Everyday Meals Etiquette in Food Culture of Urban Tatars-Muslims

Abstract

The article views the religious aspects of food etiquette of Kazan Tatars based on the polling results, statistical data, and literature sources. The topicality of the issue is due to its poor coverage; it is actualised by the religious renaissance of the Tatars in the post-Soviet period, the dramatically increased interest in the genealogical roots of their ethnic culture, factors of its development and structure of self-identification. The authors compare the bases of nutritional behaviour of the Tatars with the recommendations stipulated by the Islamic sources, and disclose the degree of their compliance with the canons. The research revealed both the competencies (knowledge of the Islamic etiquette rules) and the level of their actual occurrence. For comparison, the similar results were taken, obtained during the research of a Tajik community in Kazan – a group with stronger expressed religious characteristics, compared to the Tatars. The research revealed the variety of the canonic Islamic food culture by the example of two Muslim models (Tatar and Tajik), both in terms of individual nutrition components (main foods, national cuisine, ways of cooking, etc.), and in terms of food culture in general, including etiquette.