In languages, the holiday is called tat. Sabantuy, Sabantuy and head habantuy accordingly. The name was also common among the Tatars Saban beyreme (bәyrәm also means "holiday").
The Chuvash have a similar holiday, which was previously called Chuvash. sukhat - “plowing” (mountain Chuvash) and Chuvash. sapan tuiĕ - “festival of the plow” or peregrine(lower Chuvash), but now everywhere it is called akatuy (Chuvash. akatuy).
The Mari name for a similar holiday has a similar etymology - Agapairem.
A similar holiday of the Tatarstan Mordovians - Baltai has a Tatar etymology and means “honey festival”.
A similar holiday called UDM. Gerber also exists among the Udmurts.
The peoples of the North Caucasus, the Balkars and Nogais also celebrate a similar holiday, which they call Sabanta. The Kazakhs also use the same word to denote a similar holiday.
In modern Russian, the name “Sabantuy” has become a common noun and often means any (not necessarily festive) feast.
History of Sabantuy
The origins of the celebration of Sabantuy go back to ancient times and are associated with the agrarian cult. The original purpose of this rite was probably to appease the fertility spirits in order to favor a good harvest in the new year.
According to some studies, this ancient holiday has a thousand-year history. So back in 921 of the Christian era, the famous explorer Ibn Fadlan, who arrived in Bulgar as an ambassador from Baghdad, described it in his writings [ ] . In 1979, F. S. Khakimzyanov discovered the only epitaph of the Bulgarian period, presumably from 1292, in the Alkeevsky region of Tatarstan, containing the inscription “Saban tuj kon ati” - “Day of Sabantuy”.
Celebration of Sabantuy in the past
Until the end of the 19th century, Sabantuy was celebrated in the spring and summer before the start of plowing after kargatuy.
The celebration of Sabantuy was generally the same, but had a number of features among various ethnographic groups of Bashkirs, Tatars and Chuvash. For example, if the Western and Southwestern Bashkirs held Sabantuy the day after the Kargatuya holiday, then the Eastern Bashkirs held it after.
Sabantui at present
Changing traditions
Sabantuy is a beloved and widespread folk holiday. Therefore, it has been celebrated from ancient times to the present day, interrupted only during wars and other difficult periods of life. However, upon the return of peaceful life, the celebration of Sabantuy was resumed. Research in recent years shows that Sabantui consisted of an alternation of rituals that were performed in early spring - from the first melting of snow to the beginning of sowing. This holiday existed in most Tatar villages and large Tatar communities around the world. In its implementation, local differences were observed, caused by the presence or absence of individual rituals.
Over time, the traditions of Sabantuy have changed. Local differences gradually disappeared, and the timing of its celebration became uniform: Sabantui is now celebrated in the summer after the end of spring field work and before the start of mowing during a break in agricultural work.
In general, for Tatarstan, a staged implementation of Sabantuy is observed: first it is celebrated in individual villages and hamlets, collective farms, a week later a regional Sabantuy is held (or on Saturday - in the villages, and on Sunday - in the regional center) Sabantuy. The celebration ends with Sabantuy in major cities and the capital of Tatarstan - Kazan. Previously, Sabantuy was not tied to a specific day of the week and was celebrated by villagers on a day convenient for them, but now a generally accepted day off is designated for the celebration of Sabantuy - Sunday.
Over time, the general form of the holiday took shape, which was not the case in traditional life; a number of stages and outdated rituals disappeared. Gradually, the third version of Sabantuy began to prevail, which consisted of collecting gifts, Maidan and evening youth games.
Gradually, such stages as collecting products for preparing “porridge” (dere botkasy, karga botkasy) and collecting colored eggs from home, in which children participated, disappeared. This was due to the classification of a number of rituals as religious and their prohibition by the Soviet authorities, and to the fact that the collection of food began to be treated as hoarding.
Modern Sabantuy has come to be considered a national holiday. In particular, this was manifested in the fact that it began to be celebrated by those groups of Tatars who had not previously celebrated it: the Nukrat Tatars (the village of Karino in the Slobodsky district of the Kirov region, the Mishar Tatars of the Nizhny Novgorod region, etc.), and in the fact that as a national Tatar The Sabantuy holiday began to be celebrated in those cities where a large Tatar diaspora appeared, for example, in Moscow, Nizhnevartovsk, Megion.
Russians, Udmurts, Maris, Chuvashs, and Bashkirs who live in the neighborhood of the Tatars also take part in Sabantuy.
Sabantuy takes place not only in Russia, but throughout the world.
This holiday is an international national Tatar holiday, which has become a state holiday in Tatarstan, a federal holiday in Russia and an official city holiday in many cities around the world. In addition, on the initiative of local Tatar communities, sabantuis were held privately in cities such as Washington, New York, San Francisco, Berlin, Tashkent, Montreal, Toronto, Prague, Istanbul, Leipzig, Riga and many others.
It should be noted that in Bashkortostan, the once popular holiday is increasingly falling out of fashion among the population, which is probably due to the anachronism of the timing of Sabantuy. Sowing (or rather, burying seeds in the ground), taking into account the extremely dry weather conditions in the republic in recent years, is the very first, but far from the key stage of the agricultural season. So in 1998, Sabantuy in Bashkiria was held at a time when most of the seedlings had already died on the vine due to severe drought in May and June of that year. In this regard, in the minds of the rural population of Bashkiria, it seems more reasonable to hold the main agricultural holiday of the year in the fall following the harvest. As a result, the popularity of Sabantuy as a holiday marking the end of the sowing campaign is increasingly fading away. Village sabantuys have been cancelled, sabantuys are not held in most areas, and in Ufa events have attracted no more than a few hundred people in recent years. In Tatarstan, which has a much more gentle climate in terms of moisture, there is no question of moving the holiday to autumn.
Procedure for holding Sabantuy
The old traditions of Sabantuy are gradually complemented by modern ones, however, the basic order of the holiday is preserved. As a rule, in cities Sabantuy is celebrated on one day on the Maidan, but in the village it consists of two parts - the ritual collection of gifts and the Maidan. Sabantuy in the countryside is a time for receiving guests: relatives and friends, so they prepare for it in advance: they clean and whitewash the house, prepare treats for guests.
Sabantuy begins to be prepared on the eve of the holiday on Saturday or even Friday. One of the stages is collecting gifts. In some villages, for example, Leninogorsk and Menzelinsky districts, up to 50 or more of the best horses are saddled to collect gifts. Young men travel from one end of the village to the other, singing, collecting towels, scarves, pieces of cloth, etc., which are attached to the horses’ bridles. The more gifts collected, the more richly the rider’s horse is decorated, and therefore the young men try to receive as many gifts as possible, agreeing on them in advance with their neighbors, relatives, and acquaintances. If there is no horse, then the young men tie two towels crosswise over their shoulders, on which they hang gifts. In some villages near Kazan, gifts are collected by old elders, who go around the houses and hang the gifts from a pole on their shoulders. Most often, the owner or hostess brings out the gifts themselves and waits for the collectors at the gate. The young men thank those who give gifts with songs, and at the end of the collection they drive through the village with songs and music, showing everyone how many things have been collected.
A gift from a young daughter-in-law is obligatory - Yash Kilen, which traditionally gives an embroidered towel. The best towel was subsequently given to the winner of the Sabantuy competition, which was a great honor for both the Sabantuy batyr and the girl who embroidered the towel. In recent years, due to the disappearance of home production of woven towels, shirts have begun to be donated for sabantuy.
One of the collected towels (traditional towels with red patterned ends - kyzyl bashly selge are still found among the collected gifts) are hung on a long pole at the entrance to the village as a warning about the upcoming Sabantuy.
The tradition of ritual collection of eggs has been preserved, which are given both with a gift and instead of it. Some of the eggs are sold, and the money received is used to buy things needed for the sabantuy. The rest of the eggs are used on the Maidan during comic competitions: wrestlers drink them, etc.
The location of the holiday is designated and equipped in advance. The Maidan is cleared of stones and leveled, sometimes a platform is installed on it. Often the place for the Maidan is permanent, and Sabantuy is celebrated on it from year to year. On the day of Sabantuy, a table with prizes and gifts for the winners is set up on the Maidan, and there are also trading tents and buffets here.
The Sabantuy is opened by one of the leaders of the district or city, congratulating those gathered on the national holiday, and at the main Sabantuy in Kazan - the President of Tatarstan.
After the grand opening of the holiday, the entertainment part begins: singers and dancers perform, who are participants in amateur performances or professional artists.
After the end of the concert, the place and time for the competition are announced. Due to the large crowd of people and the large number of people wishing to take part in the competitions, it is impossible to hold them on the Maidan, but prizes are awarded to the winners only on the Maidan.
One of the most popular types of competitions at Sabantui is still national wrestling - sidekick. The competition begins with two young boys (sometimes two old men), and then schoolchildren, young men, and middle-aged men compete in turn.
The culmination of the struggle and the entire Sabantuy is the struggle of the batyrs - the winners in the preliminary fights and, finally, the two finalists. Fights on the Maidan show the strength, dexterity, skill, courage of the warriors, as well as their nobility and respect for their opponents.
The winner of the competition receives the most valuable gift of Sabantuy, which these days is quite significant: cars, expensive consumer electronics, carpets, washing machines, etc. According to tradition, the winner is given a live ram as a prize.
Maidan served as the beginning of a sports career for many famous wrestlers, and Tatar wrestling Koresh has become a sport in which individual and team championships are held in Tatarstan and Russia.
On the Maidan they compete in lifting weights: weights (one-pound, two-pound), sometimes barbells.
Comic competitions are widespread and are also held on the Maidan. These are various running competitions: running with a spoon in your mouth with an egg placed on it, running with buckets on a yoke filled with water, running in bags, running in twos, when the left leg of one is tied to the right leg of the other. They compete in battle with bags filled with hay and grass, which are carried on a slippery log; compete in a game during which you need to, blindfolded, break a clay pot standing on the ground with a stick. Also popular are tug of war, sticks, and climbing a tall smooth pole with a prize at the top. A live rooster in a cage, boots, etc. are used as a prize.
Competitions are held for singers, readers, and dancers; organize round dances and dances; Together with the craftsmen, they are engaged in various national crafts, for example, forging.
Usually the Maidan lasts from 10-11 am to 2-3 pm. It sells sweets and other goodies, and often hosts family tea parties around the samovar.
After the end of the Maidan in the evening, young people gather for evening games - Kichke uyen(evening Sabantuy) - on the edge of the village, in the meadows, at the site of the daytime Maidan or in a club. Competitions of singers, dancers, and readers are also held here.
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Federal Sabantuy
Federal Sabantuy(tat. Federal Saban Tue, bashk. Federal Khabantuy) is a national holiday held at the federal (all-Russian) level. The national federal holiday Sabantuy took place in the following cities:
- 2001 - Saratov
- 2002 - Tolyatti (Samara region)
- 2003 - Dimitrovgrad (Ulyanovsk region)
- 2004 - Yoshkar-Ola
- 2005 - Saransk
- 2006 - Nizhny Novgorod
- 2007 - Chelyabinsk
- 2008 - Astrakhan
- 2009 - Ulyanovsk
- 2010 - Izhevsk
- 2011 - Yekaterinburg
- 2012 - Vladivostok
- 2013 - Tyumen
- 2014 - Tomsk
- 2015 - Krasnoyarsk
- 2016 - Nizhny Novgorod
- 2017 - Astrakhan
- 2018 - Cheboksary
All-Russian rural Sabantuy
The founders of the All-Russian Rural Sabantuy are the Executive Committee of the World Tatar Congress, the Association of Tatar Villages of Russia and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Tatarstan.
Sabantuy 
The origin of the holiday Sabantuy associated with agricultural work. This is reflected even in the very name of the holiday: “saban” means spring crops (in another meaning of the word - “plow”), “tui” means “wedding”, “celebration”. All together means a celebration in honor of the sowing of spring crops.
As soon as the snow melted from the fields, the old elders gathered and agreed on the day of Sabantuy. Before the appointed day, children in festive new clothes (necessarily in new bast shoes with white cloth stockings) went home at first light to collect cereals, milk, butter, and eggs. The housewives had already baked buns, nuts and dough candies especially for the children.
In some villages, the mistress sat the first boy to enter the house on a pillow and said: "May your feet be light, May there be many hens and chicks". The first one was always given eggs, and he received more gifts than others. And these days, Sabantuy is celebrated in June, when the cycle of spring field work is completed (usually June 25).
When the time for the holiday approaches, dzhigits (young men) ride out on horseback to collect gifts for the winner of the competition. And no one refuses them. Villagers willingly donate embroidered scarves, pieces of chintz, shirts and chicken eggs for the common holiday.
In some villages, up to 50 of the best horses are sometimes saddled. Collected shirts, scarves, and towels are attached to the horse harness. The more gifts collected, the more richly the rider’s horse is decorated. If young men collect gifts without a horse, then they tie a towel crosswise and hang all the gifts on it.
A towel with woven patterns is considered a particularly valuable gift. It is prepared by young women who got married between the last two Sabantuys. Gift collection takes place with funny jokes, practical jokes, songs and jokes.
On the day of Sabantuy, in a spacious meadow not far from the village, a long pole with a beautiful towel tied to it is installed on the Maidan. People flock to the festival from all over the area: they walk, families ride on horseback. Everyone takes out their best clothes from their chests for this day. The harness and manes of the horses are also decorated with patterned towels, flowers, and bells.
Copper pipes make the kopush hurry up, who spend a long time dressing up in their best clothes and taking out from their chests the jewelry they inherited from their great-grandmothers. Guys hurry up their girlfriends with jokes and jokes. After all, the competition is about to begin!
Competitions begin with horse races, and not a single Sabantuy can do without them. Horses participating in competitions are taken 10-15 kilometers from the village, and the finish line is located near the Maidan. The prizes that the winners receive in the races are then tied to the necks of their horses so that everyone can see that this horse with a scarf fluttering behind its mane is well-deserved!
While the horses are still far away, they compete in a race on the Maidan. The boys compete first. The old men take them away from the Maidan, and on command they rush at full speed to the pole with a towel - the Sabantuy flag!
Elsewhere, national sash wrestling is taking place at this time. Two old men start it, then boys, young men and middle-aged men come out one by one. The winner of all fights is called the hero of Sabantuy. From now on he will become a celebrity. Songs will be written about him, legends will be told. But that is not all! With raised hands, the winner must carry away the ram that was given to him as a gift.
And, of course, like at any holiday, Sabantuy is not complete without playful competitions. How not to have fun watching how desperate horsemen try to climb a smooth pole or fight with bags while sitting on a log! General fun also reigns where people run with a spoon in their mouth, which also contains an egg.
But the biggest laughs come from athletes who have one's leg tied to the other's. One pair hobbles ahead, striving for victory, but then the other one overtakes it. This is more fun than taking a coin out of a deep dish of curdled milk with your lips. There used to be such a competition.
Sabantuy (Bashk. ?abantuy, Tat. Saban tuye, Chuvash. Sapan tuye, Akatuy - “Festival of the Plow”) is a folk Bashkir, Tatar and Chuvash holiday. Similar holidays exist among other peoples of the Volga region (Mari, Mordovians, Udmurts) and among some Turkic peoples of the Caucasus (Balkars and Nogais), but they have their own specifics.
There are also some differences in the name of the holiday and the features of celebrating Sabantuy among various ethnographic groups of Tatars, Bashkirs and Chuvash.
Sabantuy is translated from Turkic languages as “wedding (celebration) of the plow” - saban (plough) and tui (holiday, wedding). In the Tatar language the holiday is called tat. Sabantuy or Saban Tue. Also common among the Tatars was the name Saban berme (byrm also means holiday). The Bashkir name of the holiday has a similar etymology, from bashk. haban - plow.
Among the Chuvash, this holiday was previously called Chuvash. Sukhat - plowing (mountain Chuvash) and Chuvash. Sapan Tuye - the holiday of the plow or Sapan (lower Chuvash), but now everywhere it is called Chuvash. attack.
The Mari name for a similar holiday - Agapairem - has a similar etymology.
A similar holiday of the Tatarstan Mordovians - Baltai has Tatar etymology and means the holiday of honey.
A similar holiday called UDM. Gerber also exists among the Udmurts.
The peoples of the North Caucasus, the Balkars and Nogais, also celebrate a similar holiday, which they call Sabanta. The Kazakhs also use the same word to denote a similar holiday.
History of Sabantuy
The origins of the Sabantuy celebration go back to ancient times and are associated with the agrarian cult. The original purpose of this rite was probably to appease the fertility spirits in order to favor a good harvest in the new year.
Previously, Sabantuy was celebrated in honor of the beginning of spring field work (at the end of April), but now in honor of its end (in June).
Research in recent years shows that Sabantuy consisted of an alternation of rituals that were performed in early spring - from the first melting of snow to the beginning of sowing. This holiday existed in most Tatar villages and large Tatar communities around the world. In its implementation, local differences were observed, caused by the presence or absence of individual rituals.
It was first recorded in writing among the Bashkirs in the eighteenth century in the travel notes of the Russian lexicographer, naturalist and traveler Ivan Ivanovich Lepyokhin and the German ethnographer, scientist Georgi Johann Gottlieb.
Sabantui at present
The neutrality of this section of the article has been called into question. There should be details on the talk page.Changing traditions
Kuresh (Tat. Kr?sh) on the Sabantuy holiday. Victory Park, Ulyanovsk (2012) 
Batyr Sabantuy with a prize
Sabantuy is a beloved and widespread folk holiday. Therefore, it has been celebrated from ancient times to the present day, interrupted only during wars and other difficult periods of life. However, upon the return of peaceful life, the celebration of Sabantuy was resumed.
Over time, the traditions of Sabantuy have changed. Local differences gradually disappeared, and the timing of its celebration became uniform: Sabantui is now celebrated in the summer after the end of spring field work and before the start of mowing during a break in agricultural work.
In general, for Tatarstan, a staged implementation of Sabantuy is observed: first it is celebrated in individual villages and hamlets, collective farms, a week later a regional Sabantuy is held (or on Saturday - in the villages, and on Sunday - in the regional center) Sabantuy. The celebration ends with Sabantuy in major cities and the capital of Tatarstan - Kazan. Previously, Sabantuy was not tied to a specific day of the week and was celebrated by villagers on a day convenient for them, but now a generally accepted day off is designated for the celebration of Sabantuy - Sunday.
Over time, the general form of the holiday took shape, which was not the case in traditional life; a number of stages and outdated rituals disappeared. Gradually, the third version of Sabantuy began to prevail, which consisted of collecting gifts, Maidan and evening youth games.
Gradually, such stages as collecting products for preparing “porridge” (dere botkasy, karga botkasy) and collecting colored eggs from home, in which children participated, disappeared. This was due to the classification of a number of rituals as religious and their prohibition by the Soviet authorities, and the fact that the collection of food began to be treated as begging.
Modern Sabantuy has come to be considered a national holiday. In particular, this was manifested in the fact that it began to be celebrated by those groups of Tatars who had not previously celebrated it: the Nukrat Tatars (the village of Karino, Slobodsky district, Kirov region, Mishar Tatars of the Nizhny Novgorod region, etc.), and in the fact that as a national Tatar The Sabantuy holiday began to be celebrated in those cities where a large Tatar diaspora appeared, for example, in Moscow, Nizhnevartovsk, and Megion.
Russians, Udmurts, Maris, Chuvashs, and Bashkirs who live in the neighborhood of the Tatars also take part in Sabantuy.
Sabantuy as a public holiday
Sabantuy in Naberezhnye Chelny 
Presidents of Tatarstan and Russia M. Sh. Shaimiev and V. V. Putin at Sabantuy in Kazan, 2000 
V.V. Putin at Sabantuy in Kazan, 2000
Currently, Sabantuy has acquired the status of a public holiday in Tatarstan: it is held in almost every locality, decrees and resolutions are issued on preparation, dates and venues, organizing committees are appointed from the highest-ranking leaders at each level (village, town, district, city, republic), sources of financing are determined.
The main Sabantuy takes place in the capital of Tatarstan, Kazan (now in the Birch Grove of the village of Mirny). Sabantuis are also held outside of Tatarstan in places with a significant Tatar population. Also, the Federal Sabantuy is officially held annually alternately in one of the regions of Russia with a large Tatar diaspora.
Procedure for holding Sabantuy
The old traditions of Sabantuy are gradually complemented by modern ones, however, the basic order of the holiday is preserved. As a rule, in cities Sabantuy is celebrated on one day on the Maidan, but in the village it consists of two parts - the ritual collection of gifts and the Maidan. Sabantuy in the countryside is a time for receiving guests: relatives and friends, so they prepare for it in advance: they clean and whitewash the house, prepare treats for guests.
Sabantuy begins to be prepared on the eve of the holiday on Saturday or even Friday. One of the stages is collecting gifts - ?ibery, yaulyky. In some villages, for example, Leninogorsk and Menzelinsky districts, up to 50 or more of the best horses are saddled to collect gifts. Young men travel from one end of the village to the other, singing, collecting towels, scarves, pieces of cloth, etc., which are attached to the horses’ bridles. The more gifts collected, the more richly the rider’s horse is decorated, and therefore the young men try to receive as many gifts as possible, agreeing on them in advance with their neighbors, relatives, and acquaintances. If there is no horse, then the young men tie two towels crosswise over their shoulders, on which they hang gifts. In some villages near Kazan, gifts are collected by old elders, who go around the houses and hang the gifts from a pole on their shoulders. Most often, the owner or hostess brings out the gifts themselves and waits for the collectors at the gate. The young men thank those who give gifts with songs, and at the end of the collection they drive through the village with songs and music, showing everyone how many things have been collected.
A mandatory gift from the young daughter-in-law is yash kilen, who traditionally gives an embroidered towel. The best towel was subsequently given to the winner of the Sabantuy competition, which was a great honor for both the Sabantuy batyr and the girl who embroidered the towel. In recent years, due to the disappearance of home production of woven towels, shirts have begun to be donated for sabantuy.
One of the collected towels (traditional towels with red patterned ends - kyzyl bashly selge are still found among the collected gifts) is hung on a long pole at the entrance to the village as a warning about the upcoming Sabantuy.
The tradition of ritual collection of eggs has been preserved, which are given both with a gift and instead of it. Some of the eggs are sold, and the money received is used to buy things needed for the sabantuy. The rest of the eggs are used on the Maidan during comic competitions: wrestlers drink them, etc.
The location of the holiday is designated and equipped in advance. The Maidan is cleared of stones and leveled, sometimes a platform is installed on it. Often the place for the Maidan is permanent, and Sabantuy is celebrated on it from year to year. On the day of Sabantuy, a table with prizes and gifts for the winners is set up on the Maidan, and there are also trading tents and buffets here.
Presidents of Tatarstan and Russia R. N. Minnikhanov and D. A. Medvedev at Sabantuy in Kazan, 2011 
D. A. Medvedev at Sabantuy in Kazan, 2011
The Sabantuy is opened by one of the leaders of the district or city, congratulating those gathered on the national holiday, and at the main Sabantuy in Kazan - the President of Tatarstan.
After the grand opening of the holiday, the entertainment part begins: singers and dancers perform, who are participants in amateur performances or professional artists.
After the end of the concert, the place and time for the competition are announced. Due to the large crowd of people and the large number of people wishing to take part in the competitions, it is impossible to hold them on the Maidan, but prizes are awarded to the winners only on the Maidan.
One of the most popular types of competitions at Sabantui is still national wrestling - koresh. The competition begins with two young boys (sometimes two old men), and then schoolchildren, young men, and middle-aged men compete in turn.
The culmination of the struggle and the entire Sabantuy is the struggle of the batyrs - the winners in the preliminary fights and, finally, the two finalists. Fights on the Maidan show the strength, dexterity, skill, courage of the warriors, as well as their nobility and respect for their opponents.
The winner of the competition receives the most valuable gift of Sabantuy, which these days is quite significant: cars, expensive consumer electronics, carpets, washing machines, etc. According to tradition, the winner is given a live ram as a prize.
Maidan served as the beginning of a sports career for many famous wrestlers, and Tatar wrestling Koresh has become a sport in which individual and team championships are held in Tatarstan and Russia.
On the Maidan they compete in lifting weights: weights (one-pound, two-pound), sometimes barbells.
Comic competitions are widespread and are also held on the Maidan. These are various running competitions: running with a spoon in your mouth with an egg placed on it, running with buckets on a yoke filled with water, running in bags, running in twos, when the left leg of one is tied to the right leg of the other. They compete in battle with bags filled with hay and grass, which are carried on a slippery log; compete in a game during which you need to, blindfolded, break a clay pot standing on the ground with a stick. Also popular are tug of war, sticks, and climbing a tall smooth pole with a prize at the top. A live rooster in a cage, boots, etc. are used as a prize.
Competitions are held for singers, readers, and dancers; organize round dances and dances; Together with the craftsmen, they are engaged in various national crafts, for example, forging.
Usually the Maidan lasts from 10-11 am to 2-3 pm. It sells sweets and other goodies, and often hosts family tea parties around the samovar.
After the end of the Maidan in the evening, young people gather for evening games - kichke uen (evening sabantuy) - on the edge of the village, in the meadows, at the site of the daytime Maidan or in a club. Competitions of singers, dancers, and readers are also held here.
Federal Sabantuy
Federal Sabantuy (Tat. Federal Saban tue) is a national holiday held at the federal (all-Russian) level. The national federal holiday Sabantuy took place in the following cities:
2001 - Saratov,
2002 - Tolyatti (Samara region),
2003 - Dimitrovgrad (Ulyanovsk region),
2004 - Yoshkar-Ola,
2005 - Nizhny Novgorod,
2007 - Chelyabinsk,
All-Russian Rural Sabantuy
The founders of the All-Russian Rural Sabantuy are the Executive Committee of the World Congress of Tatars, the Association of Tatar Villages of Russia and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Tatarstan.
Sabantui outside Russia
Sabantuy takes place not only in Russia, but throughout the world. This holiday is an international national Tatar holiday, which has become a state holiday in Tatarstan, a federal holiday in Russia and an official city holiday in many cities around the world. In addition, on the initiative of local Tatar communities, Sabantui began to be held annually privately in cities such as Washington, New York, San Francisco, Berlin, Tashkent, Montreal, Toronto, Prague, Istanbul and many others.
During his visit to Kazan, the Director-General of UNESCO supported the initiative to nominate the Tatar national holiday “Sabantuy”, which is a living tradition and sincerely loved by the people, among the candidates for inclusion in the UNESCO List of Masterpieces of Oral and Intangible Heritage.
- Presidents of the Russian Federation took part in the celebration of Sabantuy at different times. Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin, during Sabantuy in the city of Arsk, broke a pot with a broken pot from the first blow, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin managed to get a coin from a vat with a roll, and Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev forged “wow”, completing the phrase “To the blacksmith - the happiness of the people” on a forged horseshoe.
- On June 23, 2013, “Sabantuy-2013” was held in the Leningrad region (Vsevolozhsk district, near the village of Enkolovo), which this year became international. As the press service of the government of the Leningrad region reported, for the first time the guests of Sabantuy will be not only representatives of the Tatar and Bashkir diasporas of the Leningrad region, but also diasporas from Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan, as well as the Tatar diaspora from Poland.
Sabantuy is the most famous national holiday of the Tatars, which does not have an exact date of celebration, but is usually held between the last days of May and the end of June. What is Sabantuy and what significance does it have for the Tatars? This is truly a national entertainment and at the same time sporting event, in which not only professional athletes, but also anyone, often from among numerous spectators, takes part. The latter circumstance creates funny and cheerful situations among the competitors, an atmosphere of universal participation, unity and, apparently, this is why the Sabantuy holiday is so beloved among the Tatars, as well as among representatives of other nationalities participating in this celebration.
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(1 photo by Artur Karamov, Sabantuy in the village of Kishit, Tatarstan)
(2 photos by Shamil Abdyushev, representatives of other nationalities participating in Sabantuy; http:www.matbugat.ru)
(3 photos by Shamil Abdyushev, Sabantuy 2012; http:www.tatpressa.ru)
This holiday, elevated to the rank of a state holiday in Tatarstan and neighboring Bashkortostan, first takes place in villages and other small regions, and then ends with a big celebration in the capitals of these two republics - in Kazan and Ufa. However, Sabantuy is also celebrated in other territories of Russia and even abroad, where there are Tatar diasporas.
Word saban translated from Tatar it has several meanings: plow, spring crops, spring field work. In the old days, the land was plowed in the spring, plowing was the most difficult and time-consuming part of the spring field campaign, and therefore all sowing work among the Tatars was called saban. Because the word saban in the Tatar language means plow, and the word thuja– holiday, many translate this word, for example, into Russian too simplified, namely, - celebrateToplow.
In fact, this holiday got its name among the Tatars from the third meaning of this word, meaning spring field work. More accurate filling of the meaning of the word translation Sabantuy, In my opinion ,
is not limited to just two words. Sabantuy is a celebration of the successful completion of spring field work and the future harvest, as well as a celebration of fertility and prosperity!
As mentioned above, the Tatars and some other Turkic peoples associate this holiday with the successful completion of spring field work, often occurring at the end of spring and beginning of summer. However, according to the rector of the Kazan State Institute for the Culture of Peace (UNESCO), Engel Tagirov, among the ancient Turkic-Tatar nomadic tribes, Sabantuy, which, in his opinion, is three thousand years old, was initially a celebration of the onset of spring and the revival of nature.
This celebration was celebrated in the first spring days of going to the pastures, when the milking of mares and the preparation of kumiss began. According to many experts, this holiday was previously called WITHabatouy, from the word saba. Saba - a container made of goat or lamb skin, indispensable when moving on horseback, for storage
kumys and other drinks. For example, some of the Siberian Tatars still call Sabantuy - Saba-tuy.
Experts consider the prototype of Sabantuy to be an ancient spring steppe event called Dzhen. At it, the leaders and elders of the tribes discussed various political and economic issues, for example, the division of pastures for grazing livestock, and then organized large mass meals, entertainment games and, most importantly, sports competitions.
In the vast ancient Eurasian steppe space, sports games were both local and steppe-wide. They revealed the best wrestlers, archers, riders and horses of the entire Great Steppe from the Pacific Ocean (China), Central Asia to the Black, Azov, Caspian Seas and the Carpathian Mountains. During the period of the games, there was one unshakable rule: any kind of conflicts, including military ones, stopped for a month.
Engel Tagirov believes that Sabantui, in turn, was the prototype of the Greek Olympic Games and does not exclude the possibility that common steppe sports competitions were introduced into Greek culture through the Cimmerians (Eastern European nomadic tribes) and other pre-Cimmerian nomadic tribes.
There is a lot of evidence about the ancient sports competitions of the steppe peoples. For example, Russian archaeologists have found various vessels, plaques and other objects with images of men fighting on their belts. There are also mentions of this in ancient Chinese sources. And in Altai there are rock paintings, the so-called petroglyphs, which, in addition to images of various animals and hunting them, represent scenes of horse racing and people wrestling on belts.
The fact that Sabantuy was originally a very ancient sports festival among nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes is also evidenced by modern national Tatar sports games. Among them is the so-called kuresh- national belt wrestling. This sport, which does not include kick wrestling, has gained worldwide fame: continental and world championships are held. Work is underway to include belt wrestling in the program of the Olympic Games. Experts believe that among nomadic peoples this competition first appeared as a fight between horsemen, when each side tried to pull the opponent off the saddle by grabbing him by the belt with his hands.
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(1 photo by Shamil Abdyushev, national belt wrestling - kuresh; http:www.matbugat.ru)
(2 photos by Artur Karamov, children wrestling with belts; Kuyuk village, Tatarstan)
(3 photos by Artur Karamov, teenagers wrestling with belts; Kishit village, Tatarstan)
Since ancient times, the culture and economy of the Tatars has been associated with horses. Often, Tatar children did not yet know how to walk well, but they were already good in the saddle, so the Tatars, as a rule, were excellent riders. In the old days, horses were the “trademark” of the Tatar people, who were very strong in cavalry and military tactics. According to the director of the Institute of History of Tatarstan R. Khakimov, the entire equestrian specialization with all its attributes was at one time borrowed from the Tatars by other peoples both in the territory of what is now Europe and in China. Therefore, the equestrian system of other peoples was called “Tatar”.
Equestrian competitions at the Tatar holiday Sabantuy are a kind of “highlight of the program”. However, modern Sabantui, unfortunately, does not differ in the variety of equestrian competitions. But on the ancient steppe Sabantui they were very diverse. For example, they necessarily included the so-called sports horseback riding, which consisted of performing a variety of complex sports techniques at a gallop.
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The skill of the riders also included the ability to: shoot at a target with a bow, throw a spear, throw a lasso at a target, lasso a horse, lift a bag of money or other small objects from the ground, throw rings or remove them. And all these actions, of course, were carried out exclusively at full gallop.
On Sabantui you can see a large number of different competitions, in each of which anyone can participate and receive a prize. Among them: hand wrestling (arm wrestling); squeezing weights; fight with bags filled with straw; breaking pots with your eyes closed; tug of war or stick; walking on an inclined log; climbing onto the top of a pole; running with buckets filled with water; run with a chicken egg; running in a bag; pair running of two people with their legs tied to each other; taking a coin out of a katyk (kefir) with your mouth; catching live fish with your hands; catching chicken; sawing logs, etc.
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(3 photos by Artur Karamov, tug of war; Kishit village, Tatarstan)
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(3 photos by Artur Karamov, climbing to the top of a pole; village of Kishit and Kuyuk, Tatarstan)
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(3 photos by Artur Karamov, arm wrestling; Kuyuk village, Tatarstan)
If equestrian competitions, national wrestling, pole climbing and hand wrestling involve physical training, then in other competitions, for example, in fighting with bags filled with straw or sawdust, anyone from among the spectators can participate. And, basically, it is from this kind of competition that the humorous and cheerful side of the sporting Sabantuy begins.
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(3 photos by Artur Karamov, fighting with bags filled with straw; Kuyuk village, Tatarstan).
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(2 photos of Shamil Abdyushev, taking out a coin or other small object from katyk (kefir) with his mouth); http:www.matbugat.ru)
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(3 photos by Artur Karamov, running in sacks; villages of Kuyuk and Kishit, Tatarstan)
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(2 photos by Artur Karamov, running with a spoon in his mouth containing a chicken egg; Kuyuk village, Tatarstan).
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(1 photo of Shamil Abdyushev, running with six buckets filled with water; http:www.matbugat.ru)
(2 photos by Artur Karamov, running with buckets filled with water; Kuyuk village, Tatarstan)
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(3 photos by Artur Karamov, arm wrestling among women of all ages; Kuyuk village, Tatarstan)
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Sabantuy is translated from Turkic languages as “wedding (celebration) of the plow” - saban(plough) and thuja(holiday, wedding). In the Tatar language the holiday is called tat. Sabantui or Tat. saban tue. The name was also common among the Tatars Saban beyreme(bәyrәm also means holiday). The Bashkir name of the holiday has a similar etymology, from bashk. haban - plow.
Among the Chuvash, this holiday was previously called Chuvash. Sukhat - plowing (mountain Chuvash) and Chuvash. sapan tuyĕ - festival of the plow or Sapan (lower Chuvash), but now everywhere it is called Chuvash. akatuy. The Mari name for a similar holiday - agapayrem - has a similar etymology. A similar holiday of the Tatarstan Mordovians - Baltai has a Tatar etymology and means honey holiday. A similar holiday called UDM. Gerber also exists among the Udmurts.
The peoples of the North Caucasus, the Balkars and Nogais also celebrate a similar holiday, which they call Sabanta. The Kazakhs also use the same word to denote a similar holiday.
History of Sabantuy
Previously, Sabantuy was celebrated in honor of the beginning of spring field work (at the end of April), but now in honor of its end (in June).
The origins of the Sabantuy celebration go back to ancient times and are associated with the agrarian cult. The original purpose of this rite was probably to appease the fertility spirits in order to favor a good harvest in the new year.
Research in recent years shows that Sabantuy consisted of an alternation of rituals that were performed in early spring - from the first melting of snow to the beginning of sowing. This holiday existed in most Tatar villages and large Tatar communities around the world. In its implementation, local differences were observed, caused by the presence or absence of individual rituals.
First recorded in writing among the Bashkirs in the eighteenth century in the travel notes of the Russian lexicographer, naturalist and traveler Lepekhin Ivan Ivanovich and the German ethnographer, scientist Georgi Johann Gottlieb
Sabantui options
| This page or section is believed to be infringing.
Its contents were probably copied from R.K. Urazmanov. Modern rituals of the Tatar people. (Historical and ethnographic research). - Kazan: Tatar book. publishing house, 1984, pp.52-57, practically unchanged. |
First version of Sabantuy
Batyr Sabantuy with a prize
As soon as the snow melted, the old aksakals held a gathering and agreed on the timing of the sabantuy. On the appointed day, the children went home to collect cereals, milk, butter, and eggs. From these products, some woman would prepare porridge for children in a field near the water (sometimes in the house). This porridge was called dere or zere botkasy(meaning of terms dere, zere unclear; perhaps there is a relationship with the Turkish dere - river - porridge was prepared by the water), and in the eastern and south-eastern regions of Tatarstan - hag botkas- “rook porridge” or “crow porridge”. Since the origins of the holiday lie in archaic, pre-Islamic beliefs, and one of them, the cult of birds - crows.
The next day, at first light, the children, having put on new clothes (necessarily new bast shoes with white cloth stockings - tula oek), went home to collect colored eggs. Everyone in their hands had a bag made from the red end of the bran (woven with patterns) - kyzyl bashly selge- towels. All housewives not only painted eggs, but also baked buns and nuts from dough especially for children - baursak and prepared sweets.
In some villages, the mistress sat the first boy to enter the house on a pillow, saying: “May your feet be light, may there be many hens and chicks...”. The first one was always given eggs, and he received more gifts than the others.
On the same day, before lunch, after the children had finished their rounds, the young men rode out on smart horses. The so-called Shoren Sugu(collection of eggs by young men). In groups of 8-10 people they traveled around the village. Stopping at each house, sometimes driving into the yard, they asked for eggs. Each housewife brought out several raw eggs, which were placed in a special bag. When the detour of the village was completed, one of the riders, more dexterous and faster, grabbed the wallet and rushed at full speed beyond the outskirts. The task of the other young men was to catch up with him. If this failed, all the eggs went to the winner, which happened rarely; usually the young men arranged a joint treat.
Besides Shoren Sugu on horseback in some villages they staged Shoren on foot - zheyaule soren. Several mummers went from house to house, where they collected eggs and demanded food. Those who did not give it were threatened with various misfortunes, but usually they were rarely refused.
A few days later, when the time was approaching sowing, the young men rode out on horseback to collect gifts for the winners of the competition. The villagers willingly gave away things they had prepared in advance: scarves, pieces of cloth, stockings, eggs, etc. The most valuable gift was considered to be a towel with braided patterns. It had to be prepared by young women ( Yash Kilen), who got married between the last two Sabantuis. The collection of gifts was accompanied by cheerful songs, jokes, and jokes.
The next day competitions were held: as a rule, Maidan(the place of the competition) was located in the area of the fallow field. By the appointed time, people flocked there from all sides: residents of not only this village, but also the entire surrounding area, walked, families rode on horseback. In order to have the opportunity to visit the Maidan in neighboring villages, the order in which it was held was observed. The arches and manes of horses were decorated with patterned towels and colorful pieces of chintz. Everyone present that day took out the best clothes and jewelry from their chests.
The competition began with horse racing. Sabantuy could not do without them in not a single Tatar village. The horses participating in the competition were taken to a certain distance, 5-10 kilometers from the village. The finish line was located near the Maidan. While the horses were far away, there were running competitions on the Maidan, which were started by boys or old people: the participants in the competition were always grouped by age.
The best prizes were intended for the winner of the races, as well as the hero, who became the one who won all the fights in national wrestling.
The tradition of Russians, Udmurts, Maris, Chuvashs, Bashkirs, and Uzbeks living in the neighborhood of the Tatars participating in Sabantuy has spread widely.
Sabantuy as a public holiday
Presidents of Tatarstan and Russia M. Sh. Shaimiev and V. V. Putin at Sabantuy in Kazan, 2000
V.V. Putin at Sabantuy in Kazan, 2000
Currently, Sabantuy has acquired the status of a public holiday in Tatarstan: it is held in almost every locality, decrees and resolutions are issued on preparation, dates and venues, organizing committees are appointed from the highest-ranking leaders at each level (village, town, district, city, republic), sources of financing are determined.
The main Sabantuy takes place in the capital of Tatarstan, Kazan (now in the Birch Grove of the village of Mirny). Sabantuis are also held outside of Tatarstan in places with a significant Tatar population. Also, the Federal Sabantuy is officially held annually alternately in one of the regions of Russia with a large Tatar diaspora.
Procedure for holding Sabantuy
The old traditions of Sabantuy are gradually complemented by modern ones, however, the basic order of the holiday is preserved. As a rule, in cities Sabantuy is celebrated on one day on the Maidan, but in the village it consists of two parts - the ritual collection of gifts and the Maidan. Sabantuy in the countryside is a time for receiving guests: relatives and friends, so they prepare for it in advance: they clean and whitewash the house, prepare treats for guests.
Sabantuy begins to be prepared on the eve of the holiday on Saturday or even Friday. One of the stages is collecting gifts - ayber җyuyu, yaulyk җyu. In some villages, for example, Leninogorsk and Menzelinsky districts, up to 50 or more of the best horses are saddled to collect gifts. Young men travel from one end of the village to the other, singing, collecting towels, scarves, pieces of cloth, etc., which are attached to the horses’ bridles. The more gifts collected, the more richly the rider’s horse is decorated, and therefore the young men try to receive as many gifts as possible, agreeing on them in advance with their neighbors, relatives, and acquaintances. If there is no horse, then the young men tie two towels crosswise over their shoulders, on which they hang gifts. In some villages near Kazan, gifts are collected by old elders, who go around the houses and hang the gifts from a pole on their shoulders. Most often, the owner or hostess brings out the gifts themselves and waits for the collectors at the gate. The young men thank those who give gifts with songs, and at the end of the collection they drive through the village with songs and music, showing everyone how many things have been collected.
A gift from a young daughter-in-law is obligatory - Yash Kilen, which traditionally gives an embroidered towel. The best towel was subsequently given to the winner of the Sabantuy competition, which was a great honor for both the Sabantuy batyr and the girl who embroidered the towel. In recent years, due to the disappearance of home production of woven towels, shirts have begun to be donated for sabantuy.
One of the collected towels (traditional towels with red patterned ends - kyzyl bashly selge are still found among the collected gifts) are hung on a long pole at the entrance to the village as a warning about the upcoming Sabantuy.
The tradition of ritual collection of eggs has been preserved, which are given both with a gift and instead of it. Some of the eggs are sold, and the money received is used to buy things needed for the sabantuy. The rest of the eggs are used on the Maidan during comic competitions: wrestlers drink them, etc.
The location of the holiday is designated and equipped in advance. The Maidan is cleared of stones and leveled, sometimes a platform is installed on it. Often the place for the Maidan is permanent, and Sabantuy is celebrated on it from year to year. On the day of Sabantuy, a table with prizes and gifts for the winners is set up on the Maidan, and there are also trading tents and buffets here.
The Sabantuy is opened by one of the leaders of the district or city, congratulating those gathered on the national holiday, and at the main Sabantuy in Kazan - the President of Tatarstan.
After the grand opening of the holiday, the entertainment part begins: singers and dancers perform, who are participants in amateur performances or professional artists.
After the end of the concert, the place and time for the competition are announced. Due to the large crowd of people and the large number of people wishing to take part in the competitions, it is impossible to hold them on the Maidan, but prizes are awarded to the winners only on the Maidan.
One of the most popular types of competitions at Sabantui is still national wrestling - sidekick. The competition begins with two young boys (sometimes two old men), and then schoolchildren, young men, and middle-aged men compete in turn.
The culmination of the struggle and the entire Sabantuy is the struggle of the batyrs - the winners in the preliminary fights and, finally, the two finalists. Fights on the Maidan show the strength, dexterity, skill, courage of the warriors, as well as their nobility and respect for their opponents.
The winner of the competition receives the most valuable gift of Sabantuy, which these days is quite significant: cars, expensive consumer electronics, carpets, washing machines, etc. According to tradition, the winner is given a live ram as a prize.
Maidan served as the beginning of a sports career for many famous wrestlers, and Tatar wrestling Koresh has become a sport in which individual and team championships are held in Tatarstan and Russia.
On the Maidan they compete in lifting weights: weights (one-pound, two-pound), sometimes barbells.
Comic competitions are widespread and are also held on the Maidan. These are various running competitions: running with a spoon in your mouth with an egg placed on it, running with buckets on a yoke filled with water, running in bags, running in twos, when the left leg of one is tied to the right leg of the other. They compete in battle with bags filled with hay and grass, which are carried on a slippery log; compete in a game during which you need to, blindfolded, break a clay pot standing on the ground with a stick. Also popular are tug of war, sticks, and climbing a tall smooth pole with a prize at the top. A live rooster in a cage, boots, etc. are used as a prize.
Competitions are held for singers, readers, and dancers; organize round dances and dances; Together with the craftsmen, they are engaged in various national crafts, for example, forging.
Usually the Maidan lasts from 10-11 am to 2-3 pm. It sells sweets and other goodies, and often hosts family tea parties around the samovar.
After the end of the Maidan in the evening, young people gather for evening games - Kichke uyen(evening sabantuey) - on the edge of the village, in the meadows, at the site of the daytime Maidan or in a club. Competitions of singers, dancers, and readers are also held here.
Federal Sabantuy
2001 - Saratov,
2002 - Tolyatti (Samara region),
2003 - Dimitrovgrad (Ulyanovsk region),
2004 - Yoshkar-Ola,
2005 - Nizhny Novgorod,
2006 - Saransk,
2007 - Chelyabinsk,
2008 - Astrakhan,
2009 - Ulyanovsk,
2010 - Izhevsk,
2011 - Ekaterinburg,
year 2013 - ...
All-Russian Rural Sabantuy
IV (2013) - ...
Sabantui outside Russia
Sabantuy takes place not only in Russia, but throughout the world. This holiday is an international national Tatar holiday, which has become a state holiday in Tatarstan, a federal holiday in Russia and an official city holiday in many cities around the world. In addition, on the initiative of local Tatar communities, Sabantui began to be held annually privately in cities such as Washington, New York, San Francisco, Berlin, Tashkent, Montreal, Toronto, Prague, Istanbul and many others.
see also
- Bypass rituals
Notes
- Akatui
- Shipova E.I. Dictionary of Turkisms in Russian. Alma-Ata: Nauka, 1976, P. 268.
- See Urazmanova R.K. Rituals and holidays of the Tatars of the Volga region and the Urals (Annual cycle. XIX - early XX centuries). Historical and ethnographic atlas of the Tatar people. Kazan: Publishing House PIK "House of Printing", 2001. P. 50., Nikishenkov A.A. Traditional etiquette of the peoples of Russia. XIX – early XX centuries. M.: Stary Sad, 1999, P.77, Kuchemezov B.Kh. Agriculture among the Balkars // Ethnographic Review. 2001, no. 1. P. 73.
- Sabantuy (origin of Sabantuy, etymology of Sabantuy) “Etymological dictionary of the Russian language. Vasmer Max (online version) « Russian language « Classes.ru
- Sabantui in Encyclopedias Chelyabinsk
- Agapairem - meeting place
- Baltai - a holiday of honey and butter
- Gerber: about the traditional summer holiday of the Udmurts
- Traditions of the peoples of the CBD
- 1gb.ru hosting - first page
- Urazmanova R.K. Modern rituals of the Tatar people (Historical and ethnographic research). - Kazan: Tatar book. publishing house, 1984, P.52.
