Bendery, May 18. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. A children's festival of Cossack culture was held in the Bendery fortress. The Black Sea Cossack Host is holding it for the 7th time. And it already has its own traditions. One of them is an exhibition of small arms from different historical periods. It has been being collected for 10 years. In one row are Cossack checker and whips, modern weapons, radio stations and many other things. The rarest exhibit is the Maxim machine gun.
“This is a Maxim machine gun of the 1930 model, but the same ones were used in the First World War, and in general it was created at the end of the 19th century. We created this exhibition for children, we show it periodically, there are dummy weapons, training weapons, you can touch them, they are safe,” said Oleg Kassa, deputy chieftain of the Black Sea Cossack Host.
Not far away, a young Cossack eagerly demonstrated elements of flanking with a saber, so to say, foot horse riding. These are techniques of defense and attack in combat using a saber. And this is not only beautiful, but also applicable in practice, in particular, it helps to develop dexterity, strength, endurance, and also practice movements used in hand-to-hand combat.
In general, a lot of attention was paid to the weapons theme at the festival; among other things, children were shown how to properly disassemble and assemble a Kalashnikov assault rifle. And this is no coincidence, says Ataman of the Black Sea Cossack Host Igor Nebeygolova, because owning weapons is part of Cossack culture. And the Cossacks have always been famous for it.
“Cossack families always had weapons and the ability to wield them - one of our historical traditions. After all, the main task of the Cossacks is to protect their Fatherland, their home and family, and for this they need to be able to handle weapons,” he recalled.
But the Cossacks also have rich cultural traditions. They reflected their way of life in lively songs and dances, of which a lot had accumulated over several centuries. And the Cossacks today also happily shared this part of their heritage.
For a Cossack, a horse has always been not only a mean of transportation, but also, in fact, a comrade in arms. And they were taught the art of horse riding from early childhood and attached great importance to it during combat training. As a reflection of all this, a tradition was born - putting a Cossack little boy on a horse. This is when a boy of several years old was put into the saddle for the first time (under the supervision of elders, of course) and his reaction was watched. If the child was not afraid, was joyful and cheerful, they said that he would grow up to be a good Cossack. The tradition has been preserved: for several years now the planting has been carried out at just such a festival, after which a sword belt is put on the boy to carry the saber.
“That’s why everything has something in common here: sports, spiritual, and cultural. We always invite all children, not only Cossacks. The role of the Cossacks today, I believe, is that through our children we can raise patriots and defenders of our land. After all, if they carry all this through themselves, they can no longer be changed, they can no longer be convinced that May 9 is the day of Europe. They will know that May 9 is a Victory Day!” - says the ataman of the Black Sea Cossack Host Igor Nebeygolova.
And today everyone was treated to kulesh - aromatic porridge. In the past, it was cooked directly on the fire during military campaigns.
