Attitude to the traditional wedding of students from Central Asia studying in Moscow

Abstract

A traditional wedding is an important part of the cultural code of the inhabitants of Central Asia. Can a wedding become a point of conflict between generations? The article is devoted to the attitude to wedding traditions of young people from Central Asian countries (Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan) who study in Moscow. The research method is asemi-structured interview (N=23). In the interview, the distance between "what parents think is right" and "what kind of wedding I want" is clearly visible. Young people want to hold their own wedding more privately and less burdensome in terms of effort and money spent. There are several reasons for the reproducibility of wedding traditions: - respect for the ancestors, the desire to avoid conflict with relatives, - disenfranchisement of girls as a gender norm, - the need of families to demonstrate their success, - fear of shame, loss of reputation. The attitude of young people to a traditional wedding varies. Someone is willing to voluntarily follow traditional wedding rituals. Someone moderately criticizes wedding traditions, but is ready to obey them so as not to upset relatives. Someone sharply criticizes traditional wedding ceremonies and intends to hold a wedding contrary to the traditional canon.