Modern Folk Festivals in Tatarstan: The Paths of Development and Their Specific Features

Abstract

Contemporary festive rituals among the peoples of Tatarstan are being established in two different ways. Firstly, they are offered “from below,” as a popular initiative on the part of individuals and groups who seek to follow a tradition and to take part in the festive activities “as their soul commands.” Secondly, there is development “from above,” when festivals are initiated by various state and public structures, whose activities have their own goals and organisational means for their implementation. Specialized educational institutions also contribute to the development and maintenance of folk traditions. Based on the authors’ field-work materials and publications,
the paper examines the specific ways in which festivals are conducted in Tatarstan by Russians and Tatars respectively, with a special attention to the two mentioned above tendencies. The case of the pagan festival Uchuk of the Chuvashs is also analysed in detail.