Traditions and customs
Kurai
Like every nation, the Bashkirs have a musical instrument that incorporates its image and soul. For Bashkortostan, it is kurai. Its magical sound has fascinated people's hearts for centuries. Modern kurai virtuosos have perfected the playing this ancient musical instrument and expanded the range of its possibilities.
Today kurai is not only a national musical instrument, but also a trademark of Bashkortostan. The flower symbol of the plant of the same name is depicted on the national emblem and flag of the republic. The petals of a stylized kurai designate seven ancient Bashkir clans that entered into an agreement on the voluntary entry of Bashkiria into the Russian state.
Bashkir honey
Bashkortostan is the birthplace of Bashkir honey, a valuable and healthy natural product. Bashkir honey has been a trademark of the republic for many years. According to scientists, the real Bashkir honey in its taste and healing properties, as well as the composition of trace elements, has no analogues in the world. The value and originality of Bashkir honey is due to the uniqueness of the very nature of Bashkortostan. Bashkir honey has low acidity, which positively affects the enzymatic processes in honey and increases its bactericidal properties. A Burzyan (Bashkir) bee also contributed to the Bashkir honey. Today, Bashkir honey is supplied to many European countries, the USA, Japan, the Middle East, in particular, to Kuwait.
Apiculture
Wild-hive beekeeping as a folk craft has flourished on the territory of modern Bashkortostan since ancient times. This is evidenced by the findings of the bursky burial ground, opened in 1902, which is about fifteen hundred years old: among other utensils, a complete equipment of a beekeeper – a getter of forest honey was found in it. Currently, in the state nature reserve "Shulgan Tash", located in the burzyansky district of the Republic of Bashkortostan, and nearby villages, wild-hive eekeeping is preserved as a folk craft. And the ancient techniques of Bashkir beekeepers described in many historical documents.
Koumiss
Bashkortostan is the birthplace of koumiss. Koumiss is the national drink of the Bashkirs, the tradition of production of which is rooted in the distant past. The ability to make delicious koumiss has long been valued and transmitted from generation to generation. In the Russian Empire, both commoners and eminent khans were treated with the Bashkir koumiss.
Sabantuy
Every year in Bashkortostan, on a large scale, the Sabantuy national holiday is celebrated - the plow holiday. It originated in pagan times, then its meaning was to appease the numerous gods and spirits of nature, on whose mercy the life of people depended. Sabantuy is traditionally celebrated in early summer. On a large meadow shopping arcades and concert venues, yurts, carts and other attributes of a long nomadic life are established. Traditional dishes are prepared, sabantuy is one of the best occasions to get acquainted with the national cuisine of the republic. In addition, various contests are held: breaking a jug with closed eyes with a stick, walking along a slippery log, raised above the ground, participating in a tug of war, fighting with bags while sitting on a log. Among the contests there are also genuine folk entertainments - for example, climbing on a tall bare pole, greased with fat. Sabantuy is an occasion for dzhigits to measure strength in the struggle of Kuresh. One of the most spectacular parts of the celebration is horse racing.
Kuresh
The national wrestling Kuresh in Bashkortostan has been known and loved since ancient times. The exciting fights of the batyrs have always been distinguished by their attractiveness and wrestling spirit. The origins of kuresh or belt wrestling go back centuries. In the old days, many Turkic peoples held such competitions during festivities and holidays. Now the belt wrestling is undergoing a new birth - already as a sport. Periodically, wrestling on belts includes European, world and national championships.
Horse breeding
The history of the Bashkir people from ancient times is closely connected with horse breeding. The Bashkir horse fed, dressed and defended its people in difficult times. Therefore, the hero of the republic depicts the hero Salavat Yulaev on his Bashkir horse. In the Republic of Bashkortostan, horse breeding has always been treated as a favorite business and, accordingly, achieved high production indicators. The number of horses in the republic reached two hundred thousand, and up to two thousand tons of koumiss were sold annually.
Bashkir Yurt
Bashkirs, like many other nomadic peoples of Eurasia, spent about half of their lives in temporary dwellings, the ancient and universal appearance of which was a lattice yurt. Due to its ease of transportation, stability during steppe winds and hurricanes, the ability to keep warm in cold, cool in heat, the ability to quickly disassemble and assemble, etc. made it a perfect home. The size of the yurt and the color of its felt, covering of its roof, spoke of the wealth of its owner.
Bashkir costume
The Bashkir costume is extremely diverse and rich. This is based on the cultural and ethnic features of the ancient and medieval tribes and peoples that have joined the Bashkirs. Many skills have found implementation in the folk costume: patterned textile, knitting, all kinds of embroidery, applique, making jewelry from coral strung on threads, from coins, jewelry craft, leather ornamentation. In the manufacture of clothing, skins and fur of wild animals were used. In folklore and ethnographic sources there are references to fur coats and headdresses made of lynx, fox fur, hare and squirrel skins, from the skin of a young bear, wolf. Bashkir women decorated costumes with gems, silver and other coins. Shiny coins were a symbol of the sun, stars and, in addition, it was believed that the ringing of coins drives away evil spirits.
Museums
Multimedia historical park "Russia. My history"
https://myhistorypark.ru/?city=ufaUfa, st. Mendeleev, 158
Museum of beekeeping
Burzyansky district, Irgizly village, Zapovednaya street, 9
Ethnopark "Vatan"
"Vatan" ethnopark is one of the most striking projects implemented for guests of the SCO and BRICS summits held in Ufa in 2015. Thanks to the expositions of the park, guests and foreign delegations were able to get acquainted not only with the culture of the indigenous people of the Republic of Belarus and their national customs, but also with the modern achievements of the republic. The main object of the park is the Ethno-Village project. The complex consists of seven yurts; they reflect the entire identity of the region. Kuraists, kubyzists, dumbrians, singers and dancers perform here, craftsmen demonstrate decorative crafts. In the new season, the park will have a food zone with dishes of national cuisine, an open library, velouurt and a sports zone.
South Ural Botanical Garden, UC RAS
The Botanical Garden occupies 23 hectares, was created in 1932. In 1991, it was transformed into an independent institute of the Ufa Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences. In the botanical garden, flowering plants, fruiting trees, herbaceous plants, wild flora and more. And also on the territory there is a syringary, rockery, arboretum, greenhouse of tropical and subtropical plants.
Theatres
Bashkir Opera and Ballet Theater
The Bashkir State Opera and Ballet Theater was founded in 1938. It was on the stage of the Ufa theater that Rudolf Nureyev, a brilliant dancer of the twentieth century, made his first steps.
It regularly hosts international festivals and large-scale creative events: festivals of ballet art n.a. R. Nureyev, vocal competitions, Chaliapin evenings in Ufa.
Guests of the Chaliapin evenings, organized since 1991, over the years have been vivid singers and conductors of the Bolshoi and Mariinsky Theaters, Perm, Saratov, Voronezh, Yekaterinburg, Samara, Novosibirsk, as well as from Italy, Bulgaria, Germany.
The authority of the Nureev celebrations and their fame went far beyond the borders of the republic. Over the years, leading soloists of the Bolshoi and Mariinsky theaters, dancers from Brazil, Argentina, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Japan, Latvia, the USA, creative groups “Grigorovich-ballet”, “Russian ballet” by V.Gordeev, Cairo ballet, ballet troupe of the Perm Opera and Ballet Theater named after P. Tchaikovsky and others performed on stage.
Creative authority of the theater is gaining more and more authority on the world stage. The theater has its own museum of its history, the personal belongings of actors, awards, theatrical costumes and props are stored here.
Ufa Amphitheater
The Ufa Amphitheater is a natural bowl with access to the embankment. An open area is a place of attraction for citizens, where in the warm season concerts of classical and national music are held under the open sky. Every summer, the International Art Festival “Heart of Eurasia” takes place here. In 2018, over five days the festival was attended by 100,000 people, and about 700 musicians became participants in it. The festival program included "Symphonic Night" of the National Symphony Orchestra of the Republic of Bashkortostan, "Ufa - Kuraifest", "Ethnoch", the Festival of National Costumes and other colorful events, many of which are organized annually.
