Abstract
The article deals with issues of everyday life of Adygs (Circassians) under conditions of a protracted military conflict during the Caucasian war in the first half of 19th century. Based on the recollections of eyewitnesses and direct participants in the events (Russian military officers and foreign observers), literary works of local authors and folklore sources, authors of the study explore a human factor in the history of the Caucasian War, in terms of emotions, dramatic experiences, fears, and transformation of ethnic consciousness. In this regard, histories of everyday life, gender history, and history of mentality appear to be the most productive research methods and approaches. Using related research tools allowed analyzing an inner perception of death of Adygs in the violent conflict. Adygs appear in the study not as a faceless side of the conflict, but as an active and personalized historical subject. The Caucasian war was not only a chain of political and war events, but was full of personal stories, tragedies of loss and sorrow, female experiences. The routine of death strengthened a respect for the dead, rebooting related symbolic content and ritual practices. At the same time, an erosion of the mental foundations of traditional culture occurs due to the fundamental changes in the conditions of prolonged war.
Highlights
The Caucasian War is a painful boundary, which has divided the history of the Adygs into two great epochs, Before and After: the traditional "patriarchal old days" and a new existence within the framework of the imperial state
What is the "heroics of death"? How did the customary ritual and traditional consciousness help the experience the death of loved ones? What place did women occupy in the military events? How did the women's expectations motivate men to heroic death? How did the military command use the mental attitude of the mountaineers to the bodies of the dead to destroy the spirit of resistance?
The heroics of the Caucasian War became a common place in national historiography
Summary
The Caucasian War is a painful boundary, which has divided the history of the Adygs into two great epochs, Before and After: the traditional "patriarchal old days" and a new existence within the framework of the imperial state. In order to determine the nature and the extent of these changes, their impact on the future destinies of the peoples of Caucasus, this article will consider one of the aspects of changes in mental behavioral practices and the everyday life of the Adygs, expressed in their attitude to the most tragic consequences of war - the death during war and the caring for bodies and souls of the departed We chose this aspect of the problem due to its dramatic acuity and the conservatism of the ritual-ritual aspect, which gives greater exposure to mental attitudes and their transformations under the influence of external factors. Our analysis will not be sociopolitical, but historical and cultural, with an emphasis on everyday details, ethnographic facts, private experiences and emotions
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