Pagan holiday Nardugan

In the Middle Volga and Urals regions, from December 25 to January 7, the Tatars celebrate the winter solstice It is called Nardugan (shaitan tue), which literally means “wedding of the devil” After the end of the economic year, the baptized Tatars, in preparation for the cold winter, took all the necessary measures to ensure they had a good harvest for the next year Following signs, they tried to predict the future, and with the help of ritual dances and rituals they wanted to ensure their well-being in the next year The Nardugan holiday is very ancient This is evidenced by its name "Nar" in Mongolian means "flame, sun", and "dugan" means "born" That is, Nardugan literally means the birth or awakening of the sun, nature Turkic-speaking peoples were of the opinion that it was during the period from December 25 to January 7 that all evil forces lose their power and cannot interfere with the forces of Light It was on December 25 that young boys and girls put on ritual costumes, masks and walked around the nearby courtyards of Christian families Men dressed up as women, and women dressed up as men They smeared soot on their faces A certain ritual was performed in the courtyard of each house, including a greeting dance, as well as shouts of “Narduganga-a-a” or “Shaitan tuena-a-a” Children in costumes also took part All dances were performed with the accompaniment of a violin The walk around the courtyards began with the onset of evening, and the main part of the celebrations unfolded as daylight hours increased, when the effect of dark forces, according to legend, became weak In addition to the welcome dance, other dances were performed: - dance on the threshold of the house; - dance of the grandmother (spinner) and dance of the grandfather; - dance of gratitude with wishes of all sorts of blessings; - farewell dances; - dances with elements of fortune telling; - games, round dances around or near the fire Walking around the fire symbolized the movement of the sun across the sky, and the fire was represented as an improvised solar halo The owners of the courtyards treated the mummers, just like at Christmas time During the celebration of Nardugan (they call this holiday Rashtua), Mishar Tatars bake a sweet dish called “bavyrsak”, as well as other national treats