Philosophical Comprehension of Ethno-Cultural Tradition of Don Cossacks’ Education in Humorous Discourse

Introduction. The relevance of the study is due to the lack of description of family and ritual traditions of Cossacks and Russians in the precedent discourse of anecdote in the context of worldview. An anecdote as a precedent text is a stereotyped form, structure and content essence. The humorous genre of folklore under consideration reflects the centuriesold ideas about the family life and way of life of Russian and Cossack families (philosophical, social, professional and ethnic) formed in these linguocultural environments.

The theoretical basis of the study was the works in the field of language and culture research by Humboldt W. von. [1], Y.M. Lotman [2], R. Jakobson [3], A. Vezhbitskaya [4], V.I. Karasik [5], Y.N. Karaulov [6], E.D. Kubryakova [7], V.V. Kolmakova, D.Yu. Shalkov, Y.S. Kosyakova [8], V.V. Kolmakova, D.Y. Shalkov [9] and others. The result of cognitivist generalisation of philosophical concepts of the comic, the study of the epistemological basis of the perception of the comic meaning of the text is reflected in the works of V.V. Kolmakova, D.Yu. Kolmakova, D.Y. Shalkov [10], A. Bergson [11], Y.M. Romanenko [12] and others.

The national-cultural self-consciousness of each nation objectively reflects the peculiarities of spiritual and material ethnic culture, national psychology, philosophy, and character. National anecdotes can be considered as forms of experiencing one’s own national identity, albeit presented in a comic form.

The aim of the work is to identify and analyse the ways of representation in the anecdote’s precedent discourse of national-cultural and worldview features of family and ritual traditions and types of husband-wife relationships in Russian families and in Cossack families. The object of the study is the texts of anecdote as a source of information about the worldview and understanding, language, mentality, culture, family rituals and established relationships of spouses in Russian families and in Cossack families on the basis of key value concepts. The subject is the ways of presenting the philosophy of the national-cultural code of family ritual traditions.

The national-cultural self-consciousness of each nation objectively reflects the peculiarities of spiritual and material ethnic culture, national psychology, philosophy, and character. National anecdotes can be considered as forms of experiencing one’s own national identity, albeit presented in a comic form.

The present study is the first attempt to describe the representations of the national-cultural code of family and ritual traditions, way of life, worldview, the role of spouses’ relationships, and family relations in the precedent discourse of anecdote on the basis of value orientations.

Materials and methods. The leading scientific method is the method of sociological survey, along with descriptive, component and linguistic methods of research. The authors collected and analysed data on the knowledge of anecdotes about Russian and Cossack family traditions among people of different age categories.

These methods made it possible to reveal the respondents’ knowledge of anecdotes about the family, to determine the reasons why humorous stories do not lose their relevance. Discursive analysis of the precedent text of anecdotes made it possible to refer to historically established family traditions and to draw parallels with the present.

More than 500 anecdotes concerning family values among Russian people and Cossacks were collected and analysed for the research. The respondents of the sociological survey were 455 people, both men and women in the age categories under 18, 18‒30, 31‒50 and over 51.

The sequence of stages of the research: anecdotes of interest for the research were collected; questions for the sociological survey were developed and the survey itself was conducted; thematic groups of most frequently told anecdotes were identified. Then, based on traditional and advanced linguistic research methods, the data obtained were analysed. These methods included description, content analysis, synthesis, systematisation, as well as elements of statistical and distributional analysis and hermeneutic approach.

Results. In philosophy, the family is considered as a type of social community, as the most important form of organisation of personal life, based on marital union and kinship ties, i.e. on multilateral relations between husband and wife, parents and children, brothers and sisters and other relatives living together and maintaining a common household [13, p. 506]. In the Orthodox understanding, the family is a small Church and represents a cell of the Church Universal; a state of spirit that unites husband and wife in one flesh and in the service of God. In other words, the spiritual community on which the family union is built is indicated.

For the Russian national consciousness “family” is one of the most important value reference points in the cultural tradition of the people. It is in the family that the basic values of life, happiness, prosperity are concentrated. And at the same time, family relations manifest both positive and negative character traits of family members, which determine their behaviour and attitude to each other. All this is presented in Russian precedent texts of humorous content — anecdotes, which reflect the naive consciousness of man, national worldview, concentrated folk wisdom, reflect the realities and peculiarities of the Russian family and make certain conclusions. Reconstruction of family relationships on the material of anecdotes allows to reveal the system of collective knowledge and ideas about the most important component in the life of society — the family.

In Russian culture, blood kinship is not the only important type of kinship for some Russians. Spiritual kinship, based on a religious basis, is of no less importance and value. Considering the national-cultural code of family and ritual traditions of Russian families, it is worth looking into the history of the development of the Russian family way of life. The organisation of the family is most fully described in the “Book called Domostroy, which contains useful information, teachings and instructions for every Christian — husband, and wife, and children, and servants and maids”. The modern state of the family structure of Russian families is characterised by a certain tendency — the Russian family is more oriented towards personal rather than status characteristics of individuals in marriage and family ties.

Thus, in Russian culture, the structure of relations between family members has been subject to modifications for a number of centuries. Direct reference to the discourse of anecdotes testifies to the manifestation of multifaceted relationships in Russian and Cossack families and the manifestation of family-cult traditions in these relationships.

Family responsibilities. A typical situation in the attitudinal attitudes of the Russian family can be called the distribution of roles and responsibilities in marriage.

After a wedding, a young husband says to his wife:
‒ Darling, I want to warn you at once: when I come home from work and my cap is turned to the right side, I am in a good mood, I will caress and hug you. If my cap is turned to the left side, you better not face me, I am angry.
– Yes, darling. Of course. I’ll be very careful. But! Accept my terms, too. When you come home from work and I’m standing on the porch with my arms across my chest, I’m kind, I’ll feed you, I’ll water you, I’ll caress you. And if I have my arms at my sides, then I don’t care which side your hat is on!!!!

In the above anecdote, there is a tendency to preserve the dominant gender priority: the man tends to strengthen his supremacy in the family. The wife in Russian families was second in seniority and should not claim leadership. Her role was to support and please her husband, especially in front of house guests, to take care of children and aged parents, ensuring their peace and comfort. In the Russian family anecdote presented for analysis, there is a tendency to shift the gender priority.

In Cossack society, women were so honoured and respected that there was no need to give her the rights of a man.

As examples of anecdotes about the distribution of roles and responsibilities in the family, the following humorous stories can be named, testifying that a wife is a reliable back in any family.

1. A Cossack with a Cossack woman in a boat crossing the Don, the Cossack woman with oars is rowing against the current, while he is sitting smoking with a pipe. His cousin shouts to him from the shore: — Are you crazy? Why are you making your wife row? — What if there’s a war? And I’m tired...

2. The same Cossack is playing the harmonica, while his wife is repairing the roof. Neighbours ask: “Why have you let your wife to climb the roof and are playing the harmonica yourself?” The Cossack replies: “It’s not my fault that she doesn’t know how to play”.

Thus, if we look through the value orientations, the relationship in the Cossack family between husband and wife is manifested under the dominant male authority. Cossack wives, while outwardly coming to terms with their fate, have not lost Cossack rituals and traditions and retain their pride and independence.

Relationship between parents and children. In family relations, the value concept — child rearing and the relationship between children and parents — plays a paramount role. Russian and Cossack families traditionally show respect for parents, caring attitude to children based on religious and moral values, which is reflected in the discourse analysis of modern anecdotes.

When I was a kid, my father’s black belt was my biggest authority.
‒ In karate?
‒ No. In my soft parts.

One of the important elements of the national mental culture of the Russian people is parental authority. Winning authority in the eyes of daughters and sons is the care and labour of parents. It is composed of several factors: the behaviour of mother and father, their attitude to work and the relationship between spouses. Responsibility for children was placed on parents: if children sinned by negligence, mother and father would be held accountable on the day of the Last Judgement. Raised children in their old age had to take care of their parents when they fell ill or “became weak in mind”. It was forbidden to scold parents, otherwise you would be cursed before God.

The anecdote presents the leading role of the father in the formation of the child’s personality. The use of old “grandfatherly” methods of upbringing is not resented by the younger generation. His father acts as an undivided authority for him also because his black belt in karate makes his son recognise the highest award of skill.

In the following anecdote, the tendency of parents to help and support not only their son, but also the harmony between spouses is also noticeable.

Russian family. Evening.
‒ My dear, I think that in a family one should solve everything together...
‒ That’s right!
‒ So come here, and let’s solve maths problems together for our son...

The humour is that the maths problems have proved beyond the father’s grasp and, in order to maintain authority, the parents are willing to work together to solve the problem without showing their son their ignorance.

‒ Daddy, when will time come when I can come home at whatever time I want?
‒ I don’t know, darling. I haven’t reached that age yet.

You listen to women; they all have brilliant children. All from idiot husbands.

The above anecdotes touch upon the theme of hyper-parenting of “a mother knows best”, women who show excessive love to their children and protect them from everything around them, regardless of the rightness or wrongness of their actions.

The following anecdote can serve as an example of distortion of Cossack religious and moral traditions of upbringing.

‒ Dad, what does it mean when a boy has an earring in his left ear?
‒ It means that he is the only son in a Cossack family.
‒ And if it’s in his right ear?
‒ Then it means he’s gay.
‒ And when it’s in both?
‒ It means his father was unlucky. The only son is gay!

The tradition of wearing earrings by men goes back to grey antiquity: according to the most conservative estimates, it is at least five millennia old. Wearing earrings by men for the ancient Slavs was the order of the day. Such jewellery and amulets made by women were very popular in the pre-Christian era and were called “odnetsi”. During the reign of Emperor Paul I, there was a tradition to wear earrings in the military. They were beloved who removed their jewelry and put in their beloved ears. It was believed that such an earring would keep them safe in battle and help them remain faithful to their beloved.

The Don Cossacks wore an earring in the left ear of the only son of a widow mother, in the right ear — one son, but from a full family. And if earrings were worn in both ears of a Cossack, it meant that he was the last man in the family. Commanders tried to take care of the “gifted” warriors, and their comrades covered their backs in harsh battles.

In the anecdote presented for analysis, the knowledge of folk traditions, the basics of worldview and their preservation in the modern world is very important. In modern Cossack families, parents do not encourage their sons to wear earrings to avoid misinterpretation of the ancient Cossack tradition as a hint of homosexuality.

Thus, the study shows that respondents know and use anecdotes in speech. The predominant knowledge of anecdotes about the Russian family in comparison with anecdotes about Cossack families was noted. The main purposes of telling anecdotes are: “to laugh” — 312 people, “to defuse the situation” — 207 people, “to illustrate the situation” — 141 people, “to tell a new joke” — 131 people, “to impress” — 55 people. Many respondents chose more than one answer.

Despite their knowledge of jokes, few respondents actively use jokes in speech: 35 % of respondents «almost never» use jokes, 45 % of respondents answered — “rarely” and only 20 % answered “often”. It is noteworthy that 62 % of respondents are interested in jokes and subscribe to internet resources related to jokes.

The results of this study clearly demonstrate that the knowledge of anecdotes is perceived by the majority of respondents (54 %) as a reflection of the values and worldviews of people living in the same region and having traditional religious and moral foundations and customs. The sources of anecdotes are the Internet and mass media (299 people), relatives and friends (230 people), places of work and study (122 people).

Discussion and Conclusion. It was revealed that in the anecdotes about the Russian family the predominant number of stories is devoted to the relationship between parents and children (52 anecdotes). It is important to note that young men and girls under the age of 18, who have not yet left parental care, know and tell anecdotes on this topic in equal numbers. Women rather than men in the age categories 18‒30 and 31‒50 are predominantly concerned about child-rearing issues, which is quite obvious, since it is at this age that a woman starts a family (18‒30) and has children, while in the age category 31‒50 a woman already has experience of motherhood and faces problems of upbringing. According to the data obtained, modern men rarely tell anecdotes about the relationship between parents and children, since women mothers have become more involved in upbringing.

The issues of distribution and carrying out family responsibilities, according to the obtained data, concern respondents to a lesser extent (29 people). The issues of preserving marital fidelity are also of most interest to representatives of the 18‒30 age category. Anecdotes about alcohol consumption in Russian families are of less concern to respondents today. Finally, a significant number of anecdotes are devoted to anecdotes of other thematic orientations (348 respondents) (Table 1). Thus, anecdotes about the family traditions of the Russian people continue to interest many people due to the fact that they are based on the preservation of the mental code of the Russian nation.

Source: compiled by the authors.

According to the data of the sociological survey, almost the same number of respondents have heard and can tell anecdotes about Cossacks. One of the underlying factors of such knowledge can be named the respondents’ residence on the same territory. Family relations and distribution of responsibilities between spouses in Cossack families attract the attention of young people from 18 to 30 years old (11 people). Anecdotes about marital fidelity in Cossack families are familiar to the respondents and concern the above-mentioned age group (9 people). The leading position of family Cossack anecdotes is occupied by the thematic group about the relationship between parents and children: 18‒30 years old (44 people), under 18 years old (14 people), in other categories anecdotes about children and parents are not numerous (Table 2).

Source: compiled by the authors.

The reasons for the use of anecdotes from the above thematic groups are the same as in anecdotes about Russian families.

Thus, that it is the use of anecdotes in various spheres of communication, the manifestation of interest in jokes touching on the shortcomings and problems arising in families, indicates the expansion of the philosophy of cultural and historical knowledge of family traditions of the Russian people and the ethnosocial and sub-ethnic group of Cossacks. The precedent discourse of the anecdote allows to form the correct position for the representatives of the younger generation and fix it for the older people, has an unobtrusive educational effect on both listeners and the storytellers themselves (Fig. 1).

Source: compiled by the authors.

From the position of philosophical understanding, the discursive presentation of anecdote embodies ethno-cultural traditions and practices due to the “coding” of culture in the system of national language and mentality of the Russian people and the Cossacks.