Sabantuy brings guests together!
The traditional Tatar Sabantuy festival, this year taking place as part of the Cultural Universiade, will be full of surprises for the guests. This was the topic of today's press conference at the ITAR-TASS press-center.
Sabantuy, which translates from Tatar as 'plow wedding', is an ethnic festival marking the completion of the sowing season. Traditionally it combines outdoor parties with sports competitions, both serious (riding, koresh wrestling) as well as jocular (sack racing, pole climbing, crushing pots blindfolded). Today, the plow festival is celebrated not only in the 55 regions of Russia, but also in 23 countries of the world. Altogether, there will be 226 celebrations of the Sabantuy in 2013.
In the districts of Tatarstan the plow festival usually begins in the first weekend of June, and completes with a grandiose Sabantuy in Kazan. This year the time-table has been adjusted a little to allow the guests of the 27th Summer Universiade of 2013 to take part in the ethnic festivity and to appreciate its scale and beauty.
We remind, that the Sabantuy will take place on July 13 in the birch grove in the town of Mirny.
“Ethnic stands, prepared by the efforts of Tatarstan districts’ representatives, will open at 9:00 in the morning. There the guests will be able to familiarize themselves with the way of life of the peoples who live in the republic. At 11:00 a theatrical show will start on the main square,” told the Deputy Minister of Culture of the Republic of Tatarstan Guzel Nigmatullina.
Of course, no Sabantuy can do without the main sports competition – kuresh ethnic wrestling. The Universiade champions in this sport are scheduled to take part.
“Sabantuy is a holiday for all, and everyone can take part. The Universiade champions will come the Kazan Sabantuy on an individual basis, in order to take part in belt wrestling competitions. They will also take part in the federally-organized Sabantuy,” explained the Executive Director of the All-Russian Federation of Koresh Ethnic Wrestling Rafil Akhmetkhanov.
The winning batyr of the festival will be awarded traditional prizes – a ram and a car.
All can take part in the competitions in lifting weights, tug-of-war, walking logs, running with an egg on a spoon, searching for a coin in a pot with qatiq and many others.
Simultaneously with the sports competitions a concert will take place on the main stage of the square, bringing together the best artistic groups of the republic and stars of the Tatar scene. The organizers are promising lots of surprises, but so far keeping the details secret.
Public order and security will be assured by 1.5 thousand agents of the Ministry of the Interior and 50 employees of private security agencies. Since all delegations which have come to the Universiade are invited to the Sabantuy, extra safety measures will be applied.
We remind that the traditional Sabantuys in other districts of Kazan will not take place this year.