1142-1149
The Position of Women in the Family of Zyryans and Votyaks in the XIX century: Features of Regulation by Customary Law
Authors: Olga A. Plotskaya, Nazikgul J. Osmonalieva, Evgeny N. Lotorev, Maxim S. Osipov
Number of views: 41
Customary law, based on legal customs, originating from popular legal consciousness, has historically been the most important factor that played a regulatory role in the life support of the peasant world (community) among the northern peoples. It regulated various spheres of social relations that arose in ethno-local societies, including matrimonial, family-hereditary, trade, contractual, etc. The largest sphere of use of customary law among the Zyryans and Votyaks were relations that arose during marriage and the creation of a family. It was the family, its status, the position of its members, including representatives of several generations of relatives, that for a long time remained an area in which customary law was widely applied, which for a fairly long period was practically the main regulator of emerging social relations.
As a result of the study, the authors came to the following conclusions. Zyryanskaya and Votskaya women were not disenfranchised members of the family. The norms of customary law determined the dual nature of the legal status of women. So, on the one hand, women, being married and living in a large family, were subordinate not only to their spouse, but also to their age relatives, and there was a system of traditional prohibitions regarding their behavior. However, on the other hand, such subordination cannot be called absolute, since the woman retained a significant economic and social status, as evidenced primarily by archival materials. The woman possessed and disposed of the dowry, as well as all the property that was made by her. In addition, zyryanka often remained independent mistresses when her husband was absent.