Madina Rakhimova danced in loose-fitting red, blue and yellow clothing as part of Uzbek Culture Night on Thursday. The silk and cotton clothing allowed her to dance in large circles with fluid arm movements as those watching clapped to the music.
The night was a gathering for the Uzbek community at IU and an outreach event for prospective students in the University Club President’s Room in the Indiana Memorial Union, said Henry Collins, a second-year graduate student and emcee for the event.
“It’s important to reach out and understand how other people live because obviously people speak different languages, eat different food, listen to different music,” Collins said. “It’s important to remind yourself of what kind of diversity there is in the world.”
The event had dancing, poems, food, a skit and a presentation on Uzbekistan. Rakhimova, a Fulbright visiting scholar and other emcee, was dressed in traditional Atlas clothing to perform her dance at the event.
Her dance was one of two during the event. She performed to the song "Ko’zlari Qaroshi," or “The Look in her Eyes” in English. The other dance was performed by Aliya Sultanova. A gold embroidered cap was on her head, and the tassels swung behind her as she danced. People clapped along to the music and cheered for her when the dance was over.
“It’s good to improve your knowledge and understanding of cultures and countries,” Rakhimova said.
Senior lecturer in Uzbek language Malik Hodjaev gave the presentation on the country of Uzbekistan and Uzbek culture. He has been teaching the language at IU for 15 years and said culture nights like these are important to promote the country, culture and language.
He discussed the history of the country throughout the years and explained many different influences on the culture. He said the country had been ruled by the Mongols, the Persians and the Russians, to name a few. He said Russian culture had a large influence on Uzbek traditions, customs and fashion.
In addition, Hodjaev spoke about Uzbek food. He said palov and bread were the two biggest Uzbek foods and showed pictures of the tandyr, an oven used to cook traditional Uzbek food, that he had built in his backyard and demonstrated the steps to cooking the bread. Palov is a common dish in Uzbek culture made with rice, cumin, carrots and beef or lamb. After the event, the line for the palov and bread stretched across the room. People talked and laughed with each other while enjoying the cuisine.
David Randall, a sophomore studying anthropology and psychology, said he attended the event because of an interest in the culture. He said he believed culture nights like this one would help the IU community learn about the wide variety of them on campus.
“It helps to reduce the divisions between us,” he said.
