"Crow's Day" at YuSU

YuSU celebrated the spring holiday - "Crow's Day". Students took part in festive events: made toys and amulets, watched ethnographic films, competed in traditional games, guessed riddles and puzzles, answered questions at the ETNOQUIZ, where they learnt who the goddess Kaltashch is and why a crow warms its feet in wood shavings.

"Interesting tours allowed me and other participants to immerse themselves in the historical and cultural heritage of the Khanty and Mansi peoples from the very first question. There were three rounds in total. The first one was held in the format of "Jeopardy", where the questions were divided into several interesting categories (e.g. "I am an individual", "Translator", "my Yugra", etc.) revealing many amazing facts about the peoples of the North. We learnt many interesting, sometimes even unexpected facts about "Crow's Day". The second round - musical, added to the atmosphere, and allowed us not only to have fun, but also to deepen our knowledge in the music and language of Khanty and Mansi. The third round was especially exciting, where the teams guessed different interesting places based on a few facts, revealing to us the richness and beauty of these places and historical events. Such events not only enrich our knowledge, but also contribute to a deeper understanding and respect for the culture and traditions of the peoples of the North," Daria Rybiakova, one of the ETNOQUIZ participants, shared her impressions.

"Events such as the District Crow's Day should be held. They help to preserve the culture of indigenous peoples of Yugra, to share this culture with people of other nationalities. Now at the holiday we see mostly musical, stage creativity. People from different districts of the district come together, share their experience", - said Alexandra Tarlina, a specialist in youth work of the Centre of the Peoples of the North of Yugra.

At the lecture "Crow's Day: about traditions with warmth" students were told that the crow in the culture of Ob-Ugric people is a symbol of life, spring and motherhood. In spring days, with the arrival of crows, a new cycle of life begins, which lasts until autumn, i.e. until the time of departure of crows.

Every autumn they fly south to a warm place where they wait out the winter, and in spring they return to their native lands. Indigenous peoples believed that the south is the country of ancestors, where one can go in the guise of a bird and return as a baby. The Ob Ugrian crow brings not only spring on its tail, but also news of the birth of children.

"Children are an important part of the holiday; the crow brings news of them. So far I have observed traditions related to newborns (albeit modern) only in villages and settlements," said Alexandra.

The students thank the Centre for the Peoples of the North of YuSU for the event and are already looking forward to new ones!