Talking Tajik: NORUZ MOBORAK! (Happy New Year!)

At long last, spring has sprung in Tajikistan. Even though about a foot of snow fell on the first two days of spring, Dushanbe has warmed up in a hurry. Along with the vernal equinox, the Persian new year (Noruz) also set Tajikistan abuzz. As I stated in my last post, there was originally a great deal of confusion as to when Noruz should actually be celebrated. Instead of taking the time to figure it out, a good deal of people simply partied the whole week long. On March 20, at the exact moment of the equinox, many local Iranians observed their new year. In Tajikistan, however, Noruz is typically celebrated on the 21st. Unfortunately, since it snowed so much on the 20th and 21st, the Taj government postponed the state-sponsored festivities. I think they realized that celebrating the coming of warmer, greener days seemed a bit silly under a foot of snow and ice.

In the meantime, the scheduled American Councils party on the 22rd went off without a hitch. There are a lot of traditions that surround Noruz. Bobi Dehqon (Grandfather Farmer) and Malikai Havruzi are two of the characters that are closely connected to the New Year in Taj. I suppose one could liken them to Santa and Mrs. Claus at Christmas time in the US. Anyhow, my professors asked me to play the role of Boboi Dehqon in the American Councils skit. My friend Amanda was Malikai Havruzi. We both had to dress up in very traditional Tajik outfits and just say a few words on the changing of the season. It was pretty fun and everyone at the party seemed to find it amusing.

The rest of the party was just as enjoyable. Everyone was up, singing and dancing, till it got dark. There was a ton of osh and other traditional Noruz foods that were prepared for us. Samanu, a wheat-based pudding that is only made around Noruz, was probably my favorite food. In order to properly prepare samanu, one has to continue stirring it in a gigantic pot for about 24 hours. People from all over the neighborhood came to our party to help with the samanu-making process. Spread out on one the tables was also the traditional haft sin (seven S's). The haft sin is comprised of seven various things that start with the Persian letter sin and symbolize a different aspect of Noruz. The things that make up the haft sin are as follows:

-Sabzi: literally 'green' (symbolizing rebirth)

-Samanu: the wheat pudding (symbolizing affluence)

-Senjed: some kind of fruit (symbolizing love)

-Sir: garlic (symbolizing medicine)

-Sib: apple (symbolizing beauty and health)

-Somaq: sumac (symbolizing the color of the sunrise)

-Serkeh: vinegar (symbolizing old-age and patience)

Apparently there are a lot of things that can be substituted into the haft sin, like coins or certain flowers. There were also quite a few arm wrestling competitions and tugs of war that took place at the party. I think they're traditional Noruz activities, but I forget why. Another traditional activity is the dying hard boiled eggs. Once the eggs are all colored, people smash them together. Whoever has the egg that doesn't crack is said to have good luck in the new year. My family in the US does this for Easter, so I was surprised to learn that the custom was observed in other cultures as well. All in all, it was a great day. Another memory I will look back on fondly.

The following day we had off from classes. Nothing really happened again until the 25th. Pretty much every night that week, though, the extended host family members came over and we had some comparatively lavish dinners. On the 25th, the Tajik government officially celebrated Noruz with a gigantic exposition of traditional song and dance at a local stadium. Unfortunately, it was an invitation-only sort of affair. So even though I couldn't attend in person, I watched the taping of it with my extended host family later that night. It went on for quite a while. Considering how much was involved with the exhibition, it was surprisingly well organized. At the end of the whole event, the President of Taj made some quick remarks and with that, Noruz was over. It was indeed an enjoyable week of festivities.

Like I said, the weather is getting pretty warm. It seems that right as Noruz came, the weather got beautiful again. Everyday for the past week has been sunny in the low 70's. I hope it stays that way for my last six weeks here. If all goes well, I'm planning to travel to four more (fairly) major Tajik cities before I leave. So there will definitely be a few more intriguing posts before all is said and done this semester.

As always, thanks for reading. There are some Noruz pictures below.

^ Bobi Dehqon and my Prof. calling for Malikai Navruzi

^ the fabric upon which Malikai Navruzi entered was fought over until it ripped; whoever got the larger piece would be lucky in the new year (like a wishbone)