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Our people have long said: «a small deed is better than a big idleness.» This principle was strictly adhered to in the upbringing of children. By the age of ten, both boys and girls in peasant families were already becoming an independent «economic unit» and had many responsibilities.
Girls were accustomed to hard work very early, even earlier than boys. So, from the age of 5-6, they already had to be able to spin, help around the house and in the garden, in caring for younger brothers and sisters, for poultry and cattle.
By the age of 10, thanks to the «science» of mothers, grandmothers and other older women in the family, they moved to a new level of responsibility. A ten-year-old daughter was already considered a fully grown girl with all the ensuing requirements for her. If acquaintances and neighbors gave a teenage girl a derogatory definition of “unspun”, this was a very bad characterization, and later she could not even count on a good groom.
How was the learning process organized?
Exclusively on a personal example: usually the mother, in the process of household or field chores, showed and explained to her daughter how and what she was doing, then trusted her to do the simpler part of the work. As the necessary skills were acquired, the functionality performed by the girl became more complicated. If at 5-6 years old the little housewife had to look after the chickens, then at 10-12 years old she would already drive the cow out to pasture and milk her. This progressive and continuous process guaranteed high learning outcomes.
Did teenagers rebel against such a way of life? Of course no. On the one hand, the labor skills instilled from early childhood allowed them to survive in rather difficult social realities, and it is not for nothing that the people have a saying: “If you go through the whole world with a craft, you will not be lost.” And on the other hand, among ordinary people, the Christian tradition was very strong, and it was precisely in that part of it that concerns the harsh Old Testament. According to him, serving the father and mother was likened to serving God, and insulting parents and disobedience was equated with insulting higher powers. Since childhood, children were instilled with such concepts as filial/daughter duty, respect for old age, and the realization that the family is the most important thing in life, and any work for its benefit was respected.
«To drive the economy — do not open your mouth to walk»
What exactly should a village girl be able to do by her tenth birthday? Her tasks were very diverse, despite the seeming simplicity of peasant life.
«Babi Kut»
This is the «women’s kingdom» at the stove. It was usually separated from the rest of the hut by a curtain, and the stronger sex tried not to go there unless absolutely necessary. Moreover, the appearance of an outsider in the «woman’s corner» was equated with an insult. Here the hostess spent most of her time: she cooked food, kept order in the “cupboard” (the cabinet where kitchen utensils were stored), on the shelves along the walls, where there were milk pots, clay and wooden bowls, salt shakers, cast irons, in wooden supplies with lids and in birch bark boxes where bulk products were stored. A ten-year-old girl actively helped her mother in all these chores: she washed the dishes, cleaned, she could cook simple but healthy peasant food herself.
Cleaning the house
The duty of a teenage girl was also charged with keeping the house clean. She had to sweep the floor, wash and clean benches nailed to the walls and / or portable benches; shake and clean rugs; clean the bed, shake it, change the torch, candles, clean kerosene lamps. Often, ten-year-old girls themselves coped with another duty — they washed and rinsed clothes on the river, and then hung them up to dry. And if in the warm season it was more of an entertainment, then washing in the pro.e. in winter it turned into a rather severe test.
Pest
In large families, the “watching” of the older children for the younger ones was a severe necessity, because the parents worked hard and hard in the field. Therefore, a teenage girl could often also be seen at the cradle, which was attached by a ring to the central beam of the ceiling (“matitsa”). The older sister, sitting on a bench, put her foot into the loop, rocked the cradle, and she herself was engaged in needlework.
In addition to rocking a baby, by the age of 10, a little nanny could swaddle him herself, make a nipple from chewed bread, and feed him from a horn. And, of course, to calm the crying baby, entertain him with songs, «peckers» and jokes. If there was such a need, then at the age of 10-12 the girl could be given as a nanny — «fosters». During the summer period, she earned from three to five US dollars — a considerable amount for a teenager. Sometimes, by agreement with the parents, the nanny was paid with «natural products»: flour, potatoes, apples, other vegetables and fruits, cuts of fabric.
Weaving
A very important element of peasant culture. After all, the peasants made all the fabric for clothes, towels, tablecloths and other household items themselves, which is why it was called homespun. First, the girl was taught to wind threads on the bobbins (threads made of birch bark), then to ruffle flax and spin tows (threads) from it. In the southern provinces, they also combed wool. Usually all this was done in a long winter in a large «woman’s» company.
Already at the age of 5-7, the girl mastered primary skills, and her father made her a personal spinning wheel or spindle — smaller than that of adults. By the way, it was believed that own instrument is very important. It was impossible to give one’s own spinning wheel to girlfriends — they «spoil», and it was also impossible to use other people’s spinning wheels, because «a good master works only with his tool.» Then the girl was taught to work on a weaving mill, and by the age of 10, many could already create a belt or towel themselves. The first “hand-made” was always left to the little craftswoman, and at the next stage she began to prepare her dowry.
In addition to the above, at the age of 10, a girl helped adults in the field: she knitted sheaves, collected spikelets, and turned hay. She was also engaged in a garden, she could graze a cow, a goat, geese, ducks; removed the manure and cleaned the cattle. In general, the teenage crisis flew by unnoticed, because the growing girl simply did not have time for this. On the other hand, the hardworking assistant always received support and praise from the elders, who lived according to the principle “Not the kind daughter that runs away from work, but the kind daughter that is visible at any work.”
However, one should not think that peasant children in Russia were completely deprived of the usual childhood joys. The younger girls played mother-daughter with rag dolls, weaved braids for them, sewed outfits and invented jewelry. By the way, it was believed that if a girl willingly plays with dolls, then she will be an excellent hostess and mother. Older girls gathered for gatherings where they chatted, sang, knitted, embroidered and sewed. All children — from young to old — were often sent to the forest to collect berries, mushrooms, herbs, brushwood, or to the river to fish. And that, too, was a fun adventure that, at the same time, adapted them to adult responsibilities.
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