THE PHILOSOPHICAL ROLE OF CUSTOMS AND RITUALS IN SOCIAL LIFE AND THE MAHALLA SYSTEM IN UZBEKISTAN

Abstract

This article analyzes the philosophical role of traditions and rituals such as weddings, sunnat weddings, mourning, Navruz, etc. in social life and the mahalla system in Uzbekistan from the perspective of legitimacy, cultural memory, solidarity, and life stages. The scientific basis of the study is the 2019 Joint Resolution and Regulation on the Regulation of Weddings and Ceremonies, an analysis of the Laws on Citizens’ Self-Government Bodies, which are normative and legal documents, the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, and UNESCO’s “Social Practices, Images and Celebrations” area, which are sources of international cultural policy, internet coverage and social network identifiers included in the digital environment indicators, and local scientific literature and secondary scientific observations. The results show that rituals simultaneously: create and legitimize the informal legal order of society, “place” collective memory in the neighborhood space and transmit it from generation to generation, strengthen social cohesion as “rites of passage” formalizing changes in life status, and in the digital environment, rituals are transformed under the pressure of prestige and aesthetic standardization. In conclusion, the neighborhood, education and cultural policy provides practical recommendations for compactness, mediation, memory-education integration, digital transmission.