Ras'ken' Ozks () or Rasjken Ozks is a traditional Erzya holiday held every three years, and is a state national folklore day in Mordovia. It is held since 1999 in the village of Chukaly. Before that, it was last held on 25 September 1629, and after that, it was banned.

The 1999 event

The first Ras'ken' Ozks in 370 years was held on 17 July 1999, in the village of Chukaly, found in Mordovia, Russia. Many visitors came to Chukaly: from Finland, Tatarstan, Moscow,

Samara Samara ( rus, Сама́ра, p=sɐˈmarə), known from 1935 to 1991 as Kuybyshev (; ), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara (Volga), Samara rivers, with ...

, Penza, Ulyanovsk, representatives of the Krasnoyarsk Krai,

Murmansk Oblast Murmansk Oblast (russian: Му́рманская о́бласть, p=ˈmurmənskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ, r=Murmanskaya oblast, ''Murmanskaya oblast''; Kildin Sami: Мурман е̄ммьне, ''Murman jemm'ne'') is a federal subject (an oblast) of ...

Novosibirsk Novosibirsk (, also ; rus, Новосиби́рск, p=nəvəsʲɪˈbʲirsk, a=ru-Новосибирск.ogg) is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the Russian Census ...

, from the Erzya diaspora of Estonia, students from Finno-Ugric universities - about 2000 people gathered in total. The Rasken shtatol was lit up by Eryush Vezhay from

The 2022 event

The 2022 event was different from other because no Erzya flags were allowed to be brought in or be placed, and all speeches were spoken in Russian.

Event timeline

The start of the event is signalled by the alarming sound of a pipe, the trumpet of the legendary Tyushti, an Erzya king. Tyushti's order is, if hard times come, then you need to play the

toorama Torama (russian: То́рама, alternative name in myv, Йо́влат) is a music group from Saransk, Mordovia in Russia, performing traditional songs and music of Mordvin ethnic groups, namely Erzya, Moksha, Shoksha Shoksha (russian: Шок ...

and, having heard this call, he will return to his people to defend their freedom. After this, a group of people wearing white Erzya clothes walk out of the Potmaley river. The

plays alarming sounds, while in the center of the group, a woman carried a yandawa bowl and a small shtatol. To her sides, there are two more women, one carrying honey, and the other, a large loaf of bread, which symbolise health and longevity. They slowly reach the main candle, the ''Rasken shtatol'', a candle believed to be the connection with God, the ancestors and is believed to be the center of the holiday. It is lit up by a woman surrounded by 4 men and is followed by a prayer from the group: ''Ознотано эрицянок кис,'' ''Ознотано раськенек кис,'' ''Энялдтано эйденек кис....'' И как сотни лет назад, обращается к предкам: ''...Весе тынь – седейсэнек,'' ''Весе тынь – минек верьсэ,'' ''Минь тынк эстэ лисинек,'' ''Минь тыненк велявтано.'' ''Садо, весе садо!...'' Romanized: ''Oznotano Eritsyanok kitty,'' ''Oznotano raskenek kis,'' ''Enyaldtano eidenek kis....'' And like hundreds of years ago, he addresses his ancestors: ''... Vese tyn - sedeysenek,'' ''Vese tyn - minek verse,'' ''Min tynk este lisinek,'' ''Min tynenko velyavtano.'' ''Sado, all sado!...''

References

{{reflist Erzyas Mordovian culture