Donbass Tatars Held Their National Sabantuy Festival
On the first Sunday of this Summer Tatar communities of Stakhanov and Kirovsk held the annual celebration of Tatar native fest Sabantuy. Tatars from other cities and towns also joined the fest: there were guests from Brjanka, Alchevsk, Perevalsk, Imrino, Antratsyt, Petrovskoye and Krasniy Louch.
The fest was opened with recitation of the Holy Qur’an by the imaam of Stakhanov Mosque Mr. Agdam Akhmetov. Imams and community chairman congratulated the participants, underlining the importance of maintaining Tatars’ national identity, culture and traditions.
The History of Sabantuy
Sabantuy is a traditional summer festival of all the Turkic nations, that dates back to the Volga Bulgarian epoch. It was first mentioned in the travel notes of the famous searcher Ibn Fadlan during his trip to Bulgar.
At first Sabantuy was a festival of farmers in rural areas, but it later became a national holiday and now is widely celebrated in the cities. In ancient times this festival inaugurated fieldworks, but now it marks the sowing and is celebrated in the beginning of June.
Sabantuy is one of the favorite festivals for Tatars and contains many traditions. Wars were the only reasons why people didn’t celebrate Sabantuy in certain years.
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