We offer our readers an interview with Khalil Dandalov, the resident of Vesyoloe village (Qutlaq) (Sudalskiy region, Crimea). Khalil-aga, born in 1931, had a difficult life. Born in Crimea, in the town Aiseres, he had to taste the war and occupation, and then - suffer the horrors of deportation as a teenager.
The boy got lost during the deportation and was placed to the orphan asylum in Uzbekistan where he stayed for some time until his relatives miraculously found him. Eventually he started working on a driller, and had been doing that job until he retired. Khalil-aga got married in Uzbekistan and became a father of 8. Later the family moved to Kuban’, and then returned to their native land as soon as ever they could.
The family settled in their mother Emine’s native village and still lives there.
Khalil-aga agreed to share his thoughts and relives his experiences on the Holy month of Ramadan, on some traditions and peculiarities of how it is celebrated by the Crimean Tatars. He expressed hope that the Crimean Tatar people are able to revive their cultural and spiritual heritage.
— Honorable Khalil-aga, do you know anything about how the Crimean Tatars spent Ramadan before 1917?
I didn’t whitnes that time personally, but my father Usein and the elder relatives told us a lot about the past life of the nation. I can deduce that large majority of Crimean Tatars were fasting during Ramadan before the Soviet Union.
There were many villages populated mostly by the Crimean Tatars; mosques and medreses were everywhere, and a lot of people were good at reciting the Qur’an. This was quite easy as the Crimean Tatars used to write with Arabic letters.
In the Crimean Tatar villages a man with a drum (called davulci) walked down the streets about 20 or 30 minutes before the suhoor to alert the people it’s time to wake up, have a meal and prepare themselves for another day of fasting. Joint iftars were common practice, furthermore, rich people used to help the poor more than usual.
The Fast-breaking feast was a very special occasion, and everybody who was able to come for the festive prayer did just that. There was a tradition that people who walking out the mosque after the prayer were invited to special buffets for sweets and strong coffee. THey collected money in advance to provide the buffet. In general, Ramadan was a very special time of the year for most Crimean Tatars. People forgave each other’s faults, they tried to develop their spirituality and thought about the hereafter.
— How the situation changed in the SOviet times, especially after the Crimean Tatars were deported?
Everybody knows the dictator and atheist essence of the Soviet state very well. It lead a lot of all the Soviet nation into trouble, no exceptions.
Neither was our nation. Moreover, the Soviet authorities not only wanted to erase some or other tradition from the memory of the nation; they wanted to destroy and assimilate our nation as such by deporting us and resettling among the Uzbeks.
As my father told me, the Soviet authorities were quite tolerant to religion at first. The mosques were still open and the acts of worship were performed, and the authorities kept a wary eye on this and conducted propaganda against religion, gened up the activists and brought all the Islamic figures on charge.
As long ago as 1930-ies no illusions about the Soviet authorities remained.
The mosques were getting closed on a massive scale nationwide, many intellectuals and clergymen were either shot down or deported to Siberia.
I remember well when I went to the primary school the teachers held a special test every morning during Ramadan to reveal who was fasting. They made every pupil drink a glass of water. If the pupil refused, they punished him every way that they could: they underscored such kids, invited their parents “for a conversation” where both parents and children were intimidated. All this caused a lot of stress.
I was fasting in my 12-13 teens as many crimean Tatar families when Crimea was occupied by the Nazis, and then we faced something even worse, namely deportation…
After the deportation the Crimean Tatars had been hanging between life and death. Most religious figures and intellectuals were destroyed even earlier, thousands died on their way to Uzbekistan. All these factors had a destructive impact on the nation’s spiritual and cultural life. FOr that reason our religious activity between 1950ies and late 1980ies had been mostly depressed. Yet only the minority of Crimean Tatars performed fasting during Ramadan; mostly elders who could take their time more or less freely.
— And how the situation changed after the Crimean Tatars returned to their native land? Maybe some Ramadan traditions worthy reviving still exist?
AlhamduliLlah, artificial barriers for our nation’s religious life were gone when we returned to our Fatherland. There are a lot of problems and difficulties of course, but we can practice Islam freely without obstacles we had in the Soviet times.
Unfortunately, many Crimean Tatars don’t fast during Ramadan though nothing prevents them from fasting nowadays. Still, the overall traditions are alive.
For example, cheburecks are still traditionally cooked for suhoor in many Crimean Tatar families, mostly in the countryside. Many families prefer yantykhs — same as cheburecks, only stuffed with potatoes or cheese, fried without oil. This is a very tasty and wholesome meal. The starches, namely farina, are assimilated by the body slowly during the daytime which makes fasting easier. Indeed, most people (even the elders) continue their regular work (including fieldwork) during the month of fasting.
Heavy supper is cooked for iftar, nevertheless people try to avoid overeating as overeating brings drowse and severity under one’s belt.
During the festive day of Eid-al-Fitr many people go to the mosque, even those who weren’t actually fasting. And when they walk out of the mosque after the festive prayer, the sweet buffets with strong coffee are waiting for them, like in the old times.
There’s a tradition that all the dependant family members greet the head of the household upon his returning from the mosque and kiss his right hand, touching it with their lips and then with their foreheads. THis is how they show their respect for their housefather.
All the family members gather for a joint festive meal. Chyr-chyr, the traditional sweet patty-cakes with almonds and walnut are baked for the festive meal. THe children walk the streets and congratulate the elders who treat them with candies, almonds, nuts and sometimes money to make them feel the special festive spirit.
It’s easier to observe customs in the village where everybody knows each other. Besides, the percentage of Crimean Tatars in Crimea is rather low which also makes communication more difficult between them.
Nevertheless, we try to keep and bequeath our customs and traditions the best we can. ATR, the Crimean Tatar TV-channel contributes to this mission greatly in the recent years. They have a special programme each Ramadan including prayer live broadcasts from Makkah, “Ramazan bereketi” (Ramadan’s blessing) show, broadcasting taraweeh prayers in different mosques around Crimea and many other events.
Local enthusiasts also work hard for reviving our traditions. That gives us hope that our nation will preserve and have a future development by the Grace of God.
— Thank you very much for the interesting conversation!
Interviewed by Yuriy Kosenko (historian, interpreter, orientalist, africanist and journalist)
Source: islam.com.ua
