Shermitsii

The famous linguist A.V. Mirtov rightly considers this word, in such a transcription, Don, and elevates it to Polish borrowing. One of the earliest descriptions of shermits, as a festive, ritual phenomenon of Cossack military culture, is in the notes of E. Kotelnikov, According to the description of E. Kotelnikov, “ solemn village companies were on Troitsyn Day and Maslenitsa. The neighboring villages, with their atamans and old people, with banners , gathered at the top of the border with the public siushka . Shermitsii and fist fights were made there ... ” ^[2] .

In the notes of P. N. Krasnov : “At the turn, they arranged exercises in horse riding, rifle and bow shooting, exemplary fights, which was then called ermicia, and fought on fists” ^[3] . P.N. Krasnov also reveals another meaning of the word shermizii, as applied to the Cossack service - "learning the turnover of the Cossack service" and calls them "cunning shermizii". In the 3rd volume of the "Cossack dictionary-reference" G.V. Gubarev, published in San. Anselmo in 1970 “shermitsii” are called “charmits” ^[4] and denote small regimental maneuvers . According to Fasmer’s dictionary, which refers to Mirtov, schermicism is “fist fight”, Don, came from the Polish szarmycel, where it meant “fight, fight”. It came to the Polish language, possibly from it. Scharmützel "shootout" from Ital. ssaramussіa "battle, battle." Here, one should take into account the remark of E. Kotelnikov ( 1818 ), who directly writes: “Shermizii and fist fights”, which means that Sermiks are not fistfights , but are competitions and exercises of horse and foot character, collective and individual action , with and without weapons . Moreover, the binding of this action to calendar and other holidays, speaks of its ritual nature.

The Warsaw Chronicle of Joachim Erlich can serve as a proof of the western borrowing of this word, where under 1648 is given the “Pisnya about Pan Mikołaj Potocki , crown hetman , and about Khmelnitsky ”, where there are such words: “Bow, arrows, gunpowder, coolers and sword Shermush.”

On the other hand, the etymology of this word may have Slavic origin. So, in a lot of epics of the Kiev cycle, the word “storm” is found, which means “hit, throw, bust”, “storm, storm (with a spear) - wield”, the recording of bylin was carried out in the Russian North. "Storms and spins" on a horse Ilya Muromets , which means jigs and horsemans. "As I am going with you to Stolno, Kiev city, I’m going to crumble, storm and Stolno Kiev city." (bylina Ilya Muromets and Kalin the Tsar ).

or

“And with his right hand he spears shurmatite” (Youth of Dobrynia and his battle with Ilya Muromets).

This word is consonant with shermuvati - to wield (weapons), shermitseriya - fencing , scrum, stitch, knock, shermir - fencing, shermirstvo - fencing in Ukrainian.

In the Belgorod wedding song, there are lines: "Do not storm, boyars , horses around the yard." In the collection of old Russian proverbs, Simony has a saying: "Fight the horse, and storm the spear." The word Shermitsia is often found in Pugachev's interrogation sheets, where it is used in the sense of “military clashes”, “small battle”, “skirmishes”.

Of the traditional holidays of the peoples living near the Don Cossacks, the closest are Circassian games , for the most part coinciding in structure, types of competitions with home games and shermions of the Don, the Tatar holiday Sabantuy is close, with which horse racing and wrestling are related to it, Tatar names of the place competitions ( maidan ), but functionally ermicia were not associated with agricultural cults, since the Cossacks began to engage in agriculture in the XVIII century ..

The cultural genesis of an adversarial Cossack culture stems from two fundamental points in the early history of the Don Cossacks. This is the floodplain position of the Don population and the border with the steppe regions. It is known that modern Don Cossacks were formed on the basis of the autochthonous population of the floodplain of the river. Don Its ethnogenesis was attended by the steppe nomads , Don Slavs , and the peoples of the foothills of the Caucasus. The formation of ethnic self-awareness can be associated with the formation in the Cossack culture of a special military ethos and military culture, which reflected two of these aspects - marine and steppe. The first was connected with the floodplain population, developed navigation, fishing, the second with the steppe borderland and cattle breeding. In the early Middle Ages, the Don population adopted Christianity , which had an impact on many aspects of cultural life, including military culture. The appearance of the Don Cossacks in historical sources dates back to 154–9 and is known from the correspondence of Ivan IV and the Nogai prince Shikh-Mamai ^[5] . The Ottoman Empire faced the Don population after it seized the city of Azov , expelling European merchants from it and blocking the mouth of the Don for fishing, which aggravated relations with the local population. The search for courageous Cossacks for the purpose of obtaining, which means acquiring military glory, raising their status in their native yurts, apparently, was carried out even before the appearance of the Turkish garrison in the Don region. Baranta or Barymta was known to the Cossacks, as well as to the neighboring nomadic peoples, and performed the same functions as in the steppe societies. And the martial law that arose in Cossack towns created the need for searches ( campaigns ) and long-distance raids, both sea and steppe, on neighboring states. Among the Cossack warriors , special military rituals, customs and rituals related to war, weapons and military affairs were also developed.

In the XVII century. the Don people swore allegiance to the Moscow Tsar, and at the beginning of the XVIII century the Land of the Don Cossacks lost its independence and was ruled by the tsar's governors. In 1835, the Don Cossacks were turned into a semi-privileged estate of the Russian Empire and served as the backbone for the formation of other Cossack troops of Russia. The estates framework made changes in the rites of initiation, wedged in military mourning rituals, customs associated with the circle. Under the influence of class regulations, ethnic culture (in a military aspect) became emasculated, turned into shows , military parades . The barracks spirit was part of the life of the Cossacks, regulated their life, subordinated to the letter of the charter .

In the difficult natural and socio-historical conditions of constant hostilities , the search for prey, barymty , the struggle for fisheries and for the preservation of religious identity in the Don Cossack community, mechanisms for training warriors developed that were ritually entrenched and later formed the basis of the so-called. "Home games." They served as an important part of military initiations , village holidays, the basis of military mourning rituals. The basis of these games was horse racing, horse-riding and logging, military exercises, both in horse and on foot. Many of these exercises migrated to children's and youthful games and competitions.

In traditional society, ritual forms of behavior performed various functions, which include the transfer of cultural experience, the formation of patterns of behavior necessary for society, the formation of a picture of the world, etc. In military cultures, competition occupies a dominant position, since it forms a belligerent personality type that is ready to fight, to the competition for the right of superiority that meets the requirements and expectations of the team of which it is a part.

The formation of a warrior in military culture took place in stages, and each stage was an initial ritual associated with age division. Usually distinguish infant, adolescent and youthful initiation. So, infant initiation is usually described as follows: “This rite, now existing, consists in the fact that, having waited for the first tooth to appear in the son, the father, putting a saber on him, puts him astride his saddled horse and at this moment for the first time cuts his forelock. ” Then he returns to his mother with the words: “Here is a Cossack for you!” All the friends and acquaintances of the father brought something to the newborn to the newborn. This gift was certainly a military one: a cartridge of gunpowder , an arrow , a bow , a bullet , a grandfather gave a saber or a gun ^[6] .

In the class period, infant initiation was transformed into the rite of "initiation into the Cossacks." As a rule, officials participated in the rite — the old men of the village, the chieftain, and members of the board. Initiation into the Cossacks took place at six years old. According to the ethnographic records of B. N. Protsenko, they went like this. “On the Maidan, Cossacks gathered in a circle. The boys were put on horses. Each of them had to ride a horse in a circle. Who does not stay in the saddle, he was initiated into the Cossacks a year later. For those boys who rode in a circle and did not fall from the horse, initiation into the Cossacks began. The ceremony was held in a festive atmosphere on the Maidan. Each of them ataman put on a ribbon of red cloth with the inscription: "Cossack kind of such and such." But before putting on the tape, the boys were put on horses by senior Cossacks of their Cossack family. After putting on the tape, the ataman importantly avoided everyone, congratulated the initiates in the Cossack, and welcomed the old Cossack warriors ” ^[7] .

Adolescent initiation occurs at 13-15 years of age. Don historians and ethnographers are almost unanimous in determining the priorities of raising a growing generation: from the first conscious steps, boys are taught to handle a horse. Three-year-olds themselves drove around the yard, and five-year-olds fearlessly rode along the street, fired from a bow, played dibs , went to war. The horse occupied a special place in the life of the Cossack, he was an indispensable companion of the Cossack on all paths of his life - both peaceful and non-peaceful. Sometimes the life of a Cossack depended on knowledge of the habits of horses and skills in handling them. Gradually, the sphere of education of boys expanded, it included elements of investigation , skills in handling weapons, hand-to-hand combat, overcoming water barriers, etc.

As Kh. Popov wrote in his work: “as a boy, a Cossack played idanchiks on a stanitsa street, aiming his eyes, or, jumping and running, drove a kubar. He barely had the strength, he already took the food and went to shoot sensitive bustards, or rode along the steppe, driving a herd that had broken into a snowstorm. He crawled on his stomach, sneaking up to the beast, he crossed the Don, fleeing the Tatars, he knew that a miss from a gun for him was often death or captivity . He himself did everything that we now teach the Cossack in case of war, his teacher was a cruel, mortal danger, and this is a severe teacher! ... ” ^[8]

The finale of teenage initiation can be considered “amusing battles” between groups of teenagers in a village or farm. So, in the book “Donets” we read: “At times, the entire childish population of Cherkassk stood out for the city, where, divided into two parties, they built reed towns. In paper hats and frogs , with paper banners and clappers, riding on sticks, the opponents converged, sent archers or bullies and, attacking, fought with such excitement that they did not spare their noses; chopped with popular sabers , pricked with reed peaks , beat banners, grabbed prisoners. Winners to the music from the pipes and crests, with rattles or basins, solemnly returned to the city; behind, bursting into tears, dropping their heads in shame with shame, came prisoners ” ^[9] .

Youth initiations were intended for 17-19 year old guys, youngsters. Two main events determine the nature of this initiation: training in summer military camps and the public competition of young Cossacks. The situation of the summer camp of Cossack youngsters can be represented in the following description of P. N. Krasnov: “when the census of“ youngsters ”was introduced, then all those who reached the age of 19 were gathered in a predetermined place, on the best horses and fully armed. Out of the blue, near a river, a large camp was set up, where for a month the youngsters studied military affairs under the guidance of the elderly, in the presence of the chieftain. Some were taught to shoot at full gallop; others raced in all their might, standing on the saddle and brandishing a saber, while others contrived to pick up a coin or a whip from a spread cloak. Fighters go there; here a crowd of horseback riders to a steep bank, suddenly disappears and reappears, but on the other side. " The atmosphere of public competition is conveyed by the author of “Pictures of the Former Quiet Don”: “From many villages in one place Cossacks-youngsters gather for a look . What to watch? - when no one taught them anything. And so the races began, shooting at the target, shooting at the gallop, felling and flanking . Flaming up with courage, entire villages of youngsters from full acceleration rushed into the river and sailed to the other side with horses, ammunition and peaks. They scattered with lava , galloped against each other, clutched in an embrace and fought on a horse ” ^[3] .

The ataman summed up the competition: “Ataman gave the most accurate marksmen and the most daring riders elegant bridles, decorated saddles, and weapons.” Youngsters in many villages took part in fist fights as instigators at their initial stage. The subsequent course of the battle they watched from the side. However, this was also a kind of school, since fists developed courage, courage to walk on foot to the enemy’s chest and quick quickness in the Cossack to figure out who to help out, who to crumple in a dump.

The ability to control a horse and weapons were the main indicators of military prowess and patrimonial glory. The culmination of training and all age-related initiations was holiday village games, “home games”. According to the description of E. Kotelnikov, “solemn stanitsa companies were on Troitsyn Day and on Shrovetide ... on Shrovetide in the village even happens to this day; a gathering is made on Thursday, at which the chieftain orders that there should not be atrocities on the gulba, and then the village is divided how companies will happen. Each company elects itself a cotton ataman, two judges and a quartermaster. At their request, banners and banners are issued to any company. The gulba continues until the evening of raw Sunday, on foot and on agendas, on horseback - in military weapons. When the teams meet, they salute with banners, and all the teams, divided in two, make examples of military parties with battles and darts. While the team is visiting someone, the banners are in the courtyard or in front of the courtyard, at the time of the sentry, dressed in turn from the quartermaster, whose job is to notify the house where the company intends to go. On Sunday evening, in the middle of the square, a circle is drawn from the benches, in the middle is a covered table with drinks and a snack. From all sides the companies come together and converge, people fleeing in droves, the chieftain with a hint with the old people comes out under the badged badge, which is also placed around the circle. Cotton atamans sit near the village ataman, then officials and the elderly. They drink for the Highest Health, then the Army Ataman and the entire Great Don Army and an honest village, with shots. ” Then everyone gets up, praying east, and say goodbye ^[2] .

Such competitive practices brought up in a Cossack community a person who was the bearer of certain cultural values, which can be described as a military (knightly) ethos. The rules of conduct in the war were developed, which were enshrined in the customs, adats and even orders of the military chancellery in a later period.

In order to achieve the goals of consolidating the Cossack people on the basis of the traditions of their ancestors, gaining national identity, Don scientists, representatives of the Cossacks and public figures A. V. Yarov, A. V. Ryadnov, O. M. Gaponov (Shermitsii Federation and Association (Union ) "Shermitsii" and members of the Organizing Committee of the Cossack national games Shermitsii), the institute of holiday shermitsia was resurrected. They have been held by them on the Don in the village of Starocherkasskaya since 2009 . In fact, shermacia today have become an ethnic sport ^{[10] of} all Cossacks of Russia. Cossacks of various communities from all over Russia, as well as from near and far abroad, take part in the shermions. In addition to donors, Cossacks come from the Kuban, Urals, Terek, Orenburg region. From the moment that shermijia turned into a kind of "brand", various organizations began to use it: museums (Veshenskiy shermizii), restaurants (International shermizii), Cossack societies in places of non-traditional residence of Cossacks. Shermitsii also began to be held by the regional administrations of the Rostov region, updating festivals and events that took shape back in the Soviet era (Tatsinsky shermitsii, etc.).

In 2010, the Regional Public Organization “Federation of Cossack Martial Arts“ Zadonshchina ”” in the Ministry of Sports of the Rostov Region submitted the necessary documents for inclusion of rubber stamps in the Register of National Sports as a national sport of the Rostov Region, which was done. Shermitsii were recognized at the level of the Rostov region as a national sport of the Don Cossacks. In 2011, the Zadonshchina Federation changed its name and became known as the Federation of Cossack Martial Arts Shermitsii (Federation President A. V. Yarovoy).

As disciplines were included - cutting targets on foot (both with a saber and a saber with a dagger ), flanking a saber, fencing with drafts and fencing at the peaks. At present, competitions in flanking by a saber (which was traditionally used by the Cossacks to prepare their hands for the possession of a saber) are not held at shermikias. With a checker - winners dance.

Before the competition, (and for the smallest Cossacks this is the competition), admission-qualification of participants is carried out - "literature". Old people and judges ask questions related not only to the knowledge of edged weapons, but also to the knowledge of the tribal roots, the history of the tribal villages, the customs and rituals of Cossacks, and participants need to demonstrate their ability to dance and play Cossack songs.

The format of national Cossack games is expanding. Within the framework of shermits, competitions are held in the traditional Cossack fist fight, fights were accompanied by the performance of folk tunes with an accordion, a competition in folk belt wrestling "for breaking" is held. Since 2014, Shermitsii began to include horse riding. Cossacks compete in equestrian archery, horseback riding, felling at the gallop of a vine, shooting from a horse on horseback. “According to the results of a study conducted in 2012 by the South Russian State University of Economics and Service, modern ermicia attract the attention and interest of not only interested Cossacks, but also lovers of ethnographic, rural tourism and become an important factor in eventual internal regional and inbound tourism in the South Of Russia. ” Institute of Service and Tourism of the Don State Technical University “ The Foundation for the Revival of Folk Traditions named after St. Tryphon indicated Shermizia as one of the brightest national holidays in Russia. "

In 2015, the Federation of Shermitsia, to mobilize forces and funds for conducting national Cossack games, created a non-profit organization Association (Union) of assistance in organizing the festival of Cossack national sports and folk art "Shermitsii". Regulations and competitions are consecrated on the official website of national Cossack games.

In 2016, the military rituals and successions of the Don Cossacks, performed on shermizii conducted by the Association "Shermitsii", were included in the register of intangible cultural heritage of the peoples of the Russian Federation.

The discipline of “felling targets on foot”

- the historical form of the Don Cossacks form of conducting competitions in the cabin with a checker. Such competitions were held as preparatory exercises for cutting on horseback. Competition is the passage of a strip with different targets on foot in order to hit them with a checker and get a certain number of points for a fixed period of time.

Drafts Fencing Discipline

- the historical form of competition among the Don Cossacks using checkers (in games and during training, the real checker was replaced with a stick or strikes were flat, or the blades turned with their sharp sides back and the fight was carried out with a checker’s butt. In Tsimlyanskaya in such games “checkers” , stabbing was prohibited.). It is characterized by the task of inflicting an estimated chopping blows with a saber.

Peak Fencing Discipline

The Don Cossacks historically developed a special form of competition with weapons that accompanied the festivities. The main task of the competition is to inflict an estimated piercing blow with a pike (dart) (a long-pole weapon with a soft tip). Cossack patrol teams walked to Shrovetide across the stanitsa with flags , when meeting with another team, they arranged shermitsii, rushed at each other in darts. The systematization of movements with a pike on foot was carried out by General A. Sokolov in the middle of the 19th century ^[11] .

Discipline struggle

The Don Cossacks historically developed a special form of competition, which was used in military mourning and calendar-holiday ceremonies. The competition is held in the form of a wrestling match, the purpose of which is to use the wrestling actions from the preliminary belt grab to force the opponent to touch the body of the carpet. The struggle “for breaking,” “under buckles” was popular in the Don and had ancient nomadic roots. Therefore, it can be considered one of the varieties of belt wrestling. The purpose of such a struggle was to throw someone whom. Grip on buckles may not always be permanent. So, according to the description of M. Kharuzin, the Cossacks used high throws in the fight against Kalmyks, the fight was not only fought until the fall, but by special agreement it was necessary to keep the enemy under him for some time ^[12] . A similar kind of national struggle existed on the Don until the middle of the 20th century, the methods and rules of such fights in ethnographic descriptions were preserved.

Discipline "fist fight (kulachki)"

the historical form of competition among the Don Cossacks, used in military mourning and calendar-holiday ceremonies . The competition is held in the form of a fist fight, the goal of a fighter in a fight is to suppress enemy resistance with the help of strikes. Traditionally, such fights at the beginning of the 20th century were called “for an amateur”, “for a circle”. They were led by the leaders of the vatag before the collective fist fight. They were conducted until the first blood, until the moment of demonstration of the complete physical and psychological superiority of one of the parties. The strikes were the most common and were classified according to the place of application “under the sigh”, “on the slope”, “in the ear”, “wipe the snot”, “on the forehead”, “on the birdhouse”, “on the ticks”, “to clang your teeth”, “Take it on the elbow” and so on. The defenses were coasters, knockdowns, evasion from enemy attacks. An important indicator was the ability to hold a blow, which was characterized by the adoption of strikes on the body, shoulders, head. When striking, jumps, passages, intercepts and grabs of the enemy’s hands and clothes were used. In the modern variety of fisticuffs, the criteria for assessing victory, the main blows and defenses remained, while in order to prevent injuries, the fight is waged in protective equipment, gloves, with prohibited zones of destruction, prohibited grabs and kicks ^[13] .

Dzhigitovka and Horse Racing

horse riding and horse racing are also included in shermizii as a separate discipline. On horses of the Don breed, in full Cossack reference, Cossacks compete in horse racing, horseback riding, wheelhouse, lance possession and shooting. The traditional Cossack equestrian games begin to revive in Shermizii.

Archery

Archery is a historical discipline of the Don Cossacks, which was carried out on horseback and on foot. The goal of equestrian shooting is to hit a target that is at a certain distance, above or below the galloping rider, or suspended in the form of a prize, which must be shot down with a special arrow, turning back. On foot, archery is carried out on a round target for accuracy.

Aidans

The traditional game of Don Cossacks, known to many steppe peoples, as a game with small flat dice from the knee of the hind leg of a ram. With a large bone or a baibque cast from lead, it is necessary to knock out the idayans at stake out of bounds of the outlined space (circle or square ^[14] ).

Kayak Racing

Traditional races on cabins, going back to the races of the Cossacks of the Lower Don, when at the signal of the bell the Cossacks rushed to the river in the struggle for catchy places. Today it is a race in kayuk, which consists in overcoming a certain distance (who is faster).

The Game of the King

A kind of traditional fencing game of the Don Cossacks, which takes place on a site limited by battle lines. Players are divided into two teams of five people, the fifth unarmed player is the king. The task of the opposing side is to defeat the enemy king. During the game, participants are armed with sports Cossack sabers (previously flexible rods or low-end sabers and sabers). It is allowed to inflict blows on the hands, feet and body of the opponents. The enemy greased in this way leaves the site ^[15] .

• Astapenko G. Life, customs, rituals and holidays of the Don Cossacks of the XVII-XX centuries. Bataysk, 2002.
• Abaza K. Cossacks: Don, Kuban, Ural, Terts. SPb., 1899.
• Cossack Don: Essays on History. / A.P. Skorik, R.G. Tikijyan and others. Rostov n / A., 1995. Part 1.
• Kalashnikova N.K. The agonal foundations of the culture of the Don Cossacks. Thesis for the candidate. Philos. sciences. Rostov n / a., 2005.
• Pictures from the folk life of the Don Cossacks. M., 1871.
• Protsenko B.N. Initial rites as an element of the spiritual culture of the Don Cossacks // Bulletin of the North Caucasus Scientific Center of Higher School. 1996. No. 1.
• Chernaya T. “Ethnic dominant in the psychological content of traditional games on the example of the Don region” [1]
• Chernitsyn S.V. Customs and rites of the Don Cossacks associated with wires to the military service // ISKNTSVSh 1988.№ 6.
• Spring A.V.Shermitsii. History, training methodology and competition rules. Rostov-on-Don. Publishing House of NMC "Logos" .2011. - 128 p.
• Cossack dictionary. Composition. G.V. Gubarev. San. Anselmo. T.3. 1970. [2]
• Yarovoy A.V. Military competitions among the rural population of Zadonya // Questions of Cossack history and culture. Issue 1. Maykop, 2003.
• Yarovoy A.V. Use of elements of traditional culture in the modern educational process // Results of folklore-ethnographic studies of ethnic cultures of the North Caucasus for 2004. Dikarev Readings, issue 11. Krasnodar, 2005.
• Yarovoy A. V. Features of fisticuffs among the Don Cossacks // Scientific Thought of the Caucasus, 2007, No. 15. ^[16]

• Annual Shermizii on the Don
• Kharuzin M. Information about the Cossack communities in the Don
• Site of the Shermitsy Federation of Shermitsii
• Traditional “home games” of Shermizia

A photo

• St. George shermizii on the site of Aksay district
• Photoreport of the Russian newspaper
• St. George Shermitsii 2016 photo report