NAVRUZ IN TAJIKISTAN
By Abdurahmon Ma’ruf Deputy Head of Mission Embassy of Tajikistan in Pakistan
The Navruz Holiday is one of the greatest national holidays of Tajiks. One of the most vivid patterns of the Old Iranian culture, which according to legends, established by Jamshid-i Peshdadi is the biggest spring festival Navruz. The Navruz or Nowruz passing centuries and millenniums brought to contemporary Tajik people the best ideals of the life such as good thoughts, good words, and good deeds; respect of the nature and humans; freedom and peace; appreciating the efforts of others; creature and constructive thought and so forth.
Celebration of Navruz encountered with many political obstacles and social problems during centuries, but in spite of the hard circumstances, it gathered people of various classes and social status around the table of festival and accorded to the peace and forgiving the offence of each other.
The history knows that Navruz was many times under pressure of conquerors, but having concepts of the peace and nature rebirth, it not only was kept, but also was integrated into cultures of conquerors.
In the late 1980s, the Government of Tajikistan recognized the Navruz celebration and declared 21st of March as a Navruz holiday. At last, after Tajikistan gained independence on September 9, 1991, Navruz gained national status and is celebrated with all of its rituals and customs in the territory of country. Now in Tajikistan people have four-day vacation on the occasion of Navruz festival and gradually strengthen its magnificence and splendor.
On February 23, 2010, the UN General Assembly in its 64th session adopted the Resolution on International Day of Nowruz and declared 21st of March as the International Day of Nowruz. Navruz also was included in the Representative List of UNESCO as an element of intangible cultural heritage by 12 countries, including Tajikistan.
Having recognized Navruz as the national and traditional festival, Tajik people revived many rituals and customs related to Navruz and introduced some new festival competitions like exhibition of the traditional dishes, national costume show and Miss Navruz. Below we shortly describe some rituals and customs, most of which are performed lately.
Khonabaroron (Clening rooms). One or two weeks before the Navruz women and their daughters sweep and clean the rooms, spray perfumes, wash curtains and mattress’, and etc. They also clean the kitchens and yards, wash tea pots, bowls, plates and kettles. Before the Navruz everything must be clean as new. A new year is coming and the house must be symbolically purified.
Gulgardoni (bringing new flowers). One of the first customs of the Navruz performed by children and adult is Gulgardoni. This custom is also called as Boychechak (“Snowdrop”) in Khujand, Sayri guli lola (“Tulip festival”) in Isfara, Idi guli surkh (“”Red flower festival”) in Istaravshan, Panjakent, Guli Siyohgush or Seyovush (the flower of Seyavosh or Flower with black ears) in the southern districts of Tajikistan. The ceremony of informing on the coming spring consists of the following: a group of children and adults go up to hills and pick some flowers like snowdrops, irises, tulips and visit houses of the inhabitants in rural villages and sing the special congratulatory songs.
Traditional Navruz dishes are also cooked with different grains and herbs symbolizing the fruitful nature and healthy food. Women in Hisor District cook gandumkucha contained of ground wheat, beans, peas, sorrel, onion, mint, salt and water during the spring celebration. Other regions of Tajikistan call this dish dalda (Kulab, Yavan), baj (Badakhshan), gouja (Panjakent) and add some other grains and herbs to its recipe.
Sumanak is the most widespread and traditional Navruz food, a sweet pudding made from germinated wheat, symbolizing affluence. Two weeks before the celebration small groups of women living in the same village neighborhood grow grains of wheat in the plates up to a few inches and they bring their germinated wheat to the idgah – celebration yard, where they cook sumanak in a big pot on the celebration day. Cooking sumanak is a hard work that is difficult for one person to handle, because the pot contain should be regularly mixed during 15-20 hours. The whole process of preparing sumanak continues 24 hours and therefore young men and women also join the group in some villages. Women play doira (daf, dafcha)– musical instrument of tambourine type, and sing folk songs about Navruz, spring and satiric quatrains, and dance. There is a legend that if you welcome the New Year joyfully you will spend the entire year in the same mood. On one hand, women believe to this belief, while on the other hand, the social function and entertainment part of sumanak cooking ritual challenges them to the community. Women usually start their entertainment part of this ritual singing collectively the well-known folk song Sumanak dar jush mo kafcha zanem.
Oshtikunoni (reconciliation) is another custom performed before the New Year. On the eve of Navruz people should forgive each other, or in other words, nobody should be injured or offended in the welcome days of next year. Usually elderly people play a great role in carrying out this custom by mediating between the younger generation to forgive each other if they had some offence from anybody and friends.
Traditional sport games and contests like wrestling, running, buzkashi (goat-snatching) are among the entertainment activities of Navruz celebration. Alongside these competitions, non-traditional or modern sport games such as football, basketball, volleyball and tennis contests also take place in many districts and villages. Children and adults hold wrestling, cockfight, egg fight, and other games in the villages.
However, the most widespread Navruz contest is considered to be Gushtin that is wrestling. Gushtin competition for Navruz prizes takes place in every village, town, district center and city. Winners are awarded with different prizes such as carpet, TV set, video player, tape recorder, refrigerator, and car, and traditionally prizes like bull, horse and sometimes camel by the private organizers and local governments.
Besides the above-mentioned customs, show of the traditional costumes, national dishes, dancing and singing events and Miss Navruz competitions are organized in the most of regions and districts of Tajikistan during the Navruz celebration. The show of bride and groom in traditional dresses is also a typical custom, in which young spouses are characterized as the symbol of year and their traditional costume means being an old tradition of the Navruz.
The Tajik folklore ha many rubaees, quatrains, and folk songs dedicated to Navruz, which are usually performed in the beginning of spring and during the Navruz festival days. The main meanings of the Navruz, opposing the winter and spring; considering the human as a part of nature, and identifying Navruz with freedom are reflected in many quatrains.
The theme of Navruz festival is also one of the favorite themes of the Tajik poets, starting from Rudaki, the Founder of the Persian-Tajik Literature to poets of the modern time. Almost every single Tajik poet composed some lines of poem about Navruz.
Navruz is a means and a cause for gathering, communication, enjoyment, getting aesthetical delight, remembering the ancestors and expressing their tight connection with the nature. More importantly, through participating in the social gatherings people feel themselves as a member of the society. Navruz is the festival without borders that belongs to people of different ethnical backgrounds, languages, religions, gender, ages and social statuses.
In Dushanbe – capital of Tajikistan as a symbol of Navruz massive complex Kokhi Navruz contains a teahouse, billiards hall, bowling alley, multi-screen cinema, plush nightclub and karting circuit, and also hosts the high-level political summits and upmarket social events. Tours of the complex, which features intricately, carved wooden doors, sparkly chandeliers, and folkloric mosaics made by artisans from northern Tajikistan.
On the ceiling and columns of the national building hand carved wood or amen neither of which will not be repeated on the walls-stone mosaic with scenes of folk tales. Furniture- tables and deck hair-also are covered by ancient ethnic patterns. The best artists from all over the country were invited to create this architectural masterpiece. Tajikistan’s Kohi Navruz has been included in the list of Eight SCO Wonders.
