KILELLE. TOWARDS HOME

I always associated Chuvashia with hills and ravines, with grazing cattle from the nearby villages. Chuvash worldview was formed from veneration of the environment, nature and animals. Chuvash people were pagans before the mass Christianization in 1740. The land-farming culture was reflected in their rites and beliefs. They believed that human’s soul can be reincarnated as an animal and were gathering in holy places to worship the spirits of nature and to complete the harvest season with ritual actions.
There are a few people in my family who speak Chuvash language. It’s mostly distant relatives from the villages. I could barely understand them talking, when occasionally the whole family came together. I left Chuvashia at an early age and would go there and come back off-and-on. By living outside the republic without knowing my ancestors and mother tongue, I have been losing my national identity. I decided to go back to Chuvashia in search of my national code to rediscover the land and people that are home for me.