Traditionally, the indigenous Altai peoples had four forms of marriage:
Matchmaking (where),
Abduction without the consent of the girl (tudup apargan),
Theft of the bride (kachyp apargany)
Marriage of minors (balany toylogona).
Each of these forms of marriage had its own specific rites and traditions. However, matchmaking was characteristic of all forms of marriage. Old maids and bachelors did not enjoy authority and had no weight in society; marriage among the Altaians was considered mandatory. A married heir was separated from his parents if one of the other brothers was preparing to marry. The younger son, having married, lived with his parents and inherited their house and household.
A wedding is a bright celebration in the life of any person, marked by the creation of one's own family. The Altai wedding ceremony was divided into four stages: matchmaking, preparation for the wedding, the wedding itself and the post-wedding stage. In turn, each period consisted of a certain cycle of rites and ritual games.
Matchmaking
Matchmaking included preliminary negotiations and official matchmaking (kudalash). In the case of a marriage by prior agreement of the parents of both parties, kudalash was a continuation of the negotiations and began with several visits by the groom's relatives to the bride's parents.
When the girl turned 10-12 years old, they came with gifts, reminding them of the collusion. Such meetings continued annually until the age of the bride. Throughout this time, furs (foxes, sables or otters for sewing women's hats), leather (for future shoes narrowed), various materials (velvet, silk, felt for sewing women's clothes, bedding) and other.
With the onset of the date for the extradition of the bride (döp detse), the groom's side made kudalash, and the opposite side arranged a holiday in honor of this event. The celebration, accompanied by certain ceremonies, ended with the guests taking the bride to the groom, covering her with a curtain - kyogyogyo.
To seal the marriage of the newlyweds, a traditional wedding ceremony was held in the new village. On this day, the groom's relatives organized a holiday kys ekelgeni (bride's arrival). The result of kudalash was the appointment of the wedding day and both parties began preparations for the celebration.
Pre-wedding preparation
During this period, pre-wedding ceremonies took place. The wedding (toy), as a rule, was played in the fall. To strengthen the marriage and kinship union, meetings were held, accompanied by negotiations and mutual treats. The groom's parents repeatedly supplied the bride's relatives with materials for the preparation of the dowry - shaalta (fabrics, leather, wool, furs, etc.) and the agreed number of livestock.
Usually, the dowry (deyozhyo, sep) of the bride was prepared from the age of five by girls. It was kept in leather bags (kaptar) and chests (kayyrchaktar). On the day of the wedding, the groom was delivered to the new village. On the eve of the wedding, a dwelling for the newlyweds was built. To do this, the groom's parents invited distant relatives, neighbors, friends. The construction of the village was fixed by the holiday of aiyl tudushtyn kyochez, or ailanchyktyn chayy.
An integral attribute of the wedding was kozhyogyo - a white curtain measuring 1.5x2.5-3 meters. Its edges were bordered by silk tassels - amulets, brocade ribbons, the ends of which were sewn by the groom's relatives as a symbol of access to happiness for the newlyweds. Kyogyogyo was tied to two birch trees, cut in the morning from the eastern side of the mountain slope, all this was necessarily accompanied by a rite of blessing. On the eve of the wedding, cattle were slaughtered.
Wedding ceremony and ritual games
If the stolen bride was with the groom's relatives, the wedding began with his parents from the meeting of the guests from her side. They drove up to the ail no later than noon, but they were expected with a light treat on the way and they held ritual games of tepshi blaazhary (it was necessary to take away a wooden dish with meat). At the end of the meeting, the matchmakers were treated and escorted to the wedding village, where a solemn reception was organized.
The bride's relatives flaunted part of the delivered dowry. Before bringing him to the ail, they performed the ritual game deyozhyo sadars - the sale of a dowry: offering various property, the women from the bride's side praised him, "demanding" a symbolic ransom in return. The bride's nephew, dressed in the clothes of a married woman, took part in the game. He was offered with the words: "Who needs a girl - buy!".
The dowry was brought to the village also in the form of a ritual game, during which the groom's side presented various treats or araks.
After the ritual ransom, the women of both sides began to design a new ail. Then the groom's relatives followed the bride, taking with them branches of juniper - juniper, treats, festive clothes from the dowry. A curtain was carried in front - kozhyogyo, on the left was a relative of the groom, on the right - the bride.
In the village where the bride was after being kidnapped at the conclusion of a marriage by prior agreement, the guests entered with songs. The wife of the elder brother of the groom performed the ceremony of sprinkling the fire of the hearth of the owners. Having redeemed the bride, they dressed her in a girl's outfit and, covering her kozhyogyo, led her to a new wedding village. She covered her face with her cuffed hands. The subsequent rites were the same for all forms of marriage.
The bride was escorted to the village of the groom's parents (daan ayil). Before entering, they fumigated with juniper, the future mother-in-law treated her to milk and blessed her. After that, having covered the kyogyogyo, she was circled around the new dwelling twice, entered it, the girl was seated in the place of honor of the female half, facing towards the entrance, oriented to the east. Thus began the culminating wedding ceremony - the ceremony of braiding the bride's hair (chach yorori). It was attended by women with many children, who are happily married.
Behind the curtain, the girl was dressed in the clothes of a married woman (chegedek), accompanying the action with ritual singing, the girl's braided attire (shanks) was removed, her hair was untangled, combed, a straight parting was made, dividing the head into equal halves - a sign of the female share. Then two braids were braided: the left - a woman from the seok of the groom, the right - the bride, which symbolized the transition of the bride from one family to another. Having tied the ends of the braids, they laid them on the chest, put on the head a pointed hat of a married woman (kuraan beryuk). With the wishes of prosperity, the young woman was treated to milk. Shankyl bala became a kelin - a married woman.
Kyogyogyo is a taboo object, you can’t touch it with your hands. To show the wedding participants the bride hiding behind him, the father or uncle of the groom opened it with a whip handle, the butt of a gun, or two or three sprigs of juniper (archyn). At the same time, he gave his daughter-in-law the instruction: “Do not call my name. Don't cross my path.
Respect the elder for the elder." Then he attached the kyogyogyo to a permanent place - by the bed of the newlyweds. After that, boiled shank and sternum rib of a ram were tied to birch trees as a sign of wishing young people a prosperous life. In relation to the one who opened the curtain in married life, the bride observed the custom of avoidance. The very opening of the curtain is a symbol of the bride's rebirth into a kelin. People gathered for her bride.
Then the next ritual game began - aigyr la bee, or soikonish. Following him, a rite of good wishes to the newlyweds was held - alkysh ses, or bashpaady, which means the introduction of the newlyweds as hosts to their hearth.
It should be noted that during the wedding feast there were strict rules for receiving guests and their behavior. They also sat down in a certain order.
On the first day of the wedding, the bride was supposed to treat the audience with salted tea with milk of her own preparation. The groom helped her: he prepared firewood, brought water and kept the fire going. After the feast, several more ritual games were held, including iit chynyrtary (to make a dog squeal).
Only her mother could be present at the wedding from the side of the bride. At the height of the feast, several relatives from the groom's side visited the new relatives, delivered horse meat or mutton to them. This rite is called belkenchek tujurip, or diodo ekelgeni. The matchmaking visit was made after the hair braiding ritual. If the wedding celebration took place in the groom's village, then the Belkenchek - in the bride's village.
For belkenchek, the groom's relatives took archyn, tazhur with milk and tazhur with araka and shalta. They were not supposed to be met in the yard. Entering the dwelling, the eldest of the matchmakers sprinkled fire and diyik with milk, blessing the girl's relatives. The matchmakers were treated to milk. They were supposed to give it to the newlyweds.
Then the groom's relatives brought in the back half of the ram's carcass. She was held upside down with the front part to the hearth, which meant showing respect for the owners. Meat treats were served with araki tajour. On a wooden dish, the mother of the bride was served the brisket, and the meat from the thigh and pelvis (djörgöm) was served to the father and other relatives. Shalta were sweets, tea bars, cheeses and other treats. According to tradition, the owners first threw the brought products (two or four pinches) into the fire.
During the matchmaking visit, the mother of the bride was presented with emchek tajuur, and the father - tazhur with araka. After that, the hosts invited guests to the table, as a sign of recognition by relatives, they tied belts to them. If the road was not long, then the matchmakers set off on the return journey on the same day, taking the rest of the dowry.
At the place of the wedding, guests are supposed to be treated the next day: a two-year-old mare (baital) was slaughtered and baital bash was celebrated - this was the name of the feast of the second day after the wedding. In addition to the wedding meal, hot boiled heads of freshly slaughtered cattle were served on the table that day. It was unethical for young women with no more than two children to sit in the circle of elders and drink araki with them.
It was also considered a great shame to get drunk at a wedding drunk, those who did not know the measures were covered and wrapped in felt. According to the custom, the hosts saw off the guests, accompanying them for a short section of the journey and treating them to several places of rest.
Post-wedding activities
The final period of the wedding ceremony was dedicated to the entry of the newlyweds into the category of spouses and the consolidation of new family relationships. When a girl got married, the custom of avoiding older men by the groom's relatives (kaindash) and avoiding the young one (kelindesh) came into force.
She was not supposed to see them often, look them in the face and call them by name. The daughter-in-law applied to her husband's older relatives (men), including his father, through a third party. These restrictions were mutual. The young wife called her husband adazi (father of children), and he called his wife enesi (mother of children). The daughter-in-law addressed her husband's parents as kaynym (my father-in-law), kayyn enem (my mother-in-law), and they, in turn, addressed her as balls (my child).
The woman was not shown to the elders with bare legs, arms, bare head, open breasts when feeding a child. She was forbidden to enter the male half of the yurt, and she turned her back on those avoiding her, and stood up respectfully at their entrance to the village. In addition, she did not sit down at the table with men, did not joke and did not swear with them.
The newlyweds became full adult members only after the birth of a child. Not earlier than a year after this significant event for the newlyweds, the relatives of the husband's father accompanied the young family with the child to the relatives of the daughter-in-law. Her mother was given an emchek tajour and a ram carcass. This offering was called emchek kargysh (breast milk). Having cooked the carcass, they divided it into two parts: the right half remained for the newly-minted grandmother, the left was passed on to her son-in-law.
As a "payment" for the breast milk of the mother of the daughter-in-law, the guests brought dairy cattle, as a rule, a mare, and a cow, as a cattle "with cold breath", was simply presented. The first heifer from this cow was then given to the grandson or granddaughter. In gratitude for the upbringing of a young daughter-in-law, a horse was brought to her father in full decoration. In the house of the wife's parents, the son-in-law hung out the fabric (ilyu bes). The matchmakers also gave elegant clothes to the parents of the daughter-in-law, emphasizing respect for them.
The hosts treated the guests, tied a new belt to the son-in-law, and before leaving they gave the young enchi - various cattle for breeding, and the newborn - a foal, a lamb and valuable gifts. The guests always visited the maternal uncle of the daughter-in-law, naturally, it was indecent to enter his dwelling empty-handed. The hosts also tied belts to the guests, and the uncle generously gave a variety of livestock to the young family. Only after such a first trip, the young family could visit the parents of the daughter-in-law and her other relatives at their own discretion.
As can be seen, the native daughters-in-law contributed the bulk of the material support of the newlyweds, and the groom's parents were responsible for their family life.
The traditional wedding ritual of the Altaians is one of their ways of life, which has changed and developed along with their material and spiritual culture.
Holding a modern Altai wedding differs from ancient traditions. In addition, in each individual region of the Altai Republic, their own rituals, characteristic only for this area, have developed today. Nevertheless, the general model of holding a wedding celebration remains today.
Prepared based on the materials of the book of the Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Archeology, Ethnology and Source Studies of the GAGU N.A. TADINA "Altai wedding rituals of the 19th - 20th centuries".
Altai wedding traditions
Traditionally, the indigenous Altai peoples had four forms of marriage:
Matchmaking (where),
Abduction without the consent of the girl (tudup apargan),
Theft of the bride (kachyp apargany)
Marriage of minors (balany toylogona).
Each of these forms of marriage had its own specific rites and traditions. However, matchmaking was characteristic of all forms of marriage. Old maids and bachelors did not enjoy authority and had no weight in society; marriage among the Altaians was considered mandatory. A married heir was separated from his parents if one of the other brothers was preparing to marry. The younger son, having married, lived with his parents and inherited their house and household.
A wedding is a bright celebration in the life of any person, marked by the creation of one's own family. The Altai wedding ceremony was divided into four stages: matchmaking, preparation for the wedding, the wedding itself and the post-wedding stage. In turn, each period consisted of a certain cycle of rites and ritual games.
Matchmaking
Matchmaking included preliminary negotiations and official matchmaking (kudalash). In the case of a marriage by prior agreement of the parents of both parties, kudalash was a continuation of the negotiations and began with several visits by the groom's relatives to the bride's parents. When the girl turned 10-12 years old, they came with gifts, reminding them of the collusion. Such meetings continued annually until the age of the bride. Throughout this time, furs (foxes, sables or otters for sewing women's hats), leather (for future shoes narrowed), various materials (velvet, silk, felt for sewing women's clothes, bedding) and other.
With the onset of the date for the extradition of the bride (döp detse), the groom's side made kudalash, and the opposite side arranged a holiday in honor of this event. The celebration, accompanied by certain ceremonies, ended with the guests taking the bride to the groom, covering her with a curtain - kyogyogyo. To seal the marriage of the newlyweds, a traditional wedding ceremony was held in the new village. On this day, the groom's relatives organized a holiday kys ekelgeni (bride's arrival). The result of kudalash was the appointment of the wedding day and both parties began preparations for the celebration.
Pre-wedding preparation
During this period, pre-wedding ceremonies took place. The wedding (toy), as a rule, was played in the fall. To strengthen the marriage and kinship union, meetings were held, accompanied by negotiations and mutual treats. The groom's parents repeatedly supplied the bride's relatives with materials for the preparation of the dowry - shaalta (fabrics, leather, wool, furs, etc.) and the agreed number of livestock. Usually, the dowry (deyozhyo, sep) of the bride was prepared from the age of five by girls. It was kept in leather bags (kaptar) and chests (kaiyrchaktar). On the day of the wedding, the groom was delivered to the new village. On the eve of the wedding, a dwelling for the newlyweds was built. To do this, the groom's parents invited distant relatives, neighbors, friends. The construction of the village was fixed by the holiday of aiyl tudushtyn kyochez, or ailanchyktyn chayy.
An integral attribute of the wedding was kyogyogyo - a white curtain measuring 1.5x2.5-3 meters. Its edges were bordered with silk tassels - amulets, brocade ribbons, the ends of which were sewn by the groom's relatives as a symbol of access to happiness for the newlyweds. Kyogyogyo was tied to two birch trees, cut in the morning from the eastern side of the mountain slope, all this was necessarily accompanied by a rite of blessing. On the eve of the wedding, cattle were slaughtered.
Wedding ceremony and ritual games
If the stolen bride was with the groom's relatives, the wedding began with his parents from the meeting of the guests from her side. They drove up to the ail no later than noon, but they were expected with a light treat on the way and they held ritual games of tepshi blaazhary (it was necessary to take away a wooden dish with meat). At the end of the meeting, the matchmakers were treated and escorted to the wedding village, where a solemn reception was organized.
The bride's relatives flaunted part of the delivered dowry. Before bringing him to the ail, they performed the ritual game deyozhyo sadars - the sale of a dowry: offering various property, the women from the bride's side praised him, "demanding" a symbolic ransom in return. The bride's nephew, dressed in the clothes of a married woman, took part in the game. He was offered with the words: "Who needs a girl - buy!".
The dowry was brought to the village also in the form of a ritual game, during which the groom's side presented various treats or araks.
After the ritual ransom, the women of both sides began to design a new ail. Then the groom's relatives followed the bride, taking with them branches of juniper - juniper, treats, festive clothes from the dowry. A curtain was carried in front - kozhyogyo, a relative of the groom walked on the left, and the bride on the right. In the village where the bride was after being kidnapped at the conclusion of a marriage by prior agreement, the guests entered with songs. The wife of the elder brother of the groom performed the ceremony of sprinkling the fire of the hearth of the owners. Having redeemed the bride, they dressed her in a girl's outfit and, covering her kozhyogyo, led her to a new wedding village. She covered her face with her cuffed hands. The subsequent rites were the same for all forms of marriage.
The bride was escorted to the village of the groom's parents (daan ayil). Before entering, they fumigated with juniper, the future mother-in-law treated her to milk and blessed her. After that, having covered the kyogyogyo, she was circled around the new dwelling twice, entered it, the girl was seated in the place of honor of the female half, facing towards the entrance, oriented to the east. Thus began the culminating wedding ceremony - the ceremony of braiding the bride's hair (chach yorori). It was attended by women with many children, who are happily married.
Behind the curtain, the girl was dressed in the clothes of a married woman (chegedek), accompanying the action with ritual singing, the girl's braided attire (shanks) was removed, her hair was untangled, combed, a straight parting was made, dividing the head into equal halves - a sign of the female share. Then two braids were braided: the left one was a woman from the groom's seok, the right one was the bride's, which symbolized the bride's transition from one family to another. Having tied the ends of the braids, they laid them on the chest, put on the head a pointed hat of a married woman (kuraan beryuk). With the wishes of prosperity, the young woman was treated to milk. Shankyl bala became a kelin - a married woman.
Kyogyogyo is a taboo object, you can’t touch it with your hands. To show the wedding participants the bride hiding behind him, the father or uncle of the groom opened it with a whip handle, the butt of a gun, or two or three sprigs of juniper (archyn). At the same time, he gave his daughter-in-law the instruction: “Do not call my name. Don't cross my path. Respect the elder for the elder." Then he attached the kyogyogyo to a permanent place - by the bed of the newlyweds. After that, boiled shank and sternum rib of a ram were tied to birch trees as a sign of wishing young people a prosperous life. In relation to the one who opened the curtain in married life, the bride observed the custom of avoidance. The very opening of the curtain is a symbol of the bride's rebirth into a kelin. People gathered for her bride.
Then the next ritual game began - aigyr la bee, or soikonish. It was followed by a rite of good wishes for the newlyweds - alkysh syos, or bashpaady, meaning the introduction of the newlyweds as hosts to their hearth.
It should be noted that during the wedding feast there were strict rules for receiving guests and their behavior. They also sat down in a certain order.
On the first day of the wedding, the bride was supposed to treat the audience with salted tea with milk of her own preparation. The groom helped her: he prepared firewood, brought water and kept the fire going. After the feast, several more ritual games were held, including iit chynyrtary (to make a dog squeal).
Only her mother could be present at the wedding from the side of the bride. At the height of the feast, several relatives from the groom's side visited the new relatives, delivered horse meat or mutton to them. This rite is called belkenchek tujurip, or diodo ekelgeni. The matchmaking visit was made after the hair braiding ritual. If the wedding celebration took place in the groom's village, then the Belkenchek - in the bride's village.
For belkenchek, the groom's relatives took archyn, tazhur with milk and tazhur with araka and shalta. They were not supposed to be met in the yard. Entering the dwelling, the eldest of the matchmakers sprinkled fire and diyik with milk, blessing the girl's relatives. The matchmakers were treated to milk. They were supposed to give it to the newlyweds. Then the groom's relatives brought in the back half of the ram's carcass. She was held upside down with the front part to the hearth, which meant showing respect for the owners. Meat treats were served with araki tajour. On a wooden dish, the mother of the bride was served the brisket, and the meat from the thigh and pelvis (djörgöm) was served to the father and other relatives. Shalta were sweets, tea bars, cheeses and other treats. According to tradition, the owners first threw the brought products (two or four pinches) into the fire.
During the matchmaking visit, the mother of the bride was presented with emchek tajuur, and the father with tazhur with araka. After that, the hosts invited guests to the table, as a sign of recognition by relatives, they tied belts to them. If the road was not long, then the matchmakers set off on the return journey on the same day, taking the rest of the dowry.
At the place of the wedding, guests are supposed to be treated the next day: a two-year-old mare (baital) was slaughtered and baital bash was celebrated - this was the name of the feast of the second day after the wedding. In addition to the wedding meal, hot boiled heads of freshly slaughtered cattle were served on the table that day. It was unethical for young women with no more than two children to sit in the circle of elders and drink araki with them. It was also considered a great shame to get drunk at a wedding drunk, those who did not know the measures were covered and wrapped in felt. According to the custom, the hosts saw off the guests, accompanying them for a short section of the journey and treating them to several places of rest.
Post-wedding activities
The final period of the wedding ceremony was dedicated to the entry of the newlyweds into the category of spouses and the consolidation of new family relationships. When a girl got married, the custom of avoiding older men by the groom's relatives (kaindash) and avoiding the young one (kelindesh) came into force. She was not supposed to see them often, look them in the face and call them by name. The daughter-in-law applied to her husband's older relatives (men), including his father, through a third party. These restrictions were mutual. The young wife called her husband adazi (father of children), and he called his wife enesi (mother of children). The daughter-in-law addressed her husband's parents as kaynym (my father-in-law), kayyn enem (my mother-in-law), and they, in turn, addressed her as balls (my child). The woman was not shown to the elders with bare legs, arms, bare head, open breasts when feeding a child. She was forbidden to enter the male half of the yurt, and she turned her back on those avoiding her, and stood up respectfully at their entrance to the village. In addition, she did not sit down at the table with men, did not joke and did not swear with them.
The newlyweds became full adult members only after the birth of a child. Not earlier than a year after this significant event for the newlyweds, the relatives of the husband's father accompanied the young family with the child to the relatives of the daughter-in-law. Her mother was given an emchek tajour and a ram carcass. This offering was called emchek kargysh (breast milk). Having cooked the carcass, they divided it into two parts: the right half remained for the newly-minted grandmother, the left was passed on to her son-in-law. As a "payment" for the breast milk of the mother of the daughter-in-law, the guests brought dairy cattle, as a rule, a mare, and a cow, as a cattle "with cold breath", was simply presented. The first heifer from this cow was then given to the grandson or granddaughter. In gratitude for the upbringing of a young daughter-in-law, a horse was brought to her father in full decoration. In the house of the wife's parents, the son-in-law hung out the fabric (ilyu bes). The matchmakers also gave elegant clothes to the parents of the daughter-in-law, emphasizing respect for them. The hosts treated the guests, tied a new belt to the son-in-law, and before leaving they gave the young enchi - various cattle for breeding, and the newborn - a foal, a lamb and valuable gifts. The guests always visited the maternal uncle of the daughter-in-law, naturally, it was indecent to enter his dwelling empty-handed. The hosts also tied belts to the guests, and the uncle generously gave a variety of livestock to the young family. Only after such a first trip, the young family could visit the parents of the daughter-in-law and her other relatives at their own discretion.
As can be seen, the native daughters-in-law contributed the bulk of the material support of the newlyweds, and the groom's parents were responsible for their family life.
The traditional wedding ritual of the Altaians is one of their ways of life, which has changed and developed along with their material and spiritual culture.
Holding a modern Altai wedding differs from ancient traditions. In addition, in each individual region of the Altai Republic, their own rituals, characteristic only for this area, have developed today. Nevertheless, the general model of holding a wedding celebration remains today.
Prepared based on the materials of the book of the Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Archeology, Ethnology and Source Studies of the GAGU N.A. TADINA "Altai wedding rituals of the 19th - 20th centuries".
http://svadba-altai.ru/altayskaya-svadba
2.5k0The traditional wedding ritual of the Altaians is one of their ways of life, which has changed and developed along with their material and spiritual culture. Holding a modern Altai wedding differs from ancient traditions. Moreover, in each individual region of the Altai Republic, their own rituals, characteristic only for this area, have developed today. Nevertheless, the general model of holding a wedding celebration remains today.
If the stolen bride was with the groom's relatives, the wedding began with his parents from the meeting of the guests from her side. They drove up to the ail no later than noon, but they were expected with a light treat on the way and they held ritual games of tepshi blaazhary (it was necessary to take away a wooden dish with meat). At the end of the meeting, the matchmakers were treated and escorted to the wedding village, where a solemn reception was organized.
The bride's relatives flaunted part of the delivered dowry. Before bringing him to the ail, they performed the ritual game deyozhyo sadars - the sale of a dowry: offering various property, the women from the bride's side praised him, "demanding" a symbolic ransom in return. The bride's nephew, dressed in the clothes of a married woman, took part in the game. He was offered with the words: "Who needs a girl - buy!". The dowry was brought to the village also in the form of a ritual game, during which the groom's side presented various treats or araks.
After the ritual ransom, the women of both sides began to design a new ail. Then the groom's relatives followed the bride, taking with them branches of juniper - juniper, treats, festive clothes from the dowry. A curtain was carried in front - kozhyogyo, a relative of the groom walked on the left, and the bride on the right. In the village where the bride was after being kidnapped at the conclusion of a marriage by prior agreement, the guests entered with songs. The wife of the elder brother of the groom performed the ceremony of sprinkling the fire of the hearth of the owners. Having redeemed the bride, they dressed her in a girl's outfit and, covering her kozhyogyo, led her to a new wedding village. She covered her face with her cuffed hands. The subsequent rites were the same for all forms of marriage.
The bride was escorted to the village of the groom's parents (daan ayil). Before entering, they fumigated with juniper, the future mother-in-law treated her to milk and blessed her. After that, having covered the kyogyogyo, she was circled around the new dwelling twice, entered it, the girl was seated in the place of honor of the female half, facing towards the entrance, oriented to the east. Thus began the culminating wedding ceremony - the ceremony of braiding the bride's hair (chach yorori). It was attended by women with many children, who are happily married.
Behind the curtain, the girl was dressed in the clothes of a married woman (chegedek), accompanying the action with ritual singing, the girl's braided attire (shanks) was removed, her hair was untangled, combed, a straight parting was made, dividing the head into equal halves - a sign of the female share. Then two braids were braided: the left one was a woman from the groom's seok, the right one was the bride's, which symbolized the bride's transition from one family to another. Having tied the ends of the braids, they laid them on the chest, put on the head a pointed hat of a married woman (kuraan beryuk). With the wishes of prosperity, the young woman was treated to milk. Shankyl bala became a kelin - a married woman.
Kyogyogyo is a taboo object, you can’t touch it with your hands. To show the wedding participants the bride hiding behind him, the father or uncle of the groom opened it with a whip handle, the butt of a gun, or two or three sprigs of juniper (archyn). At the same time, he gave his daughter-in-law the instruction: “Do not call my name. Don't cross my path. Respect the elder for the elder." Then he attached the kyogyogyo to a permanent place - by the bed of the newlyweds. After that, boiled shank and sternum rib of a ram were tied to birch trees as a sign of wishing young people a prosperous life. In relation to the one who opened the curtain in married life, the bride observed the custom of avoidance. The very opening of the curtain is a symbol of the bride's rebirth into a kelin. People gathered for her bride.
Then the next ritual game began - aigyr la bee, or soikonish. It was followed by a rite of good wishes for the newlyweds - alkysh syos, or bashpaady, meaning the introduction of the newlyweds as hosts to their hearth.
It should be noted that during the wedding feast there were strict rules for receiving guests and their behavior. They also sat down in a certain order.
On the first day of the wedding, the bride was supposed to treat the audience with salted tea with milk of her own preparation. The groom helped her: he prepared firewood, brought water and kept the fire going. After the feast, several more ritual games were held, including iit chynyrtary (to make a dog squeal).
Only her mother could be present at the wedding from the side of the bride. At the height of the feast, several relatives from the groom's side visited the new relatives, delivered horse meat or mutton to them. This rite is called belkenchek tujurip, or diodo ekelgeni. The matchmaking visit was made after the hair braiding ritual. If the wedding celebration took place in the groom's village, then the Belkenchek - in the bride's village.
For belkenchek, the groom's relatives took archyn, tazhur with milk and tazhur with araka and shalta. They were not supposed to be met in the yard. Entering the dwelling, the eldest of the matchmakers sprinkled fire and diyik with milk, blessing the girl's relatives. The matchmakers were treated to milk. They were supposed to give it to the newlyweds. Then the groom's relatives brought in the back half of the ram's carcass. She was held upside down with the front part to the hearth, which meant showing respect for the owners. Meat treats were served with araki tajour. On a wooden dish, the mother of the bride was served the brisket, and the meat from the thigh and pelvis (djörgöm) was served to the father and other relatives. Shalta were sweets, tea bars, cheeses and other treats. According to tradition, the owners first threw the brought products (two or four pinches) into the fire.
During the matchmaking visit, the mother of the bride was presented with emchek tajuur, and the father with tazhur with araka. After that, the hosts invited guests to the table, as a sign of recognition by relatives, they tied belts to them. If the road was not long, then the matchmakers set off on the return journey on the same day, taking the rest of the dowry.
At the place of the wedding, guests are supposed to be treated the next day: a two-year-old mare (baital) was slaughtered and baital bash was celebrated - this was the name of the feast of the second day after the wedding. In addition to the wedding meal, hot boiled heads of freshly slaughtered cattle were served on the table that day. It was unethical for young women with no more than two children to sit in the circle of elders and drink araki with them. It was also considered a great shame to get drunk at a wedding drunk, those who did not know the measures were covered and wrapped in felt. According to the custom, the hosts saw off the guests, accompanying them for a short section of the journey and treating them to several places of rest.
Matchmaking includes preliminary negotiations of future newlyweds, their families and official matchmaking ( "kudalash").
Before, in the case of a marriage by prior agreement of the parents of both parties, kudalash was a continuation of the negotiations and began with several visits by the groom's relatives to the bride's parents. When the girl turned 10-12 years old, they came with gifts, reminding them of the collusion. These meetings continue every year. up to adulthood bride. Throughout this time, furs (foxes, sables or otters for sewing women's hats), leather (for future shoes narrowed), various materials (velvet, silk, felt for sewing women's clothes, bedding) and other. This personified the division of responsibilities in the family: the husband is the earner, the supplier of raw materials, and the wife is the keeper of the hearth, the creative principle, the “processor”. Subsequently, the bride's dowry was made up, among other things, of those household items and clothing that were created from materials provided by the groom's side.
With the onset of the date for the extradition of the bride (“јöp јetse”), the groom’s side made kudalash, and the opposite side arranged a holiday in honor of this event. The celebration, accompanied by certain rituals, ended with the guests taking the bride to the groom, covering her with a curtain (“kozhögö”). To seal the marriage of the newlyweds, a traditional wedding ceremony was held in the new village. On this day, the groom's relatives organized a feast called "Bringing the Bride" ("Kys Ekelgeni").
The result of kudalash was the appointment of the wedding day. So both sides began preparations for the celebration.
Today life has become faster, along with it, wedding ceremonies have undergone changes. So, from matchmaking to the wedding itself, it takes from several months to one year. Modern marriages among the Altaians are concluded at the initiative of the young, the preliminary agreement of the parents among the Altaians is no more common than among other peoples of Russia. However, the institution of matchmaking itself has been preserved and is an indispensable element of the Altai wedding. As in the old days, it begins with the fact that the parents and respected relatives of the groom pay a visit to the bride's parents, and ends with the groom's relatives visiting other relatives of the bride, indicated by her parents. The content of such visits is to announce the upcoming marriage, get to know each other and show respect for future matchmakers. Residents of Ongudaysky, Shebalinsky and Ust-Kansky districts visit the bride's relatives separately. As is customary among the Altaians, they do not go to visit empty-handed. Traditional treats are tea and sweets. They also often take with them a vessel with milk, tied with sacred ribbons (“jalama”). in the Ulagan and Kosh-Agach districts, the bride's relatives gather in one place on the agreed day. Then the matchmaking is a small celebration, where relatives from both sides are present.
One of the trends of recent years is that the tradition of gathering the bride's relatives for matchmaking in one place is being adopted by the residents of the "upper" districts - Ust-Kansky, Shebalinsky and Ongudaysky. In conditions when people of the same kind no longer live all close, in the same log, but are distributed throughout the republic and beyond, such an approach seems reasonable and reasonable to us. This allows the parties to save both time and money - resources that will be needed when organizing a wedding.
Matchmaking has (“јаҥаr”), which are performed by the side of the groom.