the presence of children. The address of the wife to her husband as a sign of respect for his parents was only by name and patronymic. The father and mother of the husband (mother-in-law and father-in-law) for the wife, as well as the mother and father of the wife (father-in-law and mother-in-law) for the husband, were God-given parents.

It was considered a great sin and shame for a Cossack woman to appear in society with her head uncovered, to wear men's clothing and cut your hair. In public, restraint was observed between wife and husband, sometimes with elements of alienation.

At a meeting after a long separation, as well as at parting, the Cossacks kissed their cheeks and hugged. AT Great holiday The Resurrection of Christ on Easter greeted each other with a kiss, and kissing was allowed only among men and separately among women.

The Cossacks at the entrance to the house (kuren) were baptized on the icons, the men before that took off their hats, they also did it when they left.

For the mistake made, they apologized with the words: "Forgive me, for God's sake", "Forgive me for Christ's sake", "Forgive me, please." In gratitude for something they said: “Thank you”, “God bless you”, “Christ save”. To the words of gratitude they answered: “To your health”, “Nothing”, “Please”. Without reading the prayer, the Cossack did not start or finish a single business, this rule was observed even in the field.

As in any nation, the Cossacks could not stand drunkards, and moreover, they despised them. The deceased from alcohol (alcohol) was buried along with suicides in a separate cemetery, instead of a cross, an aspen stake was hammered into the grave.

The most vile vice in a person, among the Cossacks, was considered deceit not only in deed, but also in word. A Cossack who did not keep his word or forgot about it lost confidence. There was a saying: "A man has distrusted in a ruble, they will not believe even in a needle."

Children under the age of majority were not allowed to be present at the table during holidays, receiving guests, and generally in the presence of strangers. And it was not only forbidden to be at the table, but also to be present in the room where the feast was taking place or the elders were talking.

In the Old Believer Cossack families there was a complete ban on smoking and drinking, with the exception of wine.

Among the Terek Cossacks, when the Cossack left the hut, the horse was saddled and brought to the Cossack by his wife, sister, and sometimes mother. They also met him, unsaddled the horse if necessary and made sure that the horse cooled down completely before they put him in the stable and brought him to the swill and feed.

Among the Kuban people, before leaving for the war, the wife brought the horse to the Cossack, the reason was kept in the hem of the dress. By ancient custom, she passed the reins and said: “You are leaving on this horse, Cossack, on this horse and return home with a victory.” Only after he accepted the occasion, the Cossack hugged and kissed his wife, children, and often grandchildren, sat in the saddle, took off his hat and made the sign of the cross, stood up on the stirrups. Glancing over the clean and cozy white hut, the front garden in front of the windows, and the cherry orchard, he pulled his hat on his head, whipped his horse with a whip and galloped to the gathering place.

Before the departure of the Cossack to the war, when the horse was already ready, the wife first bowed at the feet of the horse in order to save the rider, and then to her parents, so that they would constantly pray for the salvation of the warrior. The same thing happened after the return of the Cossack from the war (battle) home.

When seeing off the Cossack last way, his war horse walked behind the coffin, under a black saddle and his weapon attached to the saddle, and after the horse came relatives and relatives.

From time immemorial, the Cossacks appreciated family life. Married Cossacks were highly respected, and only regular military campaigns forced them to be single. Single Cossacks did not tolerate libertines in their midst. The perverts were punished by death. Single Cossacks, who took a vow of celibacy, nursed a newborn baby.

Each Cossack was born a warrior, and as soon as a baby was born, his military training began. All the relatives and friends of the father brought a gun, gunpowder, bullets, cartridges, bow and arrows as a gift to the newborn. All these gifts were hung on the wall, in the room where the mother with the baby lay. After forty days, the mother took a cleansing prayer. After that, she returned home with the baby. The father, putting on the baby a sword belt, held the sword in his hand, put his son on a horse and then returned him to his mother, while saying words of congratulations to the Cossack. When the newborn's teeth began to erupt, the parents again put him on a horse and took him to the temple to serve a prayer service to Ivan the Warrior. The first words that the child uttered were "no" and "pu", which meant to goad the horse and shoot. Games of war outside the territory of the settlement, as well as shooting at a target, were the favorite pastimes of young people. From the age of three, the Cossacks already freely rode horses on the yard, and at the age of five they rode freely in the steppe.

By nature, the Cossacks were a religious people, without hypocrisy and hypocrisy, sacredly kept their oaths and believed the given word, honored the feasts of the Lord and strictly observed the established fasts. The people are proud and straightforward, they did not like unnecessary words, and they solved matters around the circle quickly and fairly.

For the guilty brothers-Cossacks, the assessment was strict and true, for crimes (treason, cowardice, murder and theft) the punishments were cruel: "Into the sack, but into the water." But killing enemies and stealing from them was not considered a crime. In the Zaporizhzhya Sich, there were especially cruel and severe punishments. The murder of a comrade was considered the greatest crime, the fratricide was buried alive in the same coffin with the dead in the ground. Also, death was punished in the Sich for theft and concealment of a stolen thing, the sins of Sodom, a relationship with a woman. A Cossack who joined the Sich brotherhood took a vow of celibacy. For bringing a woman to the Sich, whether it was even the mother or sister of a Cossack, execution was supposed. In the same way, the offense of a woman was punished if the Cossack dared to discredit her. Also punished by death were those who committed violence in Christian villages, drunkenness during a campaign, unauthorized absence and insolence against superiors.

Thus, remembering the Cossack way of life, the traditions of the Cossacks, we can be convinced that the life of a Cossack in the past was inextricably linked with the Christian faith. Any business or significant event in the life of a Cossack began with the name of the Lord. That is why order and purity of morals reigned in the Cossack villages. That is why the Cossacks were considered the best defenders of the fatherland.

Reviving the Cossacks, we are reviving the Christian faith. The ancient motto of the Cossacks - "For the Faith, the Tsar and the Fatherland", among modern Cossacks sounds like this: "I serve the Fatherland, the Cossacks and the Orthodox faith." This phrase expresses the whole meaning of the life of a Cossack.

Today, in a period of external and internal threats, in a period of spiritual emptiness and a clearly articulated state ideology, it is more important than ever to turn to our centuries-old history, which is inextricably linked with Orthodoxy and the Cossacks.