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A place 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 a tightrope.
No one knows why tightrope walking became a tradition in the village of Tsovkra-1. However, one thing is certain: for the past 100 years, men, women, the elderly, and children alike in the village have learned and can perform this art like a circus act. Although the village population has decreased from 3,000 in the 1980s to 400 today, people still maintain the practice of tightrope walking.
Tsovkra-1, a small village in the Dangestan Mountains of Russia.
Many believe that men in the village learned this unique walking method to find lovers more quickly. Tired of climbing mountains and passes for days to find women in neighboring villages, they came up with the idea of walking faster by balancing on a rope.
No one knows why tightrope walking became a tradition in the village of Tsovkra-1.
However, one thing is certain: for the past 100 years, regardless of gender, age, or social standing, everyone in the village has learned and can perform this art form like a circus act.
However, few people believed that romantic theory. Some locals thought walking on a tightrope was an efficient way to cross rivers and streams when bridges were broken. Others simply thought it was an easy way to make money in a place where agriculture was unsuitable.
Young and old, men and women in Tsovkra-1, everyone has practiced walking on a tightrope at some point.
“In Tsovkra-1 there is no arable land, no grain, no bread, so to feed their families, the men here started walking on tightropes,” Nukh Isayev, a local man, told Diagonal View. “They have performed in Russia, in Central Asia, and there is a group of people who have gone on tour to bring pride to the whole country.”
The challenging terrain is one reason why this work is becoming increasingly prolonged.
No one remembers exactly when the Tsovkra-1 village tradition of tightrope walking originated, but in the 19th century, its reputation spread far and wide in Dagestan. Tightrope walking schools opened early, allowing children to practice and perform circus acts proficiently. From 1950 to 1970, many villagers became performers, touring circuses throughout Russia and Europe and winning awards in international competitions.
The tradition of "tightrope walking" made Tsovkra famous throughout the Soviet Union for decades.
This tradition has been around for a long time, and no one knows exactly when it began.
“Now, not everyone can walk on a tightrope. Some older people can no longer perform it because it’s too difficult for them. But everyone healthy here can walk on a tightrope,” Ramazan Gadzhiyev, a teacher at the Tsovkra-1 tightrope walking training school, told The Independent.
Pursuing a performing career doesn't offer as many prospects as it used to, so most young people are looking for regular jobs in other towns and cities.
Furthermore, with meager, or even no, funding for the tightrope walking training schools in Tsovkra-1, coupled with the mass migration of young people, the unique tradition of this village is in danger of disappearing completely.
Tsovkra-1 is not just a village, but also a living museum of history and culture. The tightrope walking tradition of its inhabitants is a powerful testament to the strength of the human spirit, the ability to adapt and innovate to survive and thrive in the harshest conditions.
