How to draw traditional household items of the Tatar people. Traditions, customs and culture of the Tatar people in

General characteristics of the Tatar people and population

It is not for nothing that the people of the Tatars are considered the most mobile of all known peoples. Fleeing from crop failures in their native lands and in search of opportunities to establish trade, they quickly moved to the central regions of Russia, Siberia, the Far Eastern regions, the Caucasus, Central Asia and the Donbas steppes. In Soviet times, this migration was especially active. Today, Tatars live in Poland and Romania, China and Finland, the USA and Australia, as well as in Latin America and Arab countries. Despite such a territorial distribution, the Tatars in each country try to unite in communities, carefully preserving their cultural values, language and traditions. To date, the total number of the Tatar population is 6 million 790 thousand people, of which almost 5.5 million live on the territory of the Russian Federation.

The main language of the ethnic group is Tatar. It distinguishes three main dialectical directions - eastern (Siberian-Tatar), western (Mishar) and middle (Kazan-Tatar). The following sub-ethnic groups are also distinguished: Astrakhan, Siberian, Tatars-Mishars, Ksimovsky, Kryashens, Perm, Polish-Lithuanian, Chepetsky, Teptyars. Initially, the writing of the Tatar people was based on Arabic graphics. Over time, the Latin alphabet began to be used, and later - the Cyrillic alphabet. The vast majority of Tatars adhere to the Muslim faith, they are called Sunni Muslims. There is also a small number of Orthodox, who are called Kryashens.

Features and traditions of Tatar culture

The Tatar people, like any other, have their own special traditions. So, for example, the ceremony of marriage assumes that their parents have the right to agree on the wedding of boys and girls, and the young people are simply informed. Before the wedding, the size of the kalym, which the groom pays to the bride's family, is discussed. Celebrations and a feast in honor of the newlyweds, as a rule, take place without them. To this day, it is accepted that it is unacceptable for the groom to enter the bride's parental home for permanent residence.

Cultural traditions, and especially in terms of educating the younger generation from early childhood, are very strong among the Tatars. The decisive word and power in the family belongs to the father - the head of the family. That is why girls are taught to be submissive to their husbands, and boys are taught to be able to dominate, but at the same time treat their spouse very carefully and carefully. Patriarchal traditions in families are stable to this day. Women, in turn, are very fond of cooking and revere Tatar cuisine, sweets and all kinds of pastries. A richly laid table for guests is considered a sign of honor and respect. Tatars are known for their reverence and immense respect for their ancestors, as well as older people.

Famous representatives of the Tatar people

In modern life, there are quite a lot of people from this glorious people. For example, Rinat Akhmetov is a famous Ukrainian businessman, the richest Ukrainian citizen. In the world of show business, the legendary producer Bari Alibasov, Russian actors Renata Litvinova, Chulpan Khamatova and Marat Basharov, singer Alsou became famous. The famous poetess Bella Akhmadulina and rhythmic gymnast Alina Kabaeva also have Tatar roots on their father's side and are honored figures of the Russian Federation. It is impossible not to recall the first racket of the world - Marat Safin.

The Tatar people are a nation with their own traditions, national language and cultural values, which are closely connected with the history of others and not only. This is a nation with a special character and tolerance, which has never initiated conflicts on ethnic, religious or political grounds.

Tatyana Litvinova

The idea of ​​creating an ethnographic museum came to me a very long time ago, but was realized only a few weeks ago. All my team worked on its creation. I present to you the result of our work.

main idea museum- the formation of respect for the historical past in children Tatarstan.

Museum has its own program and is designed for 3 age groups.

Upon entering museum the stove meets the kids. on which they see national dishes and utensils.

A chicken is being cooked in a cauldron.

Next to the stove, on the bench - Tatar harmonica and spinning wheel.

A boy in national dress sits on a homespun carpet and leafs through a book by G. Tukay.

A table set for dinner. knitted Tatar I have shown you the kitchen more than once.

Bed with many pillows embroidered Tatar ornament.

National clothes Tatar woman.

In the chest, children can see scarves, embroidered towels, self-woven tablecloths, shoes and jewelry.

At the exit from the hut, we organized a small cattle yard, in which a small bull and a chicken stand on real hay.

Laying hen is one of my latest knitted works.

We have not forgotten that in the old days there was no running water. and it will be very interesting for children to learn about how and with the help of what they used to carry water into the house.

There are vegetables in the corner in a drawer. Each family had their own supplies!

We really wanted that in our museum children were not passive contemplatives, but would become curious "why-why".

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Every nation has its own national holidays. Many of these holidays were born in antiquity - several centuries or even a thousand years ago. Everything around: villages and cities, things, clothes, professions, nature are changing, and folk holidays continue and continue to live. For the holidays are the holidays of the heart, the soul of the people.
Tatar folk holidays delight people with a sense of gratitude and respect for nature, for the customs of their ancestors, for each other.
The Russian word "holiday" comes from the Old Russian porozden, that is, empty. It turns out that a holiday is an empty, unoccupied time, that is, free from labor and other ordinary activities. Of course, the way it is - it is not in vain that they say: there are holidays and there are weekdays, ordinary, ordinary days.
The Tatars also have two words meaning a holiday. Religious Muslim holidays are called by the word gaet (ayet) (Uraza gaet - the holiday of fasting and Korban gaet - the holiday of the sacrifice). And all folk, non-religious holidays in Tatar are called beyrem. Scientists believe that this word means "spring beauty", "spring celebration".

Religious holidays are called the word gaet or bayram ( Eid al Adha (Ramadan)- fasting holiday and Korban Bairam- Feast of the Sacrifice). Muslim holidays among the Tatars - Muslims include a collective morning prayer, in which all men and boys participate. Then it is supposed to go to the cemetery and pray near the graves of their loved ones. And the women and the girls helping them at this time prepare treats at home. On holidays (and each religious holiday used to last for several days), they went around the houses of relatives and neighbors with congratulations. It was especially important to visit the parental home. On the days of Korban Bayram - the holiday, the victims tried to treat meat to as many people as possible, the tables remained covered for two or three days in a row, and everyone entering the house, no matter who he was, had the right to treat himself ...

Folk holidays
Spring is a time of awakening of nature, a time of renewal and expectations. A good spring is to be a good harvest, and therefore a prosperous life.
Boz carau
According to the old, old tradition, Tatar villages were located on the banks of rivers. Therefore, the first bayram - "spring celebration" for the Tatars is associated with ice drift. This holiday is called boz carau, boz bagu - "to watch the ice", boz ozatma - seeing off the ice, zin kitu - ice drift.
All residents, from old people to children, came out to watch the ice drift on the river bank. The youth walked dressed up, with harmonists. Straw was laid out and lit on floating ice floes. In the blue spring twilight, these floating torches could be seen far away, and songs rushed after them.
Younger Yau
Once in early spring, the children went home to collect cereals, butter, eggs. With their calls, they expressed good wishes to the owners and ... demanded refreshments!
With the help of one or two elderly women, children cooked porridge in a huge cauldron from the food collected on the street or indoors. Everyone brought a plate and a spoon with them. And after such a feast, the children played, doused themselves with water.
Kyzyl yomorka
After a while, the day of collecting colored eggs came. The villagers were warned about such a day in advance, and the housewives dyed eggs in the evening - most often in a decoction of onion peel. The eggs turned out to be multi-colored - from golden yellow to dark brown, and in a decoction of birch leaves - various shades of green. In addition, special dough balls were baked in each house - small buns, pretzels, and they also bought sweets.
Children especially looked forward to this day. Mothers sewed bags for them from towels to collect eggs. Some guys went to bed dressed and shod, so as not to waste time getting ready in the morning, they put a log under the pillow so as not to oversleep. Early in the morning, boys and girls began to walk around the houses. The one who came in first brought the chips and scattered them on the floor - so that "the yard was not empty", that is, so that there were a lot of living creatures on it.
The comic wishes of children to the owners are expressed in ancient times - as in the days of great-grandmothers and great-grandfathers. For example, something like this: "Kyt-kytyyk, kyt-kytyyk, are grandparents at home? Will they give an egg? Let you have a lot of chickens, let the roosters trample them. If you don't give an egg, there is a lake in front of your house, you will drown there!" The collection of eggs lasted two or three hours, it was a lot of fun. And then the children gathered in one place on the street and played different games with the collected eggs.
Sabantuy
But the spring holiday of the Tatars Sabantuy is becoming widespread and beloved again. This is a very beautiful, kind and wise holiday. It includes various rituals and games.
Literally, "sabantuy" means "Feast of the Plow" (saban - plow and tui - holiday). Previously, it was celebrated before the start of spring field work, in April, now Sabantuy is held in June - after sowing.
In the old days, preparations for Sabantuy took a long time and carefully - the girls weaved, sewed, embroidered scarves, towels, shirts with a national pattern; everyone wanted her creation to become a reward for the strongest dzhigit - the winner in the national wrestling or in the races. And young people went from house to house and collected gifts, sang songs, joked. Gifts were tied to a long pole, sometimes jigits tied themselves with collected towels and did not take them off until the end of the ceremony.
For the time of Sabantuy, a council of respected aksakals was elected - all power in the village passed to them, they appointed a jury to reward the winners, and kept order during the competitions.
Sabantuy starts in the morning. Women put on their most beautiful jewelry, ribbons are woven into the manes of horses, bells are hung from the arc. Everyone dresses up and gathers on the Maidan - a large meadow.
There are a lot of entertainments on Sabantuy. The main thing is, of course, the national wrestling kuresh. Usually, two weeks before the Sabantuy, the contenders for victory in this competition stopped going to field work and ate as much fresh eggs, butter, honey as they liked, gained strength to defend the honor of their native village. It takes a lot of strength, cunning and dexterity to win in kuresh. The fight takes place according to strict rules: opponents wrap wide belts around each other, the task is to hang the opponent on his sash in the air, and then put him on his shoulder blades. The winner of kuresh - an absolute batyr - receives a live ram as a reward and with him on his shoulders makes a circle of honor. True, in recent times, a ram has often been replaced with some other valuable prize - a TV, a refrigerator, a washing machine, or even a car. You can demonstrate your strength, dexterity, courage not only in wrestling kuresh.
Traditional Sabantuy competitions:
- Fight with bags of hay astride a log. The goal is to knock the enemy out of the saddle.
- Running in bags. Only they are so narrow that running turns into jumps.
- Pair competition: one leg is tied to the partner's leg - and run to the finish line!
- Hike for the prize on an inclined swinging log. Only real equilibrists can do it!
- Squeezing a two-pound kettlebell.
- The game "Break the pot": the participants are blindfolded, given a long stick in their hands and told to break the pot with it. Climbing up a very high smooth pillar. Upstairs, of course, waiting for a prize.
- Run with a spoon in your mouth. But the spoon is not empty, it contains a raw egg, with which you must run first to the finish line.
- Horse racing. Participants are young riders 10-15 years old. An interesting point: not only the winner is awarded, but also the one who came last. Indeed - there should not be offended and sad people at the holiday!
- Competitions for girls - who will cut noodles faster and better, who will bring more water.
And what's a party without food! Here and there you can taste barbecue, pilaf of homemade noodles (lyaksha) and traditional Tatar treats: echpochmak, bishbarmak, chak-chak, balish, paryamyach.
After the general Sabantuy on the Maidan, the fun continues in the houses - and guests are always invited, because a holiday without guests among the Tatars is considered a sign of unsociableness.

Rites of the Tatars at the birth of a child
The birth of a child was accompanied by a number of obligatory rituals, which had both purely ritual and practical significance. At the end of XIX - beginning of XX century. in most cases, births were taken by midwives - ebi (literally - grandmother), bala ebise (midwife), kendek ebi (literally - umbilical grandmother). Cases of the birth of children in the house with the help of a midwife were still quite frequent in the 40-50s of the XX century. The occupation of midwives was called ebilek. But in case of urgent need and in the absence of ebi, the next older relatives of the woman in labor could also take delivery.
As soon as the child was born, the midwife, cutting off and tying the umbilical cord, washed the baby and wrapped him in his father's undershirt. It was believed that this helps to establish a strong relationship of mutual respect and love between father and child. Then the avyzlandyru ritual was performed (meaning to give a taste). For a newborn, they made a semblance of a pacifier - a lump of bread chewed with butter and honey was wrapped in a thin cloth and allowed to suck. Sometimes they simply smeared the child's mouth with oil and honey or honey solution - zemzem su. The ceremony was accompanied by traditional wishes of happiness, health, abilities, well-being to the newborn.
The next day they arranged babai munchasy (literally - a children's bath). After visiting the bathhouse by the household, when it became not hot, the midwife helped the young mother to wash and bathe the baby.
A few days later, in the house where the child was born, the ceremony of isem kushu (naming) was held. They invited the mullah and guests - men from among relatives and acquaintances of the family. The mullah opened the ceremony with a traditional prayer, then a child was brought to him on a pillow, and he turned to the Almighty, urging him to take the newborn under his protection. After that, he whispered the azan (a call to prayer for devout Muslims) into the baby's ear and pronounced the name of the newborn. Names for children were chosen, as a rule, by mullahs who had special calendars - names. Since ancient times, names from religious canonical legends have prevailed in them. It was believed that the further future of the baby and his fate depended on the name. The choice depended on many reasons. In poor families, they tried to choose a name that symbolizes wealth and prosperity, if the child looked weak, they chose a name that reflects the strength of the spirit and body, etc.
An ancient communal tradition of the Tatars includes the rite of treating byabai ashy (mae). For several days, friends, neighbors and relatives of the young mother came to visit her and brought treats with them, and sometimes gifts. Byabai ashy (mae) still exists.

Traditions

Each nation has its own traditions and customs, rooted in the distant past and resurrected now in the form of national holidays.

Tatars have two words meaning holiday. Religious Muslim holidays are called by the word gaet (ayet) (Uraza gaet - the holiday of fasting and Korban gaet - the holiday of the sacrifice). And all folk, non-religious holidays in Tatar are called beyrem, which means "spring beauty", "spring celebration".

Religious holidays

Muslim holidays among the Muslim Tatars include a collective morning prayer, in which only men participate. Then they go to the cemetery and pray near the graves of their relatives and friends. And women at this time prepare a festive dinner at home. As in the Russian tradition, on holidays they went to the houses of relatives and neighbors with congratulations. On the days of Korban Bayram (the holiday of the sacrifice), they tried to treat as many people as possible with meat from a slaughtered lamb.

RAMADAN (Ramazan) (in the Turkic languages, the name Uraza is more common) is the ninth month of the Muslim calendar, the month of fasting. According to Islamic tradition, in this month the first divine revelation was transmitted to the Prophet Muhammad through the angel Jibril, which later became part of the holy book of Islam - the Koran.

Fasting in Ramadan is one of the main duties of every Muslim. It is prescribed to strengthen Muslims in self-discipline and the exact execution of the orders of Allah. During the entire daylight hours (from sunrise to sunset) it is forbidden to eat, drink, smoke, enjoy pleasures and indulge in entertainment. During the day one should work, pray, read the Qur'an, engage in pious thoughts and deeds and charity.

KORBAN BAYRAM or the Feast of Sacrifice is the Islamic holiday of the end of the Hajj, celebrated on the 10th day of the twelfth month of the Islamic lunar calendar.

According to the Koran, Jabrail appeared to the prophet Ibrahim in a dream and conveyed to him a command from Allah to sacrifice his first-born Ismail. Ibrahim went to the valley of Mina to the place where Mecca now stands and began preparations, but this turned out to be a test from Allah, and when the sacrifice was almost made, Allah replaced for Ibrahim the sacrifice of a son with a sacrifice of a lamb. The holiday symbolizes mercy, the majesty of God and the fact that faith is the best sacrifice.

Celebration of this day begins early in the morning. Muslims go to the mosque for morning prayers. The rite of the holiday begins with a common prayer - prayer. At the end of the prayer, the imam, who read the prayer, asks Allah to accept fasting, forgiveness of sins and prosperity. After that, the believers, sorting through the tasbih (taspih), read the dhikr collectively. Dhikr is performed according to a special formula and in a special way, out loud or to oneself, and is accompanied by certain body movements. At the end of the morning prayer, believers return home.

On this day, it is also customary to slaughter a ram, although earlier a camel or a bull was slaughtered (with the words “Bismillah, Allah Akbar”), it is also customary to distribute alms (share treats from lamb). According to the established tradition, it is customary to use a third of the meat to treat your family, give a third to the poor, and distribute a third as alms to those who ask for it.

Folk holidays

Spring is a time of awakening of nature, a time of renewal and expectations. A good spring is to be a good harvest, and therefore a prosperous life.

Boz carau

As in the cultures and traditions of all peoples, Tatar villages were located on the banks of rivers. Therefore, the first "spring celebration" (beyrem) is associated with ice drift. This holiday is called boz karau, boz bagu - “to watch the ice”, boz ozatma - seeing off the ice, zin kitu - ice drift. All the inhabitants of the village came out to watch the ice drift on the river bank. The youth dressed up, played the accordion. Straw was laid out and lit on floating ice floes.

Yangyr Yau

Another of the traditions, when in early spring the children went home in their village to collect cereals, butter, eggs. From the food they collected on the street with the help of older cooks, the children boiled porridge in a large cauldron and ate it.

Kyzyl yomorka

A little later came the day of collecting painted eggs. The housewives dyed eggs in the evening - most often in a decoction of onion peel and in a decoction of birch leaves and baked buns and pretzels.

In the morning, the children began to walk around the houses, brought wood chips into the house and scattered them on the floor - so that “the yard was not empty” and shouted out some kind of chants-chants, for example, “Kyt-kytyyk, kyt-kytyyk, are grandfather and grandmother at home? Will they give you an egg? Let you have many chickens, let the roosters trample them. If you do not give an egg, there is a lake in front of your house, you will drown there!

Sabantuy

Perhaps the most massive and popular holiday now includes folk festivals, various rituals and games. Literally, "sabantuy" means "Feast of the Plow" (saban - plow and tui - holiday). Previously, it was celebrated before the start of spring field work in April, now Sabantuy is celebrated in June - after sowing.

Sabantuy starts in the morning. Women put on their most beautiful jewelry, ribbons are woven into the manes of horses, bells are hung from the arc. Everyone dresses up and gathers on the Maidan - a large meadow. There are a lot of entertainments on Sabantuy. The main thing is the national wrestling - kuresh. To win it requires strength, cunning and dexterity. There are strict rules: opponents wrap wide belts around each other - sashes, the task is to hang the opponent on his belt in the air, and then put him on his shoulder blades. The winner (batyr) receives a live ram as a reward (according to tradition, but now they are more often replaced with other valuable gifts). You can participate and demonstrate your strength, dexterity, courage not only in wrestling kuresh.

Traditional Sabantuy competitions:

Fight with bags of hay astride a log. The goal is to knock the enemy out of the saddle.

Run in bags.

Pair competition: one leg is tied to the leg of a partner and so they run to the finish line.

Campaign for a prize on a swinging log.

The game "Break the pot": the participant is blindfolded, given a long stick in his hands, with which he must break the pot.

Climbing a high pole with prizes tied at the top.

Run with a spoon in your mouth. On the spoon is a raw egg. Whoever comes running first without breaking the valuable cargo is the winner.

Contests for Tatar beauties - who will cut noodles faster and better.

In the glade where the festivities are held, you can taste shish kebab, homemade noodle pilaf and national Tatar treats: chak-chak, echpochmak, balish, peremyach.

Rites of the Tatars at the birth of a child

A number of obligatory rituals accompanied the birth of a child. Previously, births were taken by midwives - bala ebise (midwife). The occupation of midwives was called ebilek. The midwife cut off and tied the umbilical cord, washed the baby, wrapped him in his father's undershirt. Then the avyzlandyru ritual (“give a taste”) was performed. A lump of bread chewed with butter and honey was wrapped in a thin cloth, made something like a pacifier and allowed to suck on a newborn. Sometimes they simply smeared the child's mouth with oil and honey or honey solution - zemzem su.

The next day, the rite of byabai munchasy (“children’s bath”) took place. The bath was heated, and the midwife helped the woman in labor to wash and bathe the baby. A few days later, they arranged the rite of isem kushu (naming the name). They invited the mullah and guests - men from among relatives and acquaintances of the family, set the table with refreshments. The mullah read a prayer, then a child was brought to him, and he turned to Allah, urging him to take the newborn under his protection. After that, he whispered in the baby's ear his name in Arabic sound. Names for children were chosen, as a rule, by mullahs who had special calendars with names. It was believed that the future fate of the child depends on the name.

An ancient tradition of the Tatars also includes the rite of treating byabai ashy. For several days, friends, neighbors and relatives of the woman in labor came to visit her and brought treats and gifts with them.

Tatar wedding ceremonies

Any marriage was preceded by a conspiracy, in which the yauchi (matchmaker) and one of the older relatives participated on the part of the groom. If the bride's parents agreed to the marriage, during the conspiracy, issues were resolved about the size of the kalym, the bride's dowry, the time of the wedding, and the number of invited guests. After the conclusion of the “marriage contract”, the bride was called yarashylgan kyz - a betrothed girl. Preparations for the wedding began. The groom collected bride price, bought gifts for the bride, her parents and relatives, bought things for the future home. The bride completed the preparation of the dowry, which she began to collect from the age of 12-14. Basically it was clothes for myself and my future husband.

The wedding ritual and wedding feast took place in the bride's house. The groom was in the house of his parents, and the bride, surrounded by her friends, spent the day in the so-called house of the newlyweds (kiyau eye - literal house of the groom), which served as the house of the closest relatives. The girls were guessing, trying to find out the fate of the bride in marriage.

In the wedding meeting (tui), the mullah performed the ritual of marriage, which opened with a prayer appropriate to the occasion. After reading the marriage prayer, the marriage was considered concluded.

At this time, the bride saw off her friends and sisters, after which the ritual uryn kotlau was performed - the consecration of the bed of the newlyweds. Guests from the bride's side came to kiau eye, each of them had to touch the feather bed with their hands or sit on the edge of the bed. Guests left several coins in a specially prepared saucer.

By evening, the groom, accompanied by his friends (kiyau zhegetlere), went to the place of marriage. The groom and his entourage were met with a series of rituals, many of which were in the nature of practical jokes. After the ritual treat of the groom, the guests escorted him to the bride. To get into her house, he paid a ransom (kiyau akchasy).

The next morning, the newlyweds were invited to the bath (tui munchasy). Later, the comrades of the groom came to inquire about the health of the young (hal belerge). Guests were invited into the house and treated to dinner. In the afternoon, a rite is performed - the shoyu arch (lit. caressing on the back). The bride was invited to the hut where the women feasted. She was seated on her knees facing the corner. The girl expressed resignation to fate with a lyrical song. The groom's mother (kodagy), her sisters (kodagyylar), the elder sister of the groom (oly kodagy) approached the bride in turn and stroked her on the back, spoke kind words or instructed how to behave with her husband. After that, kodagyylar (matchmakers) gave gifts or money to the bride. By evening, the guests were leaving for their homes.

After this stage of the wedding, the groom remained with the bride, but after a week he returned to his house. The young wife continued to live with her relatives. Her husband visited her every night. This was called kiyaulep yererge (groom). So time passed from six months to 2 years. At this time, the husband either rebuilt a new house for his family, or earned money to pay the full amount of bride price.

The second wedding feast (kalyn, kalyn tui) began with the young woman moving in. At the appointed hour, the groom sent a decorated cart with horses for the bride. A young wife got into the wagon, and the dowry was packed. The parents of the wife, then the matchmakers and matchmakers, were seated in other carts, and the cortege set off. In the house of kiyau (husband), his parents and relatives met the guests. The elder sister (oly kodagy) or the mother of the groom held a freshly baked loaf of bread and a cup of honey in their hands. One of the men brought a calf to the wagon - a symbol of prosperity. A pillow was placed on the ground. The daughter-in-law descended from the cart, leaning on the calf, and stood on the pillow. Then she broke off a piece of the loaf with her hands and, dipping it in honey, ate it.

Then the young woman performed the ritual of consecrating the dwelling, sprinkling the corners and foundation of her new home. It was assumed that after that she would get along better with her new parents and quickly get used to the house. Sometimes a young wife was sent with a yoke for water (su yuly) to the nearest spring or river. At the same time, they monitored how much water would spill from the buckets: the less, the more respect for the daughter-in-law.

We constantly communicate with representatives of different nations, perceive their culture, because more than 150 nationalities live in the Samara region. And the second largest ethnic group in the Samara region are Tatars (126,124 people, which is 4.1% of the total population). Do you know anything about their traditions and customs?

Historically, a large role in the ritual life of the Tatars of the Samara Volga region was occupied by the Muslim religious calendar. And the most significant holiday in this calendar is Uraza-Bayram, associated with the end of the 30-day Muslim fast, during which they refrain from eating and drinking from sunrise to sunset. The terms of fasting, as well as the dates of the holiday itself, are mobile and every year they come (according to the Gregorian calendar) 11 days earlier.

Many of us have heard about such a famous Tatar holiday as Sabantuy, which did not have an exact calendar date and day of the week, but was celebrated depending on the readiness of the land for sowing. Initially, the purpose of the festive rites was to appease the spirits of fertility, contributing to a good harvest. But over time, magical rites lost their meaning, and Sabantuy turned into a fun folk holiday, marking the beginning of field work. It was not customary to invite guests from other villages to Sabantuy - they gradually drove up on their own, because of which the holiday dragged on for several days. Preparation for the holiday began in advance and consisted in cleaning the house, yard and street, as well as in preparing the appropriate dishes. For the celebration, they found meydan - flat hollows, glades surrounded by trees and
a bush where sports competitions were held: keresh - wrestling on sashes, the winner of which received one of the best towels; running for short distances (up to 1-2 km) with a finish on the meydan; races for 5-8 km with a finish also on the Maidan. Participation in the latter was prestigious, so everyone who could exhibit horses. Riders were teenagers 8-12 years old. All participants in the races were awarded: the winner also received one of the best towels, the owner of the winning horse - a Saban, a harrow. Even the last horse to arrive was tied with a towel, specially agreed upon by the donor, as a "consolation" prize. An obligatory element of Sabantuy was evening youth games. They were arranged either on the meydan, or on the traditional places of games - in meadows or clearings.

Family ceremonies also play an important role, in which the wedding occupies a central place. The main wedding ceremony is nikah tui, which was held in the bride's house. The groom's parents with 3-5 pairs of guests brought kalym and refreshments. The wedding began with the religious ceremony of marriage nikah (keben). The mullah wrote down the conditions of his imprisonment, and then asked the consent of the young to marry. His father was responsible for the groom, two witnesses for the bride (she was hidden behind a curtain at that time), after which the mullah read excerpts from the Koran. Then, with the removal of honey and butter, the feast began. In a certain sequence, the guests were treated to the obligatory wedding dishes. In the bride's house, the wedding was played for 2-3 days, after which it continued with relatives.

A special place in the family rituals of the Tatars is occupied by funeral and memorial rites. According to tradition, older people prepare for death in advance. Each woman collects for herself and her husband things necessary for burial, material for shroud - kefenlek and towels, as well as things for distribution in the form of gifts - sadaka: cuts of fabrics, shirts, scarves, towels, etc. They try to carry out the funeral as soon as possible, as a rule, the day after death.

Of course, in the modern world there is a blurring of traditional national features, but in general, the Samara Tatars retain their language and cultural characteristics that are characteristic of their ethnic group.

The material was prepared by students of the School of Interethnic Journalism in Samara

Text: Rufiya Kutlyaeva

Photo: Rufiya Kutlyaeva, Valeria Kutsenko