Language explication of some customs in Karachay-Balkar epic texts

The relevance of the research topic is determined by the relevance of studying the traditions and customs of the Karachays and Balkars as regulators of social relations in society. The article examines the linguistic explication of customs and traditions presented in the texts of the Karachay-Balkar Nart epic and historical-heroic songs. These customs and traditions, passed down from generation to generation, served as regulators of people's behavior within the family and society, reinforcing the acquired level of relations between members of society. The emergence and functioning of customs is due to the fact that members of society have sought to strengthen and strictly adhere to certain social norms. The vocabulary used to represent various customs and traditions is extensive and multifaceted.

The purpose of this article is to identify and describe the linguistic means involved in representing the role of customs and traditions in the formation of social norms governed by customary law. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to solve tasks focused on studying the linguistic features of customs and their functioning. The object of this study is the customs and traditions presented in the academic edition of the Karachay-Balkar heroic epic “Nart” and in the heroic songs included in the anthology “Alan Historical and Heroic Epic”. The methodological basis of the study comprised the culturological approach, which enabled the identification of mechanisms for the preservation and development of customs and traditions within society; the systems approach, which made it possible to establish the interrelationships among all components of a custom; and the structural-functional approach, which allowed for an assessment of the role of a specific custom in maintaining social order.

As a result of the conducted research, we come to the conclusion that the earliest type of social norms are the norms of customary law, which began to emerge at the very dawn of the history of social development. The main function of the customary norms that operated in the traditional Karachay-Balkar society, as well as those that later emerged as legal norms, was to regulate social relations. The customs discussed in the article are conveyed by various words and descriptions such as atalyk “atalychism”, ant “oath”, kan alyu “blood feud”, kan töleu “blood payment”, tul toy “levirate custom”, kan qatyshdyrmauluk “prohibition of incest”, etc., which are largely ethnically marked, have undergone archaization, and have linguistic and cultural significance.

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