Ethnopedagogical value of the comical of the Mordovian people

Introduction: the article explores the folklore's educational potential and the comical of the Mordovian people in the context of reflection of socio-philosophical categories in it. It also reveals the basis and content of the comical and specifics of the laughing matter for Moksha and Erzya people and their effect on the formation of personality. This kind of research is noval and paper has an interdisciplinary character. Materials and Methods: the analysed materials included Mordovian myths, aphorisms, proverbs, sayings, fairytales, and ritual songs. We used quantitative-qualitative analysis, generalisations and synthesis. Results: a detailed comparison of Moksha and Erzya folklore revealed a significant degree of similarities. Both sub-ethnic groups share the same comical view of social vices (injustice, drunkenness, gambling, etc.) and individual vices (the manifestation of a lack of vital energy and information: laziness, slovenliness, poverty, and other forms of the wrong use of vital energy: hypocrisy, lying, stupidity, cursing, etc.). In terms of differences, Moksha people are more inclined to support common effectiveness and common justice whereas Erzya people are inclined to maintain individual justice and individual effectiveness. Consequently, the education of Moksha and Erzya in general is similar. The upbringing is directed to creating a model of behaviour that reflects sufficient and excessive vital energy, justice, hard work, tidiness, common sense, and cunning. Ridiculing of the vices, however, is sanctioned. We brought to light the object of the Moksha comical (insufficient vital energy, deviation from justice and genuineness) and its subject (deviation from human destiny, from natural creativity). We found that the tropes contain an illocutionary power. The perlocutionary effect is disapproval of the vices and admiration of the virtues which form the desiderative norms - the norms reaching the aim of education and upbringing. The desiderative norms of Moksha and Erzya are the abundant life energy and information, organised into skillful creative work, rewarded according to merit. We also mention the rational use of natural resources, following the progress of a peaceful, contemporary world. Conditioned by derision, the pejorative form judges mechanical work, work without understanding, and work for profit only without creativity. Discussion and Conclusions: we exposed some socio-philosophical categories in the Moksha and Erzya comical, which create a perlocutionary effect and have the illocutionary power that shape the influence on the recipient's personality implementing the basic educational function of socialisation and introduction of norms. Therefore, we proved that the comic element of folklore has an undoubted educative value.