Tradition of Tatars’ wedding cake chak-chak

Chak-chak is an oriental traditional wedding cake of Kazan Tatars, in Lithuania it is mostly baked by Tatar women of Visaginas fostering the tradition adopted from previous generations.

The Tatar community, living in Visaginas since 1996, has preserved old traditions, culture and customs of their nation and has chosen chak-chak as the symbol of their exceptional hospitality. The cake is baked and served not only on weddings, but also christenings, other special occasions and representative events. Trakai, Vilnius and Klaipėda Tatar communities as well know and produce the cake on some occasions.

The production of the cake is a family tradition, primarily transmitted from a mother to a daughter. It is a long and precise process, which involves several women. It has both practical and ritual meaning – while making a cake one should think about good things, if prepared for the wedding – the positive wishing in the process assures the harmony of the couple, the proper stickiness of the syrup firmly “glues together” the family. The cake shall be made on Friday – the most important praying day for Muslims, then the most of the positive energy, thoughts, wishes are admixed in the cake. A significant number is two standing for a couple and fertility, therefore two cakes are baked for the newlyweds. The arriving wedding guests are met with pieces of the cake; it is also served with the tea after the main dish, while in the evening the main chak-chak is sliced up and brought to the table.

The composition of the cake is amazingly simple consisting of several ordinary products: flower, eggs, grease or oil, some honey, so that everybody, even the poorest, could make this treat on the biggest celebrations. Roasted tiny slices of dough are poured with sugar and honey syrup and a round hill is formed – the higher the better – as it is a symbol of the sun and good life.

Nowadays chak-chak is produced not only in both families and communities, but also at workshops of Tatar circle “Gimtoji mokykla” (“Native school”) at the Culture Centre of Visaginas.

Submitter – Visaginas Culture Centre, Visaginas Tatars Community, 2019

Custodian – Visaginas Tatars Community