Where anyone can walk on a tightrope like a circus performer
Tsovkra-1, a small village in the Dangestan mountains of Russia, is the only place in the world where anyone can walk on a tightrope.
No one knows why tightrope walking became a tradition in Tsovkra-1. However, one thing is certain: for the past 100 years, men, women, old and young in the village have learned and performed this art like a circus act. Although the village population has decreased from 3,000 in the 1980s to 400 today, people still practice the art of tightrope walking.
Tsovkra-1, a small village in the Dangestan mountains of Russia
Many people believe that men in the village learned this unique walking style to find their lovers faster. They were tired of trekking through mountain passes for days to find women in neighboring villages, so they came up with the idea of walking faster by stretching a rope to balance.
No one knows why tightrope walking became a tradition in Tsovkra-1 village.
However, one thing is certain, over the past 100 years, regardless of men, women, old people or children in the village, they all learn and can perform this art like a circus.
However, few people believe in this romantic theory. Some locals believe that tightrope walking is an effective way to cross rivers and streams when bridges are broken. Others simply think it is an easy way to make money in a place where farming is not possible.
Young and old, men and women in Tsovkra-1 have all practiced tightrope walking.
“In Tsovkra-1 there was no arable land, no grain, no bread, so to feed their families, the men here started tightrope walking,” Nukh Isayev, a local man, told Diagonal View. “They performed in Russia, in Central Asia, and there was a group of people who went to perform to bring pride to the whole country.”
The rugged terrain is part of what makes this work so long.
The tradition of tightrope walking in Tsovkra-1 is not known for a long time, but in the 19th century, in remote Dagestan, everyone heard about the villagers. Tightrope walking schools were opened early so that children could practice and perform circus acts. From 1950 to 1970, many of them became performers, touring circuses in Russia and Europe and winning prizes in international competitions.
The tradition of “tightrope walking” made Tsovkra famous throughout the Soviet Union for decades.
This tradition has been going on for a long time and no one knows when it started.
“Not everyone can walk the tightrope these days. Some older people can’t do it anymore because it’s too difficult for them. But everyone here who is healthy can walk the tightrope,” Ramazan Gadzhiyev, a teacher at the Tsovkra-1 tightrope school, told The Independent.
Pursuing a career in performing arts does not offer as much future as before, so most young people look for normal jobs in other towns and cities.
In addition, with little or no funding for tightrope walking schools in Tsovkra-1, and a massive migration of young people, the unique tradition of this village is in danger of disappearing completely.
Tsovkra-1 is not just a village, but a living museum of history and culture. The tradition of tightrope walking among the people here is a testament to the strength of the human spirit, the ability to adapt and innovate to survive and thrive in the harshest conditions.
