Sabantui

Spring

Sabantui, or the Festival of the Plow, was originally an agricultural celebration of the planting season. The date is now set each year by the president of the Republic of Tatarstan. The festival is held in Kazan on the Volga River. The events include climbing a greased pole to reach a cock in a cage on top and "smashing the crocks," a variation of Pin-the-Tail-on-the-Donkey in which a blindfolded player who has been spun around several times tries to break open crockery pieces that contain prizes. There are also wrestling matches, foot and horse races, and lots of music and food.
Sabantui is also celebrated by Tatars living in Belarus. People of Tatar ancestry in Turkey observe Tepresh in June, a similar festival marking the end of the planting season.

CONTACTS:
Tatarstan Department of Foreign Affairs
Kazan, Tatarstan 420014 Russia
7-843-232-7552; fax: 7-843-232-7088
www.tatar.ru

SOURCES:
BkHolWrld-1986, Jun 25
FestWrld: Russia-1997, p. 24
FolkWrldHol-1999, p. 406

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References in periodicals archive

Using newspaper accounts, Malysheva shows that the Tatar holiday of Sabantui had become common across the entire city by the early 20th century, and that Russians participated in the feasting and wrestling contests.

Private lives and public spaces in Imperial Russia

At the initiative of the local Tatar community, Sabantui takes place annually in cities such as Washington, New York, San Francisco, Berlin, Tashkent, Montreal, Toronto, Prague, Istanbul and many others.

Unistream and Uniastrum Sponsor Sabantuy Festival at Kolomenskoe

The main one here is Sabantui which means "holiday of the plough".

World class: Russia

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