On the last day of the month of Oraza Turkmenistan’s residents visit cemeteries to commemorate those who have passed away and give away donations, referred to as sadaka. However, this year, on 24 May, people were requested to finish all ceremonies at cemeteries and mosques by noon.
According to correspondents of “Chronicles of Turkmenistan”, the decision was made a week ago in the Mary velayat office of the National Security Ministry. Only the executives of enterprises and organizations, not inhabitants of the region, have been notified. People learned about the requirement when they were visiting cemeteries or mosques.
A participant of the ceremony which was held at the cemetery located on the territory of Erkan gengeshlik (formerly “the 7th Soviet farm) in Bairamali etrp of Mary velayat said that early in the morning, before visitors appeared, four individuals, without introducing themselves, warned the caretaker of the cemetery that there should be no people by 12 a.m.
Residents of other cities and villages who have family members buried here arrived only by midday and did not even have time to say prayers. Those who live even further away came after 12 a.m. and simply left everything they had brought for a sadaka to the keeper, an eye witness said.
The reason behind the requirement is unknown.