Ras'ken' Ozks () or Rasjken Ozks is a traditional Erzya holiday held every three years, and is a state national folklore day in

Mordovia Mordovia ( ),; Moksha language, Moksha and officially the Republic of Mordovia,; ; is a republics of Russia, republic of Russia, situated in Eastern Europe. Its capital city, capital is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of S ...

. 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

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. Many visitors came to Chukaly: from

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, representatives of the

Krasnoyarsk Krai Krasnoyarsk Krai (, ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (a krai) of Russia located in Siberia. Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Krasnoyarsk, the second-largest city in Siberia after ...

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, from the Erzya diaspora of

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, 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 Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

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 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 toorama 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