On May 7 and 8, the Uzbek festival “Boysun Bahori”, the long-awaited holiday of the renewal of nature, national traditions and folklore will start in the mountain village of Padang in Boysun district, reports “Dunyo” IA correspondent.
1. About the Boysun Bahori Festival
The name of the Boysun (Baysun) Bahori Festival comes from a small city in southern Uzbekistan. Boysun looks like an average village nestled in the Baisuntau Mountains, but the main difference is that those who live in Boysun have preserved their way of life and traditions and live the same way that they have lived for thousands of years, since the pre-Islamic days.
The Boysun Bahori Festival is a celebration of this unique culture. In the era of globalization, these traditions are being lost, and can only be found in small villages far from large cities. The goal of this festival is to gather and preserve these traditions, not only in Boysun, not only in Uzbekistan, but around the world.
2. UNESCO recognition
In 2001, UNESCO named the culture of Boysun a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Cultural Heritage, and in 2002, the first Boysun Bahori Festival was held. Originally, the festival was held every year, but then it fell off. In 2017, the tradition was renewed.
The area around Boysun is especially pretty in the spring, when the surrounding mountains are covered in green foliage and flowering meadows, and for this reason the Boysun Bahori (Boysun Spring) Festival is held in the spring. A large yurt camp is set up near the mountains, and includes workshops and stages, where folk ensembles can perform. There are also arenas for traditional sports, including kurash (wrestling), kupkari (horse game), and other competitions. A special place is given to darboz, or tightrope walking, where acrobats combine circus pageantry with theater.
Visitors at Boysun Bahori can also meet with masters of local crafts and works, as well as with master chefs who are experts in making traditional Uzbek dishes. Take some extra time to explore the mountains around Boysun, a unique corner among popular destinations in Uzbekistan.
3. Boysun Bahori 2022 edition
Сurrently, the festival is being thoroughly prepared in cooperation with the Ministry of culture of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Surkhandarya region county executive and a number of other organizations in the Surkhandarya region.
In accordance with the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan “on the organization and holding measures of the International Folklore Festival “Boysun Bahori” on February 7, 2022, more than 200 representatives folklore communities operating in our country will participate in the traditional festival, demonstrating the traditions of clothing, songs and folklore specific to their territory.
The holding of the prestigious festival in the District of Boysun has unique value, deep meaning and rich intangible cultural heritage, this is due to the fact that in 2001 the cultural heritage of Boysun was registered by UNESCO as “the Pearl of the oral and intangible heritage of mankind”. In May 2002, the first open Folklore Festival of people’s artists of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan was held in Khushmanzara district.
The festival, which combines unique national values and traditions, features national competitions in wrestling, kite competition, chillak, ulak kupkari, competitions and other folk games.
At the end of the festival, the winners of the best folklore and ethnographic teams, sports and folk games will be awarded.