During the Revival of the new epoch of a stable state, the Turkmen people celebrate their national holidays with great joy and noise at the state level under the leadership of our esteemed President Serdar Berdimuhamedov in the year 2023 «Arkadag with Serdar Happy Youths Year». Festive events are held in all regions of the country, various sports competitions are organized. Under the leadership of our beloved President, the country is carrying out great projects of national importance, in order to develop the country politically, economically and culturally, to improve the condition of the people, to improve the science and education system, to educate the scientific and educated youth, and to restore the national traditions of the Turkmen people.
Nowruz holiday is widely celebrated in our country, which is an equal member of the international community. Nowruz holiday is included in UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. A special resolution was adopted to declare March 21 as International Nowruz Day. Thus, Nowruz holiday is widely celebrated as a holiday that strengthens peace between nations, strengthens friendship and brotherhood, and spreads the historical and cultural traditions of Eastern nations to the world, with weddings, joy, noise, and music.
With the efforts of the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the multi-faceted cultural policy is aimed at deepening the scientific study of our national heritage, including the interesting traditions of the International Nowruz Day, and enriching it with modern colors. Monjugatdy is one of the poetic genres of Turkmen folklore, and it is usually performed by brides-girls in the spring months, especially on the International Nowruz holiday. This is a number game played by brides to try their luck. Brides and grooms gather at a house in the early evening to play the beads. During the game, a bowl of water is poured and everyone throws their beads into it.
The eldest of the participants, skilled in beading, recites the stanza of the poem:
Let’s get together girls
Let’s get lucky
Who is that guy?
Let’s have a good laugh!
The bride and groom looked at the necklace as a bride on the night of Nowruz, and they called her like this:
Nowruz is here tonight
Girls will shoot.
Whoever is angry
The crown is a rooster.
Continuous development of culture, activation of international relations in the field of humanitarianism are priorities of state policy. Independent, permanent neutral Turkmenistan has a number of historical and cultural monuments. The traditions, literary works, folk games, and wedding dishes related to the National Spring Holiday of the Turkmen people – the International Nowruz Day – date back to ancient times. It would be useful to study the history of Nowruz in connection with the early origins of agriculture. International Nowruz Day is one of the holidays widely celebrated in all regions of Turkmenistan During the Revival of the new epoch of a stable state.
The unique traditions of the International Nowruz holiday, which is one of the main values of the historical and cultural universal culture of the Turkmen people, associated with the National Spring-Nowruz holiday, the literary works, folk games, the rich Turkmen land itself, the wedding that is the decoration of the wedding band, which is as generous as the soul of this ancient and hospitable people. Tastes and other national principles are discussed. In order to study the historical origins of Nowruz, it is appropriate to connect it with the early centers of agriculture, and it will lead to a perfect continuity of thought. The scientific researches of certain archeologists and ethnographers proved that Turkmenistan is the fifth center of advanced civilizations along with ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, and India.
Today, this is a globally recognized fact. If we associate Nowruz primarily with the renewal of nature, the awakening of the earth from winter sleep, the re-opening of flowers, the beginning of agricultural work, then we should look for the glorious origins of this holiday in this very fertile soil. It is self-evident that our ancestors, who taught us to celebrate every moment of human life with a wedding, from the first day to the last breath, celebrated the days when the seeds of resurrection were thrown into the ground. International Nowruz holiday has become one of the main national holidays widely celebrated in all regions of sunny Turkmenistan during the happy state of the established state.
The international Nowruz celebration has reached the Turkmen land, which has received the holy gaze of Allatagalla. The entire Muslim world solemnly celebrates this holiday, which renews the colors of the world, as a holiday of renewal, purity, and happiness. This holiday, which renews hearts and souls, has its origins in the times of Oguzhan, Salyr Kazan, and Gorkut ata. If we look at some historical information about the origin of Nowruz, the reason for its origin is that the Sun makes two revolutions outside its axis, that is, in one of them, the Sun leaves the Aries (Hamal) constellation every 365 days and 6 hours, exactly, minute by minute. Is to return to space. This period is decreasing every year. After Jemshit realized on which day this situation happened, he called this day «Nowruz» and declared that day as a holiday. Later kings and people followed his lead.
Nowruz is one of the most ancient festivals of the East, and this holiday is not a holiday of religion, of any era, of a famous victory, of a political concept, but of the excitement born in the hearts as the winter fades away. Don’t your heart be excited to see the green grass sprouting from the wet soil, the green leaves bursting open as if a magical fetus had been dissolved, the buds turning into flowers, and the house filled with different sounds?! There is a unique poem by Magtymguly Pyragy «If Nowruz comes to the world, the world will be colored.»
This indelible monument of poetry impresses with its artistic writing and helps to understand the world. Let’s simplify Turkmen and Arabic-Persian words in the poem, which are out of use today, and difficult to understand, using the dictionary of classical literature. Although I pour out all the juice of the poem, let’s try to read it as simple as we can for the sake of understanding the skill of the poet and Nowruz.
«If Nowruz comes to the world, colors will appear in the world», that is, when Nowruz comes, different colors will appear in the world.
«Clouds will make noise and mist will appear on mountains»,
meaning clouds will make noise and mist will appear on mountains.
« Strangers come to life and open their mouths, that is, they enter lifeless things and open their mouths.
«Unripe grasses, green grasses, that is, unripe grass, will come to life.
«They will do both harm and harm to animals, that is, they will both benefit and harm animals.
«They will spread and walk on the earth, that is, there will be an open and hidden spread on the earth.
«The birds will sing and sing,» meaning the birds will sing and speak.
The poet writes that «everything will have its own voice» when it comes to Nowruz. In spring and summer, the sounds are really amazing. Because «The earth becomes green, and the skin is removed», that is, when Nowruz comes, the earth is clothed in green, and it looks like dust has fallen off its face. «The vegetable inside the sandwich will make a tone in a hundred languages», that is, in the green field, the birds will start to sing with a hundred different voices. «The earth is pale and the flowers are full of color, and the sky is full of flowers.» That is, the surface of the earth is in a state of wonder, colorful flowers have bloomed, and the change is not only happening on earth, but the sky is falling and tears are falling from the clouds.
«The face of the world is beautiful with music», that is, the face of the world is beautiful with music. «Don’t be proud of the song, the bottom is desolate», meaning don’t wander aimlessly thinking that the world is just music, it will end badly. «A life alive in the light of truth, know that it is eternal life», that is, with the will of God, a person is given eternal life. «There is no love in every body, but life is eternal,» that is, without God’s love, a person cannot be resurrected. «Until spring, the earth is more beautiful than the sky, It’s a sunrise, it’s a day, It’s a day, every breath is in the world, and the world is alive.», everything that was born must be gathered together on the Day of Resurrection, and finally the Resurrection will come. «Don’t be greedy, there is no other country», i.e. Don’t be greedy for money, wealth is not eternal. «Don’t waste your life, you’re working hard» means don’t waste your life. «Whatever fate has written for you sooner or later, don’t sacrifice your life for longing, the reward is in good deeds or good intentions», that is, do bad things without being able to do bad things and live in sorrow, let your intention be good. «The world is in all service, man is sleeping and heedless, If the harvest is good, then evil will appear», rain fell from the sky and green grass grew on the ground, a person should think that these things do not happen by themselves. Eventually you will burn. The period when flowers bloom
Magtymguly Pyragy asks God for faith like a flower.
It encourages people to refrain from doing evil and to live in good faith.
Nowruz bread-cloth is a blessed full of blessings. They wrote the bread-cloth in the vast deserts of the ancient East. Then every people, starting from the ancient history, according to their traditions, decorated and filled Nowruz Supra with the most delicious flavors. Full of blessings and blessings, Nowruz Supra is widespread in history. What sets it apart from other Supras is that everyone has the right to sit on it. Everyone, regardless of his character, is called by nature to that Supra. Turkmen people also go to the houses of their friends and relatives to say hello, see each other, and maintain respectful relations. During Nowruz, neighbors cook delicacies, especially dishes such as semeni, which is considered the food of Ashe-Patma, and offer them to each other.
There are a number of superstitions among the people regarding semen. There is a belief among the people that the wishes of the person who prepares semen at home during the Nowruz holiday are accepted. The seeds that are cooking in the pot should be stirred regularly. That’s why the women stood in line for the cooked semen and said their prayers. Stirring the semen in the pot was considered a bad thing, and it was understood that if you stir it, your wish will come true. The belief that the wishes of those who participate in the cooking of semen and the people who prepare it come true is firmly rooted in the country. When the mouth of the prepared semen is opened, it is opened by reciting the verse. There is a belief that the first woman to open, Eshe Patma, can see the footprints. Those fingerprints are believed to increase the number of people who see them. There is also a belief among the people that the door of heaven is open to those who are born from heaven. Those who wish for happiness, health, children, and those who wish to enter a higher education school pray by cooking semeni at home during Nowruz. Our parents also «purify» uncircumcised women with the help of their semen. The women who took the seed from the prepared blue wheat and put it on their hair believed that they would see a child. Since ancient times, semeni was considered to be the taste of Bibi Patma. It is believed that Bibi Patma, the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, prepared her semen for the first time when she was pregnant. It is self-evident that wheat germ is a very beneficial food for humans. It is one of the most useful and necessary foods for pregnant women and the fetus in their womb. In the Nowruz holiday, the cooking of semeni is led by respectable, elderly women who are the owners of the most halal, clean, pure and healthy families in the village. They read the prayers that are recited while cooking the semen and guide the young brides in mixing the semen so that their good wishes are accepted. Most of the time, semeni is cooked together by relatives and neighbors. She is the girl who cooks alone among the crowd. In fact, the purpose of cooking semen in heaps was to wish for a good harvest, prosperity of the country, and unity in the new year. Everyone was eager to taste the prepared semen, and the semen were tasted by the neighbors. For example, in Bashkirs, Nowruz festival is associated with livestock, wishing for an abundance of cattle and milk, and fried meat with steamed wheat is placed on top of it. Kazakh people prepare «Nowruz kujesi» made of different types of grains for Nowruz holiday. In the Turkmen people, in addition to semen, since early times, our women have been making koje from the wool for Nowruz hair. International Nowruz is a festive and popular holiday. This festival is a celebration of new day, new year, new life and growth.
International Nowruz, unlike other holidays, is a holiday of earth and nature.
Winter is when nature cools, freezes, and leaves the earth and gives way to spring. The arrival of the International Nowruz is the arrival of spring. With the arrival of spring, the flowers are blooming and the butterflies are playing. Our lands and mountains are covered with blue frost, and the creatures begin to warm and sympathize with each other. Hundreds of thousands of species of grass and trees begin to bloom, reviving their inner senses. The trees lay the groundwork for their ripening fruit in the summer. Man needs such fruits. This is God’s gift to mankind. Just as a new born baby makes everyone happy, in the spring, everything comes alive again, the grass blooms, the trees come alive, the birds sing, and the bird announces that it has returned to the world. National Spring – International Nowruz holiday, which I take from my wife, is the most solemn holiday in our country. The welcoming season of spring is a symbol of life, a time of rebirth of nature, life on Earth, and a grand feast of springtime that invigorates the soul. Nowruz Day was declared a holiday in the country. People dress up on that day and go on merry-go-rounds.
Our exemplary poet Kemine:
The language of hope will be a black eye.
See, watch, perhaps, the flowers;
Let the tongue of beauty be a sweet word,
In words, I am a sacrifice to sweet tongues! –
as they say, there comes a time when lovers fall in love, talk sweetly, get married, and start a new family. As soon as the holiday is over, our farmers start their field work with great enthusiasm. They strive to lay the foundation for a bountiful New Year’s harvest. This is a clear proof that the Nowruz holiday gives a person spiritual pleasure and creates new desires and dreams in the heart of every person.
The Turkmen people are more happy and proud to hold such famous festivals in the country where every day is celebrated. As soon as the holiday is over, our farmers start their field work with great enthusiasm. It is possible to carry out such high-purpose and important tasks under the leadership of a rational national leader who lives with the worries of the country. We wish the lives of our honorable national leader and the honorable president, who are leading our beloved people to new heights of development, long life and success in the country’s advantageous work!
Happy national spring holiday, dear people!
References
- Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. Territory of Turkmen statehood. Ashgabat, 2016.
- Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. A blessed Turkmen cuisine – Ashgabat, 2010.
- N. Seidov. Studying of Turkmen folklore. Ashgabat, 2018.