CRO Satanay Award 2020

The CRO Satanay Award recognizes distinguished female individuals or groups, aged 18 or above, who made exceptional contributions to the Circassian community in the previous calendar year. Mariat Wojoukh, the people’s Artist of the Republic of Adygea and the Honored Artist of the Russian Federation was born on May 2nd, 1950 in the village of Jejeh Habla. Since she was a child, Mariet dreamed of becoming an actress and after graduation she entered the Leningrad State Institute of Theater, Music and Cinematography. In 1976, Mrs. Wojoukh returned to Maykop and joined the National Theater in the Adygea Republic. During this time, she played over 200 important and complex roles such as “The Daughter of the Shapsugs”, “The Way to Happiness”, “Medea”, “The War with Princes and Nobles”, “600 thousand”, “Songs of Our Fathers”, “The Taming of the Shrew”, “King Lear “,” Tartuffe “, etc. Along with her work in the theater, Mrs. Wojoukh collaborated with the republic’s television for several years. Where she prepared programs, utilized poems of the Adyghe poets and starred in humorous short films.

Mariet Wojoukh devoted her whole life to the preservation and development of the Adyghe language. In 2008, at the initiative of repatriates from Turkey, Mrs. Wojoukh created a youth studio “Sheghjee – Beads”. The main goal of this program was and is to preserve and teach the Adyghe language. The youth program has existed for 12 years and is attended by children from the ages of 6 to 17. Both children who were born in the motherland and children who returned from diaspora attended and benefited from the program. When working with children, Mariet uses alternative and innovative methods to attract the interest of the kids and subsequently make to learning of the Adigha language easier and an enjoyable experience. Mariat teaches the kids how to read poetry, act in fairy tales plays in the Adyghe language, learn tongue twisters, proverbs, get acquainted with the Nart epic and the Circassian culture and folklore. Her students participate in various events held in the Adygea and outside the Republic where they perform in the Adiga language.

In 2017, the Kaffed invited Mariat and her students to visit Turkey for the first time. In 2018, the Cherkesfed invited a group of Mariat’s students to visit Istanbul and participate in an event dedicated to the day of the Adyghe language. In 2019, and with the support of Mr. Murat Kumpilov, the President of Adygea Republic, Mariat and her students visited Turkey again, where the students performed in different cities and met the Circassian community in Turkey in an effort to build bridges between the Circassians in the homeland and those in diaspora. Mariat Wojoukh is always at the center of the Republic’s social life. She in one of the founders of the “Adyghe Khase”. Today she is the chairperson of the “Na Khase – Khase of mothers”. Mariet Wojoukh was awarded the highest state award for her youth program “Sheghjee – Beads”. In 2019, she became a laureate of the state prize in the field of art. Mariet was also awarded the highest medal of the Republic “Glory of Adygea”.