Lezghin folk games: types and principles of their classification

This article examines Lezghin folk games, their diversity, the main approaches to systematization, and the principles of their classification. We view traditional games as a means of children's interaction with reality. They also serve as a kind of preparation for adult life. The relevance of our article is determined by two circumstances: their role in the educational process or in the organization of leisure, and also the fact that Lezghin folk games have not become the object of special study; they are considered in the work for the first time. It is sometimes difficult to recognize a game unless it is clearly structured and conditioned by formal requirements (rules). Based on folklore classification principles, we have divided children's games into various groups. We have identified games that are simple and complex, children's and adolescent, home and field games, traditional and formal, games with a stable structure and verbal formulas, sayings, rhymes, and songs, etc. It is noted that when analyzing children's folklore itself, we must focus on children of adolescence, i.e. those who are already capable of adopting elements of the adult world, and present information about the culture of the older generation, creatively interpret and reproduce it during social interaction. In this way, children give a new sound and reinterpreted meaning to folklore texts and contribute to the formation of a unified culture among their peers.