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Instituto familiar y desafíos modernos en Azerbaiyán: investigación histórica y etnológica 91
Vol. 16(1) enero - abril 2026/ 85 - 105
was set aside for guests, that room was decorated with carpets, and expensive and decorative dishes
were arranged on the shelves. A person who receives a lot of guests in his house would be consid-
ered a person of great respect in the village. Here, every family kept a special reserve for the guest,
welcomed the guest who came at any time with dignity, made a sacrifice at his feet, and opened
a table full of specially prepared meals for him, not everyday food prepared at home. “Even if the
guest is an enemy of the host, they will give him shelter and protect him from the bad situation
he is in, even if a guest leaves a house offended, it would be considered an insult to that house and
village” (Maharramova, 2020, p. 244). When the guest left, he was definitely given various gifts. To
a certain extent, this custom remains in modern times. In general, like other Turkic and Caucasian
peoples, if he did not follow the “adat” norms (unwritten norms formed according to traditions
and sharia) in his Azerbaijani family, he was expelled from the village and settlement where he lived
with his family.
e attitude of family members depended on the status and condition of the woman in the
family community. In poor and middle-class families, women worked in the farm as well as men.
For example, women worked in fruit farming in the Guba region, in rice cultivation in Lankaran,
in silk farming in Sheki, Shirvan, Karabakh and Nakhchivan, and in sheep farming in Khakhaz and
Zangilan. Women who were active in almost all economic activities had a stronger social status in
the family. In such a situation, the man consulted with the woman about economic issues.
e main function of the family includes reproduction, children’s upbringing, economic oc-
cupation. ese functions are regulated by customs among all members of the family, so intra-fam-
ily relations were formed. Family relationships, primarily marriage, were based on traditions as well
as Sharia norms. Despite the fact that the vast majority of the population of Azerbaijan is Shiite, the
monogamous form of marriage was characteristic (Guliyev, 1986, p. 15). e families depicted in
Azerbaijani epics, fairy tales, other examples of oral folk literature, and artistic works are based on
monogamy (Maharramova, p. 197). For example, in the epic “Kitabi-Dade Gorgud”, only Burla
Khatun is the wife of Gazan Khan, only Banuchichk is the wife of Beyrey (Kitabi-Dade Gorgud,
2004), only Nigar Khanum is the wife of the legendary Koroglu. Mrs. Nigar has no children. De-
spite this, Koroglu did not marry a second time. e monogamous family form is characteristic of
the Turkic peoples, as well as the Caucasian peoples. In the Caucasian peoples, the defender of the
mother’s rights in the family is mainly the son.
ere were different forms of marriage in Azerbaijan. ese include “besikkərtma” (“Besik-
kertma” - Cradle betrothal), “göbəkkəsmə” (“gobekkesma” - Cradle betrothal), “deyikli” (“deikli”
- engaged girl), “qız qacırma” (“Bride kidnapping”), etc. Today, the remnants of these customs are
still alive to one degree or another. “Besikkertma” or “gobekkasma” marriage customs had the same
essence, there was an agreement between the two families that the parents would marry their chil-
dren after they grew up. According to the “Besikkertma” custom, the cradle of a newborn girl was
cut with a knife and the parents of both children promised each other that their children would
marry each other when they grew up. e custom of beshikkertma and umbilical cord cutting,
which is considered an ancient marriage, is also reflected in our fairy tales and epics. “Kitabi-Dada
Gorgud” describes the custom of umbilical cord cutting as follows: “Bayböra bey said: “May I also
have a son, let him stand in the service of Bayındır Khan, and I will look after him and trust him,
be happy and rejoice. Having said this, the Oghuz Beys turned to the sky (that is, they took per-
mission from Tengri - Sh.N,). ey raised their hands and prayed. “May Allah grant you a son!”