Labor customs and rituals in the economic sphere activities of the Karachay-Balkarians in the pre-reform period

the Karachay-Balkarian people have their own ancient history and distinctive culture. Man does not live by bread alone. Interest in the past of one's people, their customs and traditions, and ties with one's fellow countrymen and neighbors is what distinguishes a person who is truly devoted to his Homeland from someone who is not worthy of having a fatherland. In ethnography, everyday life is usually understood as the traditional forms of people's daily life passed down from one descendant to another. First of all, they include people's relationships both during work and outside of work, behavior in public places. In other words, these customs and traditions dictate to people the rules of behavior in a particular case of life. Farming refers to material culture, and not only the results obtained from economic activity (products of agriculture, cattle breeding, handicrafts, etc.) are considered, but also the labor process itself, the participation of the person himself in it, forms of farming and methods of management, and at the same time social relations related to farming. The study of the traditional economic life of the Karachay-Balkarians remains one of the urgent problems in Russian historical science. This study examines the role of labor customs and rituals in the economic activities of the Karachay-Balkarians in the pre-reform period. The author focuses on the main trends in the development of cattle breeding, hunting and agriculture, as well as the influence of labor customs and rituals on them. At the same time, the article shows how the main branches of the economy are reflected in Karachay-Balkar folklore.

mountaineers, cattle breeding, agriculture, cattle, pastures, implements, Karachay-Balkarians, economic activity, hunting, land, harvest