Winter rites: Narduğan

❄️ Narduğan, an ancient celebration marking the winter solstice among the Tatars and other Volga region communities, unfolds on December 21-22. Known as "Narduğan" for Bashkorts, Udmurts, Chuvash, Erzya, Moksha, and "Raştuwa" for Tatars-Mişәrs, its name traces back to Mongolian nar (sun) and Tatar tuğan (born), reflecting reverence for the sun as the supreme deity (Tengri). It symbolizes the sun's rebirth after the winter solstice, setting the stage for festive Narduğan celebrations.

❄️ Costumed processions called Narduğan bulıp cörü or Narduğan babaları, feature participants portraying bears and goats, dressing as old men or old ladies, young men dressing as girls, talking in a different voice and concealing their faces. In some Tatar villages, the dressed-up participants of the festival were not welcomed as it went against Muslim beliefs, in others, inviting people in costumes inside and giving them treats was believed to bring a good harvest.

❄️ For Kerəşens, Narduğan spans from December 25 to January 5. In Noqrat Tatar communities, children joyfully hop between houses, singing verses with New Year wishes for happiness and a good harvest. Mişәr Tatars engage in making sweets like "bawırsak," alongside costumed processions and fortune-telling about fate and marriage. 

❄️ One of the central elements of the festival is ring divination with lively songs ("yezek salu"). Picture unmarried youths, mainly girls, gathering at a house. One ventures to an ice hole, scoops water without looking back, and everyone drops their rings into it while singing divinatory verses. The youngest participant retrieves a ring, determining the owner's fate based on the song's content.

Despite efforts by Muslim clergy to eradicate Narduğan as a pagan manifestation, ethnographer X. Gatina notes its persistence in Tatar-populated areas until the early 20th century.

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Based on R. Urazmanova “Rites and holidays of Tatars of the Volga Region and Ural” 2001