23 July 2011, 20:00
Kuli District of Dagestan hosts festival of tightrope walkers
Today, the village of Tsovkra, Kuli District of Dagestan, has hosted the traditional republican festival of tightrope walkers.
Several hundreds of people from all over Dagestan and other regions of Russia came to the high-altitude Tsovkra to watch the performance of tightrope walkers. Apart from the walkers' performance, the guests were offered a rich cultural programme.
Now practically nobody can remind, when Tsovkra, a small village of Dagestan, located at an altitude of 2800 meters above sea level at the foot of Mount Shunudag, where Lak nationals live, acquired the tradition to hold competitions in tightrope walking. According to one version, in ancient times in such a way residents of Tsovkra got across the ravines in search of stray domestic animals; and under the other version, for men it was a way to show their skills and courage to the girls.
Walking the tightrope has become a mandatory part of all celebrations in Tsovkra and neighbouring villages. The tightrope walkers from Tsovkra became famous back in 1930s, during their first tours in the cities of the Soviet Union; then they became known throughout the entire world.
Author: Timur Isaev Source: CK correspondent
