The word “Meshrep” conveys the meaning of “harvest celebration” held by peasants after seasons of hard work in the fields. It usually includes feast, single/group singing, music, dancing, joke telling, games, poetry reading, etc. It is held during the fall harvest in the villages across central Asia among Uighur, Uzbek, Turkmen and other Turkic peoples. Villagers organize the 'Meshrep' according to its general rules and most often enriched by the touch of local cultural traditions. Each 'Meshrep' is unique to its own social group depends on the participants’ age group such as young adults or a mixed group of all ages and genders.  Meshrep has certain rules to be followed by the participants. For example, in order to introduce a young adult to a 'Meshrep',  the father of the child would bring the child to the 'Meshrep' and make the initial 'formal' request from the 'khazi' (judge), then 'Meshrep' members have to approve the request of the father by accepting the child to join Meshrep. If any member breaks the rule of 'Meshrep', he/she will be 'punished' in a fun and entertaining way. For the “punishment” to take place, a member usually appeals to the 'court' that a certain individual for breaking the 'Meshrep' rule. For example, he/she did not respect an elderly by saying things that might have hurt his/her feelings, has been drinking alcoholic beverages which is strictly prohibited or the “accuser” may simply make up a story used as 'evidence' for 'khazi' in the 'orda' (court) who would treat the “evidence” as an excuse to punish the individual in a fun and comic way.  

    Translated into the actually event itself, Meshrep is better described as a traditional Uighur entertainment gathering.

    'Meshrep' promotes cultural exchanges among people, assists community members to hold successful social events such as holiday celebration, child birth, Hetmetoy (circumcision), wedding, birthdays, children's graduation celebration and all sorts of healthy entertaining events. Meshrep members also assist fellow members in all possible ways by offering help in the event of family sadness such as death and illness.  It creates opportunities for people to meet each other and make friends. It prohibits alcohol drinking and promotes healthy merits such as respecting elders, helping less fortunate and unprivileged. Furthermore, it is an entertainment gathering where young and young at heart, men and women, boys and girls gather together to relieve from the daily stress. 

    Because of its fun and positive nature, the tradition is well respected and widespread among Uighur people not only in villages now days but also in mid to large metropolitan cities among people of all walks of life.  

    We named this page as 'meshrep.com' from the perspective of  introducing Uighur culture, art, music, jokes and songs to those who are interested in Uighur tradition and culture and hoping our effort will offer however small the connection between Uighur and a larger audience in the western world.  

    We hope you enjoy the site, and hope you will pass the word to your friends. We truly believe that your frequent visit to the site will gain you something new and fresh about our people and culture each time you visit. 

    We welcome any suggestions, criticism and comments.  

Thank you.