Weddings in this village are a bright and colorful celebration that maintains respect for the culture and traditions of its people. Jayyl Ukrainians, who migrated from Ukraine to Kyrgyzstan several decades ago, continue to pass their customs on to the next generations.
“In the modern world, a wedding often boils down to a simple official event for two, where the couple just registers at the civil registry office and celebrates in a small circle. However, for our ancestors, a wedding was a real theatrical performance, where each participant had their own role. It all began with matchmaking: the groom would approach the bride's parents to ask for her hand. If the bride was interested, she would bring out an embroidered towel. Otherwise, she could show a pumpkin — a ‘harbuz’,” shares Natalia Zhylina, head of the Poltavka village club.
Typically, parents would choose the family to whom they would give their daughter, considering the wealth of the matchmakers. Nowadays, matchmaking has become just a beautiful ritual, and young people choose each other out of love. The wedding ceremony takes place in the local club with songs and dances. A special place is occupied by the dance in which the mother-in-law dances with the daughter-in-law, and the son-in-law dances with the mother-in-law.
The wedding celebration begins at the bride's house, where the groom must pay a ransom — a small amount or treats. After that, a festive lunch follows. One of the most touching customs is the unbraiding of the bride's hair, which symbolizes her transition to the status of a wife. This ritual is performed by the bride's family members in turn.
“The unbraiding of the hair is accompanied by the tears of the mother, who gives her daughter to a new family. After the hair is unbraided, it is gathered up, and the bride's head is covered with a ‘ochipok’ or scarf. The headwear indicates marital status: unmarried girls wore wreaths, while married women wore tall ‘ochipki’. It was forbidden to go with an uncovered head. There is also a tradition where parents greet the newlyweds with a loaf of bread, from which they must each take a bite. Whoever's piece is larger will be the head of the family,” Natalia shares.
On Culture Workers' Day, celebrated in Kyrgyzstan on November 2, the participants of the Ukrainian choir “Chervona Kalyna” demonstrated a wedding ritual. The tables were set with an emphasis on Ukrainian cuisine, featuring dumplings, varenyky, pumpkin porridge, and, of course, borscht.
The menu also included sauerkraut and pickled tomatoes, and the wedding loaf, baked by women with successful marriages, was an obligatory attribute. “Dumplings are a traditional Ukrainian dish made from stiff dough, shaped into small pieces and boiled in water or broth. There are different variations: plain or stuffed, which are fried with bacon after boiling. If the dough is torn, you get ‘rvanti’ — small pieces that are made by hand,” Natalia explains.
They also prepare ‘pampushky’, which resemble ‘boorsok’. When there is leftover dough after baking pies, they make ‘pampushky’, which are drizzled with garlic and fat. “My mother would add honey and garlic to different parts of the ‘pampushky’, and the children around would wait for them to become tasty. An important point was that all of this was cooked in an oven, not in an electric oven,” she recalls.
Antonina Serdyukova, 76 years old, talks about the dowry that a girl would collect in a chest, placing it between the table and the bed. The chest contained bed linen, clothing, and jewelry, representing a connection to her home and culture. “Towels embroidered with patterns served as amulets and were involved in various rituals. The newlyweds would stand on the towel during the wedding, and it was also used to greet guests and for other rituals,” she shares.
Ukrainians primarily used wooden or clay dishes and utensils. “My mother-in-law had a ‘dizhka’ — a large container for storing lard. We had pitchers for sour milk and ‘kvasni’ for dough. We had many drinks — kvass, which was made from everything from bread to fruits, and uzvar — a compote made from fresh and dried berries,” Antonina adds.
The residents of Poltavka carefully preserve household items such as spinning wheels and woven goods that have been passed down from generation to generation. “These things were left by grandmothers and great-grandmothers, and some are collected from fellow villagers who have left the village. Everything was natural and environmentally friendly, even the dishes. We dried the dishes on the woven goods, and the caroling children used piggy banks to collect coins,” recalls a villager.
Some ancient customs, such as the barn ritual, which was part of the wedding ceremony, are already forgotten. In the past, the young couple would spend the night in the barn, and lighting a candle symbolized the beginning of a new life. However, bachelorette and bachelor parties have remained popular and are still used by young people today.
