Issue 2 (55)
| KINSHIP IN THE NAGAIBAKS ETHNICITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 2017 | Number | 2 (55) |
| Pages | 88-95 | Type | scientific article |
| UDC | 39(470.55/.58) | BBK | 63.529(235.55) |
| Authors | Belorussova Svetlana Yu. |
Topic | ETHNOCULTURAL DYNAMICS |
| Summary | Geographically and mentally the Nagaibaks live at the crossroads where lots of different cultures meet. They absorbed various ethnic and religious traditions: on the one hand the elements of the Christian, the Muslim and heathen religions, and on the other — the Russian, the Tatar, the Mari, the Chuvash and other ethnic cultures. Despite their original polyethnicity the Nagaibaks evolved as a relatively solid community owing to the social (the Cossack), the religious (Russian Orthodox), and the linguistic (Turkic) isolation from the neighboring groups with a resulting closeness, particularly the endogamic one, as well as the reliance on internal kinship-neighborhood contacts, which formed a basis for the development and further preservation of the Nagaibaks community within the polyethnic environment of the Southern Ural. In the Nagaibak language there are several special terms for kinship relations tugannashirga, tyugan iteu (to become kin). These words mean support of kinship: through hospitality, joint participation in religious ceremonies and festivals, mutual support and assistance. The link between the dead and the living (ritual kinship) is today a key characteristic of the Nagaibak society. The Nagaibaks refer to the afterlife as “real” with the resulting attitude to memorial rites, funerals, and all rites related to remembrance of the ancestors as the sacred ones. According to the Nagaibaks the new kin include kurshe (neighbors) and akhiret (sworn brother) — these are the only relatives other then blood relations who participate in dealing with internal affairs of the family. To become the akhiret one has to go through a special ritual which would connect people as kin forever — during lifetime and in the afterlife. Thus kinship both in the rituals and in everyday life nourishes the Nagaibaks traditional culture and motivates the people to assume active position with regard to their own ethnicity. | ||
| Keywords | Kinship, Nagaibaks, ethnicity, endogamy, formed kinship, funeral ceremony, ritual kinship, kurshe (neighbour), akhiret (sworn brother), tugannar (kin) | ||
| References |
Godelier M. The Metamorphoses of Kinship. London, New York, 2011. |
||
| Download in PDF | |||
