Marriage and Family

Azeri living in cities are generally free to choose their marriage partner, but those in rural areas are expected to follow their parents’ wishes. Weddings are celebrated elaborately. A folk-music group usually accompanies the groom and his relatives to the bride’s house in several cars decorated with flowers and ribbons. The party moves inside the bride’s home. The bride is accompanied by friends and relatives, carrying candles and a decorated mirror. A special wedding melody is played as a signal for the bride to say goodbye to her parents and to join the groom. The bride’s parents then give the couple their blessings. The wedding ceremony usually takes place at night.

Azeri value family needs over the needs of the individual, and family members are loyal to and dependent upon the group. Men are protective of women in the family. In Azerbaijan one swears by one’s mother (as opposed to a deity), because she is considered the most valuable person on earth. Parents feel a lifelong commitment to provide their children with financial support, even after marriage, and grandparents help care for grandchildren when necessary.

Rural Azeri tend to live with their extended families. The father is the undisputed head of the family. Married sons and their families live with their parents until financially independent or until their parents have built them a house. Unmarried children generally live with their parents, and adult children are expected to care for their elderly parents. Relatives remain close, visiting each other often and gathering for special occasions. In urban areas nuclear families are more common.

Eating

The area’s abundance of vegetables, fruits, herbs, and spices has inspired Azerbaijani cooks to create distinctive national dishes. Cilantro, dill, mint, saffron, ginger, garlic, and cinnamon are often used in cooking. The most popular dish, pilau, is made of rice that has been steamed for a long time and is topped by a variety of foods such as chicken, lamb, dried fruit, or milk. Kebab is grilled pieces of meat (lamb, chicken, or sturgeon) on a stick. Piti is a lamb broth with potatoes and peas baked in clay pots in the oven. Dovga (yogurt, rice, and herbs) is often served after the main meal at celebrations; it is believed to improve digestion.

People usually eat three meals a day. For breakfast, tea with bread and butter, cheese, or marmalade is common. The afternoon meal usually includes a meat or vegetable soup, followed by pilau, a meat dish, potatoes, or macaroni. The evening meal tends to be much the same but without soup. It may end with sherbet or tea, mõrebbe (preserves), and pastries. The preserves are made from quince, figs, apricots, peaches, cherries, grapes, plums, strawberries, raspberries, walnuts, or mulberries.

When eating, Azerbaijanis hold the fork in the left hand and the knife in the right. Guests do not serve themselves. Tea is usually served at the end of each meal. In cities, women and men eat together at large social gatherings, but in rural areas they eat separately. Eating at restaurants is generally reserved for special occasions, and it is usual for the host to pay for everyone.

Socializing

When greeting each other, men shake hands and say Salam (“Peace”). Women also say Salam, but they do not shake hands. Female friends or relatives might hug and kiss. Another common greeting is Sagh ol (“Be well”), which is also used at parting. If people are acquainted, the greeting is followed by Nejasiniz? (“How are you?”). Greetings often include questions about the health of the other’s family.

Those of the same age call each other by first names. It is common to use Khanum (“Miss” or “Mrs.”) or Khala (“aunt”) after the given name of a woman, and ami or dayi (“uncle”) after a man’s given name. Bey (“Mr.”) is also used after a man’s given name at social gatherings or work. Its use was banned in 1920 when Russia invaded, but it is again becoming a preferred way to address men.

Visiting relatives or friends plays an important role in Azerbaijani society. Friends and family visit without prior notice. Guests are often invited for a meal or for “tea,” a mid-afternoon affair that includes pastries, fruit preserves, fruit, candy, and tea. At any other time a guest is usually offered tea and sweets. Tea is served in armudi stakan (small, pear-shaped glasses). In rural areas it is customary to invite guests to have tea in the backyard during spring and summer. People also meet in open-air teahouses. Men sometimes have tea in a chaikhana (a light building or tent), especially in the summer along Baku’s Caspian shore.

Visitors, especially those who have adopted Russian customs, often take gifts to their hosts, such as flowers, candy, or pastries. A gift is not unwrapped in the presence of the giver.

Recreation

The most popular sports are wrestling and soccer. Going to movies or theaters is common in the cities, and visiting friends and relatives is one of the main leisure activities throughout Azerbaijan. Middle- and upper-class families may spend their vacations (three to four weeks) in summer houses on the Caspian seashore.

It is common during social gatherings to recite poems of native poets. The people enjoy folk music, and the Azeri have many unique musical instruments. In rural areas it is common for members of larger families to perform as folk-music groups.

Holidays and Celebrations

Azerbaijan has replaced Soviet-era holidays with its own. For example, the Day of Commemoration (19 January) honors the victims of the 1990 Soviet invasion of Baku. One of the most important traditional holidays is Novruz bayrami, the New Year celebration that occurs at the beginning of spring. For days before the holiday, the women of each family gather to make pastries. Then on New Year’s Eve, families come together to eat pilau and have tea with pastries. Young people make fires in front of their homes and jump over them; they also dance and play games. There are two Independence Day celebrations: one on 28 May to mark the 1918 declaration of independence, and one on 18 October to mark freedom in 1991.

Azeri also recognize various Muslim holidays, the most important being the feast to end the month of Ramadan. Forty days later, Qurban bayrami, the holiday of sacrifice, honors the pilgrimage season and Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son.

Source: Encarta Interactive World Atlas

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