The customs and traditions of the Bashkirs, folk holidays, entertainment and leisure contain elements of economic, labor, educational, aesthetic, religious nature. Their main tasks were to strengthen the unity of the people and preserve the identity of culture.
What language is spoken in Bashkiria?
Bashkirs speak Bashkir, which combines features from the Kipchak, Tatar, Bulgar, Arabic, Persian and Russian languages. It is also the official language of Bashkortostan, but it is also spoken in other areas of the Russian Federation.
The Bashkir language is divided into Kuwanki, Burzyansky, Yurmatinsky dialects and many others. Only phonetic differences exist between them, but despite this, the Bashkirs and Tatars easily understand each other.
Modern Bashkir language developed in the mid-1920s. Most of the vocabulary consists of words of ancient Turkic origin. In the Bashkir language there are no prepositions, prefixes and clan. Words are formed using affixes. In pronunciation, stress plays a large role.
Until the 1940s, the Bashkirs used the Volga Central Asian script, and then switched to the Cyrillic alphabet.
Bashkiria as part of the USSR
Before joining the USSR, Bashkiria consisted of cantons - territorial-administrative units. The Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was the first autonomous republic in the territory of the former USSR. It was formed on March 23, 1919 and was controlled from Sterlitamak in the Ufa province due to the lack of an urban settlement in the Orenburg province.
On March 27, 1925, the Constitution was adopted, according to which the Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic retained the canton structure, and the people could, along with Russian, use the Bashkir language in all spheres of public life.
On December 24, 1993, after the dispersal of the Supreme Council of Russia, the Republic of Bashkortostan adopted the new Constitution.
Bashkir people
In the second millennium BC e. the territory of modern Bashkortostan was inhabited by the ancient Bashkir tribes of the Caucasian race. On the territory of the Southern Urals and the steppes around it there were many peoples who influenced the customs and traditions of the Bashkirs. In the south lived the Iranian-speaking Sarmatians - pastoralists, and in the north - landowners-hunters, the ancestors of the future Finno-Ugric peoples.
The beginning of the first millennium was marked by the arrival of the Mongol tribes, who paid great attention to the culture and appearance of the Bashkirs.
After the Golden Horde was defeated, the Bashkirs fell under the rule of three khanates - the Siberian, Nogai and Kazan.
The formation of the Bashkir people ended in the IX-X centuries BC. e., and after joining the Moscow state in the 15th century, the Bashkirs rallied and the name of the territory populated by the people — Bashkiria — became firmly established.
Of all world religions, Islam and Christianity are the most common, which had an important influence on Bashkir folk customs.
The lifestyle was semi-nomadic and, accordingly, the housing was temporary and nomadic. Permanent Bashkir houses, depending on the terrain, could be stone brick or log houses, in which there were windows, unlike temporary ones, where the latter were absent. The photo above shows a traditional Bashkir house - a yurt.
What was the traditional Bashkir family?
Until the 19th century, a small family dominated among the Bashkirs. But often it was possible to meet an undivided family, where married sons lived with their father and mother. The reason is the presence of common economic interests. Typically, families were monogamous, but often it was possible to meet a family where a man had several wives - with bais or members of the clergy. Bashkirs from less well-off families married a second time, if the wife was childless, seriously ill, and could not take part in chores or the man remained a widower.
The head of the Bashkir family was the father - he gave orders regarding not only property, but also the fate of the children, and his word was decisive in all matters.
Bashkir women had a different position in the family, depending on age. The mother of the family was respected and respected by all, along with the head of the family, she was dedicated to all family matters, and she supervised household chores.
After the marriage of the son (or sons), the burden of household chores fell on the shoulders of the daughter-in-law, and the mother-in-law only watched her work. The young woman had to cook for the whole family, clean the house, keep an eye on clothes and take care of cattle. In some areas of Bashkiria, the daughter-in-law did not have the right to show her face to other family members. This situation was explained by the dogmas of religion. But the Bashkirs still had a certain degree of independence - if she was mistreated, she could demand a divorce and take away the property that was given to her as a dowry. Life after a divorce did not bode well - the husband had the right not to give up children or demand a ransom from her family. Other than that, she could not remarry.
Today, many traditions associated with weddings are being revived. One of them - the bride and groom put on the Bashkir national costume. Its main features were layering and a variety of colors. The Bashkir national costume was made of home cloth, felt, sheepskin, leather, fur, hemp and nettle canvas.
What holidays are celebrated by the Bashkirs?
The customs and traditions of the Bashkirs are clearly reflected in the holidays. They can be conditionally divided into:
- State - New Year, Defender of the Fatherland Day, Flag Day, Ufa City Day, Republic Day, Constitution Day.
- Religious - Uraza Bayram (celebration of the completion of the fast in Ramadan); Kurban Bayram (festival of sacrifice); Mawlid en Nabi (birthday of the Prophet Muhammad).
- National - Yiynyn, Kargatui, Sabantuy, Kyakuk Syaye.
State and religious holidays are celebrated almost identically throughout the country, and they practically lack the traditions and rites of the Bashkirs. In contrast, nationals fully reflect the culture of the nation.
Sabantuy, or Khabantuy, was observed after sowing from about the end of May until the end of June. Long before the holiday, a group of young people went from house to house and collected prizes and decorated the square - Maidan, where all the festive events were supposed to take place. The most valuable prize was a towel made by a young daughter-in-law, as the woman was a symbol of the renewal of the family, and the holiday was timed to coincide with the renewal of the earth. On Sabantui day, a pole was installed in the center of the Maidan, which was greased with oil on the day of the holiday, and an embroidered towel fluttered at the top, which was considered a prize, and only the most dexterous could rise to it and take it. There were many different amusements at Sabantuy - fighting sacks of hay or wool on a log, running with an egg in a spoon or sacks, but the main thing was racing and wrestling - kuresh, in which opponents tried to knock down or pull an opponent with a grabbed towel. The aksakals watched the fighting, and the winner, the batyr, received a slaughtered ram. After the struggle on the Maidan, they sang songs and danced.
Kargatuy, or Karg Butkakhy, is a celebration of the awakening of nature, which had different scenarios depending on the geographical location. But common traditions can be considered cooking millet porridge. It was carried out in nature and was accompanied not only by a collective meal, but also by bird feeding. This pagan holiday was before Islam - the Bashkirs turned to the gods with a request for rain. Kargatuy also could not do without dancing, songs and sports competitions.
Kyakuk Saye was a women's holiday and also had pagan roots. It was celebrated by the river or on the mountain. Celebrated it from May to July. Women with refreshments walked to the place of celebration, each made a wish and listened to a bird flutter. If sonorous, then the desired desire was fulfilled. Various games were also held at the festival.
Yoynin was a men's holiday, since only men took part in it. They celebrated it on the day of the summer equinox after the national meeting, at which important issues on the affairs of the village were decided. The council ended with a holiday for which they had prepared in advance. Later it became a common holiday, in which both men and women participated.
What wedding customs and traditions do the Bashkirs observe?
Both family and wedding traditions were formed under the influence of social and economic changes in society.
Bashkirs could marry relatives no closer than the fifth generation. The age of marriage for girls is 14 years, and for boys is 16. With the advent of the USSR, the age was increased to 18 years.
The Bashkir wedding took place in 3 stages - matchmaking, marriage and the holiday itself.
Dear people from the groom's family or the father himself went to the girl. With the consent, kalym, wedding expenses and the size of the dowry were discussed. Often, children were wooed as infants and, having discussed their future, parents fixed their words with a bat - divorced water koumiss or honey, which was drunk from one bowl.
They did not take into account the feelings of the young and could easily pass off the girl as an old man, since the marriage was often concluded on the basis of material considerations.
After conspiracy, families could visit each other's houses. The visits were accompanied by feasts of matchmaking, and only men could participate in them, and women in some areas of Bashkiria.
After most of the kalym was paid, the bride's relatives came to the groom's house, and in honor of this a feast was arranged.
The next stage is the marriage ceremony, which took place in the bride's house. Here the mullah recited a prayer and declared young husband and wife. From this moment until the full payment of kalym, the husband had the right to visit his wife.
After the kalym was paid in full, the wedding (thuja), which took place in the house of the bride's parents, managed. On the appointed day, guests came from the side of the girl and the groom came with his family and relatives. Usually the wedding lasted three days - on the first day everyone was treated to the bride, on the second - the groom. On the third, a young wife left her father's house. The first two days, horse racing, wrestling and games were held, and on the third, ritual songs and traditional lamentations were performed. Before leaving, the bride went around relatives' houses and gave them gifts - fabrics, woolen threads, scarves and towels. In response, she was given cattle, bird or money. After that, the girl said goodbye to her parents. She was escorted by one of the relatives - a maternal uncle, an older brother or girlfriends, and there was a matchmaker with her to the groom's house. The wedding train was led by the groom's family.
After the young woman crossed the threshold of a new house, she had to kneel down three times in front of her father-in-law and mother-in-law, and then give gifts to everyone.
On the morning after the wedding, accompanied by a younger girl in the house, the young wife went to a local source for water and threw a silver coin there.
Before the birth of the child, the daughter-in-law avoided her husband’s parents, hid her face and did not talk to them.
In addition to the traditional wedding, bride abductions were not uncommon. Similar wedding traditions of Bashkirs took place in poor families who thus wanted to avoid wedding spending.
Maternity Rites
The news of the pregnancy was welcomed in the family with joy. From that moment, the woman was freed from hard physical labor, and she was protected from experiences. It was believed that if she looks at everything beautiful, then the child will certainly be born beautiful.
During birth, a midwife was invited, and all other family members temporarily left the house. If necessary, only a husband could enter a woman in labor. The midwife was considered the second mother of the child and therefore enjoyed great honor and respect. She entered the house with her right foot and wished the woman an easy birth. If the birth was difficult, a series of rituals were carried out - they shook an empty leather bag in front of the woman in childbirth or gently beat him on the back, washed him with water that was used to wipe the holy books.
After birth, the midwife carried out the next maternity ceremony - she cut the umbilical cord on a book, board or boot, since they were considered amulets, then the umbilical cord and the latter were dried, wrapped in clean cloth (kefen) and buried in a secluded place. Launched items that were used during childbirth were also buried there.
The newborn was immediately placed in the cradle, and the midwife gave him a temporary name, and on the 3rd, 6th or 40th day, a celebration of the spelling of the name (isem tuyu) was held. Mullah, relatives and neighbors were invited to the holiday. Mullah placed the newborn on a pillow in the direction of the Kaaba and read in turn in both ears his or her name. Then dinner was served with national dishes. During the ceremony, the baby's mother presented gifts to the midwife, mother-in-law and her mother - a dress, scarf, shawl or money.
One of the elderly women, most often a neighbor, cut off a bundle of hair of a child and laid it between the pages of the Koran. Since then, she was considered the “hair” mother of the baby. Two weeks after birth, the father shaved the baby's hair, and it was stored along with the umbilical cord.
If a boy was born in the family, then in addition to the rite of admonition, a Sunnat was performed - circumcision. It was carried out in 5-6 months or from 1 year to 10 years. The rite was obligatory, and it could be carried out by the oldest man in the family, or by a specially hired person - a babai. He went from one village to another and offered his services for a nominal fee. Before circumcision, a prayer was read, and after or a few days later a holiday was arranged - the Sunnat Thuy.
How to see off the deceased?
Islam had a great influence on the funeral and memorial rites of the Bashkirs. But one could also meet elements of pre-Islamic beliefs.
The funeral process included five stages:
- ceremonies associated with the protection of the deceased;
- preparation for burial;
- seeing off the deceased;
- burial place;
- wake.
If a person was near death, then a mullah or a person who knows prayers was invited to him, and he read the Surah “Yasin” from the Koran. Muslims believe that this will ease the torment of the dying and drive away evil spirits from him.
If a person has already died, then they laid him on a hard surface, extended his arms along his body and laid something rigid on his chest over his clothes or a sheet of paper with a prayer from the Koran. The deceased was considered dangerous, and therefore he was guarded, and they tried to bury him as quickly as possible - if he died in the morning, then before noon, and if in the afternoon, then until the first half of the next day. One of the remnants of pre-Islamic times is to bring alms to the deceased, which was then distributed to the needy. One could see the face of the deceased before washing. The body was washed by special people who were considered important along with the diggers of the grave. They were also given the most expensive gifts. When they began to dig a niche in the grave, then the process of washing the deceased began, in which 4 to 8 people took part. First, the washing ones performed a ritual bath, and then they washed the deceased, doused with water and wiped them dry. Then the dead man was wrapped in three layers in a shroud of nettle or hemp fabric, and between the layers a leaf was placed with the verses from the Koran so that the deceased could answer the questions of the angels. For the same purpose, the inscription “There is no god but Allah and Muhammad His Prophet” was imitated on the chest of the deceased. The shroud was tied with a rope or strips of fabric over his head, in a belt and on his knees. If this was a woman, then before wrapping in a shroud they put on a scarf, a bib and pants. After washing, the deceased was transferred to a bast covered with a curtain or carpet.
When the deceased was carried away, they were given livestock or money as a gift to someone who would pray for the soul of the deceased. They usually turned out to be a mullah, and all those present were given alms. According to legend, so that the dead man did not return, they carried him forward with their feet. After removal, the house and things were washed. When 40 steps were left to the gates of the cemetery, a special prayer was read - ynaza namaz. Before the burial, a prayer was read again, and the deceased, on his hands or towels, was lowered into the grave and laid facing the Kaaba. The niche was covered with boards so that the earth did not fall on the deceased.
After the last lump of earth fell on the grave, everyone sat down around the mound and the mullah recited a prayer, and at the end charity was heard.
The funeral process was completed by the wake. They, unlike the funeral, were not religiously regulated. They were celebrated on days 3, 7, 40 and a year later. On the table, besides national dishes, there was always fried food, since the Bashkirs believed that this smell drove away evil spirits and helped the deceased easily answer angels' questions. After the funeral feast, at the first funeral ceremonies, they distributed alms to everyone who participated in the funeral - the mullah that guarded the dead, washed and digged the grave. Often, in addition to shirts, bibs and other things, they gave skeins of thread, which, according to ancient beliefs, symbolized the transmigration of the soul with their help. The second commemoration was arranged on the 7th day and took place in the same way as the first.
Wake-ups on the 40th day were the main ones, since it was believed that until that moment the soul of the deceased wandered around the house, and at 40 they finally left this world. Therefore, all relatives were invited to such commemoration and set up a generous table: "guests were received as matchmakers." Be sure to slaughter a horse, a ram or a heifer and served national dishes. The invited mullah recited prayers and charity was distributed.
The commemoration was repeated a year later, which completed the funeral rite.
What customs of mutual assistance did the Bashkirs have?
The customs and traditions of the Bashkirs also included mutual assistance. Usually they preceded the holidays, but could be a separate phenomenon. The most popular are Kaz Umaha (Goose help) and Kis Ultyryu (Evening gatherings).
Under Kaz Umakh, a few days before the holidays, the hostess went around the houses of other women friends and invited her to help. Everyone happily agreed and, wearing all the most beautiful, gathered in the house of the inviter.
An interesting hierarchy was observed here - the owner killed the geese, the women plucked, and the young girls washed the birds at the hole. On the shore of the girls were waiting for the young men who played the harmonica and sang songs. Back to the house, the girls and boys returned together, and while the hostess was preparing a rich soup with goose noodles, the invitees played "forfeits." To do this, the girls gathered things in advance - ribbons, scallops, scarves, rings, and the driver asked a question to one of the girls, who stood with her back to her: “What is the job of the mistress of this fantasy?” Among them were such as singing, dancing, telling a story, playing the kubyz or looking at the stars with one of the young people.
The hostess of the house invited relatives to Kis Ultyryu. Girls were engaged in sewing, knitting and embroidery.
Having finished the work brought, the girls helped the hostess. Legends and fairy tales were necessarily told, music sounded, songs were sung and dances were performed. The hostess served guests tea, sweets and pies.
