23 March 2017, 22:15
Members of Derbent communities dissatisfied with format of Nowruz-Bayram celebration
In Derbent, during the celebration of Nowruz-Bayram, the authorities refused the principle of polyethnicity and did not focus on differences in the name of the holiday among the peoples celebrating it. This was reported by members of the autonomies. The authorities argue that holding a unified holiday does not mean that rights of some of the communities have been violated.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the holiday of Nowruz-Bayram is celebrated annually in Derbent and many districts of Dagestan, usually on the vernal equinox (March 21). This is one of the most ancient eastern holidays.
Starting from 2014, the Federal Lezghin National Cultural Autonomy (FLNCA) with the administrations of the city of Derbent and the districts of Southern Dagestan organized a spring holiday in Derbent together with the other peoples of Southern Dagestan. This was explained by Gusen Shakhpazov, the head of the Executive Committee of the FLNCA.
According to him, the events systematically ignoring the cultural components of all nations at can result in inter-ethnic tensions.
Gusen Shakhpazov has noted that Nowruz-Bayram left the category of sacral-religious holidays and became a local tradition and "a very important element of ethnic self-awareness."
Opponents of the celebration of Nowruz-Bayram in Dagestan treat it as the feast of fire worshipers not conforming to the canons of Islam.
According to the Ministry of Tourism and Folk Art of Dagestan, the change in the format of the holiday and the name of the events is not important.
Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.
Source: CK correspondent
