Intergenerational transmission of traditional family values among the Turkic-speaking peoples of Dagestan

The article is devoted to the study of the system of traditional family values among the Turkic-speaking peoples living in the lowland part of Dagestan. The paradigm of family values includes the cult of ancestors, love for parents, family members, respect for relatives up to the seventh generation, custody of the younger, caring for the elders, a sense of community and belonging to the same family, kinship group. The author has established that in the hierarchy of family values, one of the first places is occupied by reverence of one’s ancestors and respect for elders. The observance of “etiquette subordination” in communication between family members, especially in relation to the elders, created and maintained a favorable family microclimate, which elicited an emotional response from the younger generation and served as a guideline for creating their own family in the future. The analysis of the materials showed that the management of a large (undivided) family was carried out by observing the gender and age hierarchy, the custom of avoidance and collective responsibility of relatives up to the seventh generation, the cultivation of family values and traditions passed down from generation to generation. Particular attention is paid to the national peculiarities of speech etiquette in the family, the observance of ethical imperatives and norms of speech communication prescribed by the younger in relation to the elders, the use of kinship terms that emphasize the gender and age characteristics of communicants. The author’s field materials, folklore and literary sources provided in the study confirm the cult of men that existed among the Turkic-speaking peoples of Dagestan. The primacy of a husband over his wife and children, brothers over sisters, is not only a tribute to family tradition, but also one of the precepts of the Islamic religion to ensure family well-being, preserve moral ideals and family values. The interest in this issue is generated by the fact that through its study it is possible to fully analyze the uniqueness of the functioning of human communities united by the historical past and present, as well as a set of peculiar cultural features that were formed, developed and changed under the influence of various factors.