Folk beliefs of the Kyrgyz. The elusive Zhyl Azhyrash: the displacement of the traditional New Year by Navruz in Kyrgyzstan (regional aspect)

The transformation of traditional holidays in Kyrgyzstan reflects deep ethno-cultural processes, revealing the displacement of native traditions. This study focuses on the New Year festive complex, analyzing the coexistence of the Kyrgyz Zhyl Azhyrash and the borrowed Navruz – a regionally understudied topic. Its relevance is confirmed by significant territorial differences in their practice. The aim is to identify regional characteristics and trace the transformation of this complex in the 20th–21st centuries. The methodology is based on 2023–2024 field materials: 121 in-depth interviews across 9 zones. Based on historical sources and field data, characteristic profiles were reconstructed: Zhyl Azhyrash (flexible lunisolar calendar tied to phenological signs, ritual meat porridge kojo, connection to pastoralism) and Navruz (fixed equinox date, ritual dish sumelek, developed public rituals, agrarian features). Frequency analysis identified four informant groups and assessed Zhyl Azhyrash’s preservation. Results show an uneven “slipping away” of the native tradition: it survives best in highland pastoral zones (Naryn region, Alai Valley – up to 60 % of informants), while Navruz dominates in the agrarian southwest (Batken, Osh, Jalal-Abad regions), often perceived as an adoption. The main conclusion: Navruz gains the advantage due to its superior formalization – a fixed date integrated into the state calendar and clearly regulated, easily reproducible rituals. This feature, combined with state support (since 1991), the decline of native practices during the Soviet era, and historical influences, acts as the key factor displacing the variable, less formalized Zhyl Azhyrash, marking a shift in cultural codes among a formerly nomadic population.