Gerber holiday in Udmurtia. National Udmurt gerbera holiday. In the old days, Gerber was celebrated in the spring, immediately after the end of plowing and sowing, he did not have a strict date

June 21st, 2015 , 04:10 pm

On Saturday, another massive national holiday in Udmurtia - Gerber. Gerber is translated from the Udmurt language - "after the plow". In other words, this is a holiday associated with the end of spring arable work in the fields. Today we will see how this beautiful national holiday is celebrated in his homeland in Udmurtia.


Gerber has been officially held in Udmurtia since 1992. Before the main republican holiday, small gerberas are still held at the level of villages and regional centers of Udmurtia. The main holiday falls at the end of June and gathers a huge number of people from all over Udmurtia and even Russia. Every year the main Gerber is organized in different places in Udmurtia. This year it is the Kezsky district. From Izhevsk to Kez about 170 km. and I left early in the morning to catch the beginning of the holiday.

Before starting the report, I want to make a small digression.
Although I have been living in Udmurtia since birth, but since national traditions bad sign, because my parents do not have Udmurt roots and came to Izhevsk under the Soviet distribution system after their studies. So please forgive me for some inaccuracies.

1. The first meeting with the holiday was already waiting for me at the entrance to the village of Kez, a few kilometers before the main site of the holiday. At the entrance, all guests are met by the hosts of the holiday in national clothes, which sets the appropriate mood:

3. Gerber is celebrated this year in an open field near the village of Yuski, a few kilometers from the village of Kez. A small area runs along a dirt road. It was very nice to see a machine that poured water on the primer. Thereby preventing the rise of dust:

4. Parking for guest cars is also organized in an open field:

5. A huge number of guests came to the holiday:

6. Gerber is somewhat reminiscent of the Tatar Sabantuy, or vice versa. But there is definitely something in common. Open field with a slight slope for better view. The main stage is set at the bottom of the slope:

7. I arrived just in time for the opening of the holiday:

9. The beginning of the holiday resembles a demonstration or the opening of the Olympic Games. First, small groups of representatives of the regions of Udmurtia pass by the audience:

10. At first glance, this may seem pretentious, but we must not forget that it is the village and the village that feed the whole of Udmurtia:

11. National costumes create a special color. As far as I know, they have their own characteristics in each region:

13. Everyone is met and accompanied by applause:

14. The Izhevsk group completes the representatives of Udmurtia:

15. I can not help but mention this lady. Pay attention to manicure, jewelry and glasses. I think the wig looks so good. We'll see her later:

16. Udmurtia is followed by representatives of other regions where Udmurts also live. The fact is that the total population of Udmurts in the Russian Federation is 552 thousand people, 410 of them live in the territory of Udmurtia, the rest in other regions. The most numerous are presented on Gerbera:

18. Well, actually closes the column - Moscow:

19. In the meantime, the performance of various groups begins on the stage:

20. The sound is not bad, but rolling. With the annual holding of such large-scale holidays in Udmurtia, it would be time to buy your own device, and not "feed" the distributors. This is the inner voice of a person who is directly involved in professional sound equipment in Izhevsk speaking in me:

21. Well, we continue:

22. Artists change on stage:

23. Everything is fun and provocative. Guests love:

24. Near the stage there is a prize for the winner in the competition for the best worker in the village. By the way, I saw the same tractor two weeks ago at the pavilion of the Republic of Belarus on:

Here it is:

25. Let's see how the guests are entertained besides the stage. Along the perimeter of the entire field, you can find a lot of entertainment for both adults and children:

26. For example, the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia offers to take part in the competition:

27. Two participants must put on combat equipment for a while and hit the target with a jet from a fire hose:

28. Kids also have something to do next to the fire truck:

29. In general, a lot has been done for children on Gerber. Various attractions, games:

30. Swing:

31. Throughout the territory of Gerber there are such signs. The truth is in the Udmurt language, because the holiday is Udmurt. In general, it seems to me that I was the only guest at this holiday who did not speak the Udmurt language, and this did not bother me at all:

32. A lot of entertainment was also provided for adults:

34. National Udmurt fun - who will throw a huge log further. Let me tell you, it's impressive. They throw an average of 4-5 meters:

35. Learning to play on a special whistle-pipe:

36. Weaving masters:

Udmurt holiday Gerber

The concept of the holiday was discussed on March 9 at the Ministry of National Policy of Udmurtia. Now the organizers are thinking over the concept, direction and decoration of the plow holiday.

The name Gerber comes from the Votyak words “gery” - a plow, and “bere” - after, behind, which already makes it clear in what period of time this festival was held. The Udmurts were mainly engaged in arable farming and attached very great importance to the plowing procedure - so much so that they dedicated one of their holidays to it - Gerber. The holiday "Gerber 2017" will be held on June 17 in the Mozhginsky district of the republic.

The main theme of “Gerber 2017” will be the horse, the press service of the House of Friendship of the Peoples of Udmurtia reports.

“Horses” is a common motif in medieval Udmurt art, they explain. The horse can be found on combs, pendants, kopoushki. Researchers note that the image of the Udmurt horse is associated with a solar cult. According to one version, the river Vala (Valoshur), originating in the Mozhginsky district, is translated as “horse river”.

According to Udmurt legends, winged fiery horses emerge from the Vala River. Today Mozhginsky land is famous for breeding horses. Among them are such breeds as Vyatka, Kabardian, Oryol, Russian heavy.

In the old days, Gerber was celebrated in the spring, immediately after the end of plowing and sowing, he did not have a strict date.

There was a belief among local residents that the land after cultivation is pregnant, and it is impossible to injure it ahead of time with either a hoe or a plow. These days, the farmer had a short rest before the hayfields, which was dedicated to celebrations and sacred events.

Earlier in different areas In Udmurtia, the holiday was called differently. He was also called Gyron Bydton, and Kuarsur, and Guzhom Yuon, and Pinal Mudor. But in all places, the action was approximately the same - community members, under the rites of a local pagan clergyman, walked around the fields in a crowd and performed kuriskon - they prayed to the creator god Inmar and his deputy for fertility Kylchyn for a rich harvest. After that, they made a sacrifice - they slaughtered a well-fed calf on the field and made a ritual kulesh from different types grains.

The people began to dance, sing, choose brides and arrange various entertainments. The girls dressed up, and the guys arranged competitions, wanting to find their location. The fact that each housewife of the yard was obliged to bring a flask of local homemade vodka-kumyshka to the festivities contributed a lot to the fun. This point in the program of the festival was given great importance. It is known that when Mother Catherine the Great introduced a state monopoly on vodka and forbade private distillation, an exception was made for the Votyaks in their tearful petition for the sake of the holiday.

Gradually, the celebration of Gerber moved to a more convenient time for mass festivities - the end of the summer solstice.

It is known that at the end of the 19th century it was clearly associated with St. Peter's Day, Orthodox priests appeared at the festival, and Christ and the saints were already mentioned in the texts of the curiscons. Probably, there was a characteristic for pagan traditions binding them to Christian holidays.

After the revolution, the tradition of celebrating Gerber was interrupted. Only in 1992 did the celebration resume. True, no religious motives are observed in solemn events.

Several thousand people gather for the holiday, guests come from different regions of Russia and from abroad. They taste local cuisine, attend master classes in straw weaving and making Udmurt national whistles, and learn traditional clay modeling.

The holiday has no fixed date. On one of the June weekends, competitions for the best national costume and exhibitions of folk art are held in the meadow in the ethnographic museum-reserve Ludorvay. Products made of birch bark are especially abundantly presented - the Udmurts are masters in this. Ritual porridge is still cooked on fires in huge cauldrons.

Recall that the Republican “Gerber” will be held on June 17. It is planned that "Gerber" in Moscow will be held on July 1.

2017-03-13T16:25:33+05:00 Anja HardikainenFolklore and ethnography Udmurtia Izhevsk, people, holiday, Udmurtia, Udmurts, ethnographyUdmurt holiday Gerber The concept of the holiday was discussed on March 9 at the Ministry of National Policy of Udmurtia. Now the organizers are thinking over the concept, direction and decoration of the plow holiday. The name Gerber comes from the Votyak words “hery” - a plow, and “bere” - after, behind, which already makes it clear in what period of time this festival was held. The Udmurts were mainly engaged in arable farming...Anja Hardikainen

“After the plow” (gery - plow, take - after) - this is how Gerber is translated from the Udmurt language. From the moment when the last tiller left the field, the land was considered pregnant and it was impossible to injure it with a plow or a shovel. It did not have a specific date, but it always took place on the last days summer solstice when there is very little time left before haymaking and the peasant can take a short break to turn to the gods with a prayer for a good harvest.

In ancient times, when our pagan ancestors celebrated Gerber, several actions were obligatory: walking around the field, sacrificing and kuriskon - a collective prayer by the whole community. The Udmurts asked Inmar and Kyldysin for a good harvest: “so that thirty ears of corn grow from one grain, so that the squirrel cannot offend our field.” As a sacrifice, the pagans brought a bull, bought with donations from the entire community. The priests slaughtered it not far from the grain field, and then the meat was added to the ritual porridge, cooked from all kinds of grain: barley and oats, millet and buckwheat. Ritual porridge is cooked on Gerber even now, and everyone is treated to it.

Well, after the meal, songs, dances, games, round dances, equestrian competitions, swimming in the river and riding on a swing began. The guys on the Gerber looked after their brides, demonstrated dexterity and strength, and the girls tried to show their beauty and best outfits. During the Gerber, weddings were played somewhere, somewhere the young women who got married last winter were bathed - this ceremony was called syalty. Young women had to pay off - with a towel or wine, otherwise they would be thrown into the river with jokes and jokes.

Later, in the 18th century, Gerber, like other pagan rites, began to be influenced by Christianity, and even later it began to coincide with the days church holidays. Gerber began to be celebrated on Peter's Day, July 12. Priests were present at the ceremonies, in their presence sacrifices were made. The priests served prayers in the open field, included in the texts of kuriskons the names of Christian saints - Elijah the Prophet, Nicholas the Wonderworker, Christ himself.

Today Gerber is far from religious holiday. Tatars and Mari, Russians and Bashkirs, Perm neighbors willingly come to visit the Udmurts. Rainbow of colors national costumes the whole huge meadow is colored, songs are flowing like an endless river, round dances are spinning. Anyone who has ever visited Gerbera will never forget how people can have fun, what melodic songs they compose, what beautiful things they can do with their own hands ...


Russia Day

Russia Day or Independence Day of Russia, as this holiday was called until 2002, is one of the "youngest" public holidays in the country. In 1994, the first president of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, by his decree, gives state significance to June 12 - the Day of the Declaration on state sovereignty Russia. Russia Day is a holiday of freedom, civil peace and good agreement of all people on the basis of law and justice. This holiday is a symbol of national unity and common responsibility for the present and future of our Motherland.

And Russia was and will be

Nikolai Rachkov

From above her enemy judges,
Presenting a death bill.
And Russia was and will be,
But Russia will not disappear.

Will lead into a deaf swamp
And they will show her a false ford.
A whole company died there,
And Russia will not disappear.

Good! - and take envy.
Through the black passage will come,
They will rob Russia to the bone.
And Russia will not disappear.

The world, like a bomb, will explode in evil,
Everyone will be hot in hell.
And Russia itself will be saved
And lend a shoulder to the enemy.

My little homeland - Udmurtia

My little homeland - Udmurtia!

Dear, dear lands - Udmurtia!

Villages, villages, cities - Udmurtia!

Together we are with you forever, Udmurtia!

Time rushes towards fate

We will sing this song about you.

Year after year live, flourish

Our favorite spring region, Udmurtia!

Born from fairy tales and legends, Udmurtia!

Italmas golden bouquet - Udmurtia!

Pearls of dewdrops on the grass - Udmurtia!

Ear, leaning to the ground - Udmurtia!

The land of crystal clear springs - Udmurtia!

You are proud of the courage of your sons, Udmurtia!

You give blue-eyed daughters, Udmurtia!

Your tenderness is enough for everyone, Udmurtia!

Gerber holiday: bright photos and videos, detailed description and reviews of the Gerber Celebration event in 2019.

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Russia is a multinational and multicultural country. Unfortunately, some people forget about it. And if many at least heard about such a Bashkir-Tatar-Chuvash holiday as Sabantuy, then when asked what “Gerber” is, most of the respondents first scratch their heads, and then drawlingly answer “such a flower, chamomile.”

Gerber or gyron bydton (udm. "end of plowing") - traditional Udmurt holiday dedicated to the harmonious union of nature and man. However, recently it has been considered a celebration of the end of spring field work. The modern Gerber holiday may be of interest to both Udmurts and tourists who want to join the culture of this people.

History paragraph

The oldest Gerber holiday was once celebrated in every village of Udmurtia annually at the end of spring. However, after the revolution, this significant event for every Udmurt involved in agriculture began to take place in the summer. In 1992, Gerber was recognized by the government of Udmurtia as a national holiday.

Where does it take place

Interestingly, Gerber until recently (2010) did not have a permanent venue. Every year guests were met in different parts of the Udmurt Republic. Since 2010, the holiday has been held on the territory of the Ludorvai Architectural and Ethnographic Museum-Reserve.

How to get there

From Izhevsk, you can get to Ludorvay by regular bus No. 109 from the Yuzhnaya Avtostanciya stop or by bus No. 151 from the Gagarina Street stop.

What's interestnig

There was always something to do on Gerber. For example, you can try the most delicious dishes of national cuisine: crispy perepechi and crumbly porridge cooked according to an old recipe. Moreover, local grandmothers treat everyone who wants it for free. Numerous concert programs are held, where creative groups and solo artists of many genres perform - from folk songs to modern dances.

There is an exhibition and sale of souvenirs, where everyone can buy a piece of Udmurt culture. Fans of competitions are invited to take part in one of the traditional competitions. The choice of the strongest couple and all kinds of children's programs are being carried out. In a word, no one will be bored on Gerber.

If you want to join the culture of one of the most ancient peoples of our country or just want to have a good time and are not far away, then this event is definitely worth a visit.