culture of Uzbekisatan: ...

It is my first blog, I tried to describe our nationality via writing about our wonderful traditions and customs. there are also pictures showing cultural life of our republic.

                                         Culture of Uzbekistan

  Uzbekistan culture is very colorful and distinctive. It has been formed over millenniums and has taken in tradition and customs of various nations settled on the territory of today Uzbekistan. We can see its rich culture from history  events and hospitality of our uzbek people.

  The Great Silk Road played a great role in the development of Uzbekistan culture. Being the trade route, it ran from China to two destinations: first one was to Ferghana Valley and Kazakh steppes and second route led to Bactria, and then to Parthia, India and Middle East up to Mediterranean Sea. The Silk Road favored to exchange not only goods, but also technologies, languages, ideas, religions. Thereby the Great Silk Road led to the spread of Buddhism on the territory of Central Asia, where you still may see the influence of different religions.

  Music and musical instruments traveled together with vagrant musicians following caravans, and secrets of paper manufacture, iron coining also moved from country to country and they exchanged their experiences, knew about other countries. Years passed, time and people have changed, but our traditions and customs still staying unchangeable.  

 In 1991 Uzbekistan obtained its independence that promoted the rapid development of handicrafts and traditional applied art, rebirth of Uzbek traditions and customs, development of Uzbekistan traditional culture.

Uzbek music      

  Traditional Uzbek music has deep and ancient roots. Folklore music has a lot of genres: nursery rhymes, rite, labor, common, dialogues and different kind of songs. Makoma is classic Uzbek music and special musical genre, with peculiar drawl and tender performance. Lyric singers sing makomas based on verses of Oriental poets (Djami, Navoi, Fazuli, Khafiza, Uvaysi, Nadira, Mukimi, Ogakhi and etc) . besides them there are other kind of music types, like lazgi, Bukhara dance, andijan polka. These music types has their own style, special music instruments and costums. Each music doesn’t repeat other.

Wealth and variety of Uzbek musical traditions can be explained by a great number of national musical instruments: gidjak, dombra, dutar, tanbur, ud, rubab, chang,  karnay, doyra, nagora, and others.                                                                                      

 Uzbek dance

 National Uzbek dance is very expressive. It presents all the beauty of nation. The main difference of Uzbek dance from dances of other Eastern nations is the accent on complicated and expressive hand gestures and animated facial expressions. Uzbek dance includes two categories: classic traditional dance and folklore dance.

Classic traditional Uzbek dance is the art, studied in choreographic schools and demonstrated on a stage. There are three schools of Uzbek dance: Ferghana, Bukhara and Khorezm. Ferghana dances are differed with, original motions. Bukhara dance is distinguished with sharpness of gestures, leaned back shoulders and very beautiful gold work costumes. Khorezm style differs from others with original and distinctive motions.

Folk Uzbek dance includes traditions of almost any region and displays wonderful variety. People dance them on weddings and family holidays, rural and urban events. These dances are handed over from generation to generation.

National clothes   

The Uzbek national clothes of the end of XX centuries remain constant up these days. The men in that time carried a direct cover shirts, bottom and top dressing gowns. The dressing gowns were very light and made from cotton wool. There were cuts on each side of dressing gown for convenience at walking. The trousers were made wide, of direct breed lent from top to bottom. Female clothes: dressing gowns, dress, "parandja"- also of wide breed.                                                                  Uzbekistan Weddings

Many Uzbek ceremonies, especially those associated with family life, such as weddings and the birth an upbringing of children, represent the combination of Islamic rituals with more ancient forms related to mystical practices. A wedding involves the whole community, and it is not uncommon to see three hundred guests at the wedding party. The rituals begin with an engagement ceremony, at which the wedding date is set, and end on the day after the wedding with a ceremony in which the bride is formally received into her new family. And after wedding party you can see a lot of ceremonies like “challari”, “kelin salom”, “kuyov salom”and etc. 

Uzbekistan traditions & customs

 The traditions and customs of the Uzbek people have been shaped by the long and rich history of our republic. The treasures that flowed were not only the ones that can be held in one's hand, but also those that touch the heart and soul. Art, philosophy, science, and religious ideals were exchanged, enriching the cultures of both the travelers and their hosts.

 Uzbek culture reflects a beautiful culture of these influences, while maintaining its own unique traditions. From the harmony of its architecture to the masterful detail of its applied arts, from the busy, noisy bazaars to the peaceful, laid-back chaikhana, a journey through Uzbekistan is unique and unforgettable.

 When meeting someone for the first time, a handshake denotes a formal introduction (however, women will generally not be expected to shake hands with men). At a meal, guests will be expected to take a turn as toastmaster, thanking and praising the host, saying something witty, and wishing good health and prosperity to all present.

 Of all the traditions in Uzbek culture, those associated with the family and community are the most important. The community itself is structured self-governing units, the mahallya. These groups of neighbors help each other and together conduct joint activities. Weddings, funerals, commemorative ceremonies, and the rites of circumcision are all organized by the mahallya.  

    Uzbekistan Hospitality       

         

At the heart of Uzbek culture is its wonderful hospitality, renowned for centuries. From the days when Uzbekistan stood at the crossroads of the Great Silk Road, its grand cities built there “karvon saroy” and hosted thousands of tradesmen These caravans would stay for days at a time, enjoying the gracious generosity that has remained a living tradition to the present day.

 The Uzbek Tea Ceremony, a formal and graceful ritual, demonstrates in a very practical way the high priority given to hospitality. When a guest arrives, the hostess will serve tea, usually accompanied by a traditional snack. The freshly brewed tea is poured from the teapot into a ceramic cup and then returned to the teapot three times, allowing the full flavor and aroma of the tea to develop. The fourth time, tea is poured into the guest's cup, filling it only halfway so that it will be the perfect temperature for the guest to enjoy and it represents respect to the guest.

Uzbekistan Chaikhanas

If the bazaar is the place where one can find out the latest news, the chaikhana is the place to discuss it in depth. These tea houses, preferably situated near a stream of clear water, with a central samovar to hold the tea, and low tables on mats for the guests to sit around, are the perfect place for men to discuss just about anything. In these places they will have a rest from their noisy grandsons and granddaughters.   It is at the chaikhana that men will cook up a palov, between endless cups of green tea.

  

   Uzbek food   

  Not for nothing people from all over the world like and honor the Uzbek cuisine. It is one of the most  various in tastes cuisine in Central Asia. Only names of tasting Uzbek food make one’s mouth water. Plov, manti, shurpa, shashlik, lagman, samsa have such wonderful smell that one can’t stand tasting them at once.

  Many Uzbek recipes have centuries-old history, and the process of preparing food is accompanied with various rituals, which have reached our days.     

  National Uzbek food is the separate layer of culture of Uzbek people. Unlike their nomadic neighbors, Uzbek people always were a settled nation, which cultivated agriculture. At their valleys Uzbek people raised vegetables, fruits and cereals; they bred cattle, which were the source of meat. Undoubtedly, Uzbek food is combined with some culinary traditions of Turkic, Kazakh, Uigur, Tajik, Tatar and other neighboring nations, settled on the territory of Central Asia.

Among dishes taken from other nations there are roast, kebab, bogursak, pelmeni (meat dumpling), manti, lagman and etc. However in turn such native Uzbek food as palov, dimlama,  shurpa, mastava and many others are served at tables of many countries of the world. Due to warm climate rich harvests of grain are gathered, and great variety of fruits, vegetables, grape, watermelons, melons, berries and nuts raise here. All these wonderful species is used in preparation of Uzbek food.

Pastry and sour-milk dishes take an important place in Uzbek food. The national Uzbek food is characterized with wide use of meat: mutton, beef and horse meat. By the way, different regions of the country cook in their own way. On the north the preference is given to palov, roasted meat, pastry and lepeshka (bread). On the south people prepare wide variety of complex dishes of rice and vegetables and also make excellent desserts.  

Uzbeks generally eat by hand and sit at the floor or at the low table – dastarkhan. At the beginning the table is served with sweets and fruits. Later it is served with vegetables and salads. Then it is the turn of soups, thick mastava, etc. then they will surve you main dishes – manti, lagman, shashlik and palov.

 Our Uzbekistan is wonderful and known with its colorful traditions and customs for ages. As I stated you can see its richness in hospitality and wedding ceremonies. Hearing and knowing about them is good, but I think if you visited and watch our national traditions yourself, it would be best. So WELCOME TO UZBEKISTAN!!!