Cultural practices of the Kurds of Adygea as a resource of the formation and preservation of ethnic, regional and all-Russian identities

The author reveals the specifics of the functioning of artistic practices of the Kurds of Adygea (the southern region of Russia, located in the North-West Caucasus). Observations of recent years and interviews with Faizo Abdullayev, the head of the Kurdish community of Adygea, and Farhat Patiev, the authorized representative of the National Congress of Kurdistan in Russia, allowed us to present modern artistic practices of the Kurds living in the region in the context of preserving ethnic and forming regional and all-Russian identities. The main research methods were included observation and expert informal interviews. The main directions of preserving the ethnicity of the Kurds of Adygea were identified. The role of Kurdish satellite channels in the formation of a single virtual space, popularization of the values of ethnic culture and preservation of the language is reflected. The causes and consequences of early consanguineous marriages among representatives of the Kurdish community are revealed. The author points out that the tradition of holding crowded weddings with the obligatory performance of govands (round dances of linear, semicircular or circular form) is of great importance for preserving the ethnicity of the Kurds of Adygea. Various types of govands common among the Kurds of Adygea are considered, and national versions of the dance are mentioned. The sacredness of dance practices is noted, associated with the reluctance of the bearers of ethnic culture to demonstrate it in a stage performance or in the context of mass public holidays. The author draws attention to the closed nature of the Kurdish ethnic community, which causes a deficit of regional and all-Russian identity. This deficit is aggravated by the lack of a public organization among the Kurds of Adygea; there are no special programs in the Republic aimed at working with this ethnic group. Meanwhile, it is stated that the Kurdish community has currently become somewhat more open than ten years ago. The features of the modern language situation in the regional Kurdish community are revealed. The practice of teaching dances to the Kurds of Adygea is touched upon, and the lack of interest of community representatives in decorative and applied arts and artistic activities is noted. Among the features of the functioning of the cultural practices of the Kurds of Adygea are: a sacred character that creates an ethnodifferentiating effect; the function of production and consumption of spiritual values; emotional coloring; compliance with holidays of the Kurdish calendar; direct influence on everyday life, which is perceived as a “small break” between rituals and holidays.