The Pomor Family.
The main form of family in Pomorye was a big patriarchal family. It included up to 30 people and formed an independent unit in the hunting and fishing season. All the belongings – the house, agricultural implements, cattle, boats, land and money – were the property of the whole family. Housekeeping and the mode of family life were strictly regulated by time-honoured rules. All the members of a big family had their rights and duties. The patriarch and his wife shared power in the family. The father was the head of the hunting and fishing unit and gave orders to the male half of the family, the mother – to the female one. She was responsible for the cooking, other women only helping her and followed her instructions. A son-in-law seldom joined his wife s family, unless it badly needed extra hands.
The division of a big family was a rare event in Pomorye. It could occur if the family of one of the brothers grew too large and made up an independent fishing or hunting unit. In this case they either built a new house or divided the old one. If married brothers built their own houses, the others, remaining in the parents house, had to pay them off and assist in the construction. Divisions were usually initiated by daughters-in-law, whose life in a big family was extremely hard. From the first days of marriage a young Pomor woman placed under the command of her mother-in-law, and had to account for every minute of the day. The older woman used every opportunity to teach her daughter-in-law, though the latter, as a rule, had already been well prepared for family life. Sometimes the young woman was so scared that in the first months of her married life she might starve – she didn t dare eat, being afraid of seeming greedy. Complaining to anybody, even to her own mother, was out of the question. It was a disgrace to wash one s dirty linen in public.
Members of a big family practiced a division of labour depending on sex and age. In winter men were engaged in mending and knitting fishing nets, cutting and storing up firewood and repairing outbuildings. The usual occupations of women were spinning, weaving, needle-work, cooking and tending the cattle.
Early in spring all the men started on their distant voyages, only the old men, women and children remaining at home. The women had to manage all domestic concerns, work in the neighbourhood, serve as post-drivers and rowers and often act for their husbands in public offices.
Children were prepared for their future work and married life from an early age. Girls and boys under 7-8 were brought up together. They nursed younger sisters and brothers and helped about the house. Boys over 8 often went fishing and hunting with their fathers. In many parts of Pomorye girls also participated in family fishing, but as a rule, they earned their bread as baby-sitters or hired hands, engaged in housekeeping, haymaking, gardening, mushrooming, gathering berries and herbs. At this period of her life every Pomor girl was much concerned about collecting trousseau, which included her wedding costume, a number of shirts, towels, table-cloths and sashes. By tradition she was to spin and weave all these things herself and thus every girl was supposed to master all the women s crafts and skills. She learnt spinning, weaving, embroidery and needlework, cooking and breadmaking, and became acquainted with the ritual ceremonies and traditions of Pomors.
“The old grow older and the young blossom out” – so goes the old Russian saying. From the age of 16-17 boys and girls began to be treated as grown-ups. Their labour and family chores remained the same, but the rules of conduct changed – they were now relatively free in their behaviour. They spent more time outside the parents house, girls were allowed to dress up not only on holidays, but also for goolyanye, a regular festive youth gathering. Moreover, they had a certain freedom in their relations with young men. Typical of Pomorye was the late age of getting married (21-26). This can be explained by the specific relations in Pomorye – there was no need for extra hands. The atmosphere of mutual affection, respect and at the same time relative independence reigned in Pomor families.