Culture

Nomadic way of life - This way of living appeared out of need to shepherd numerous flocks of sheep on seasonal pastures at different heights. Such lifestyle led to the isolation of families, who had to go up to high mountains to find enough grass for the cattle. That is the reason fir unique Kyrgyz hospitality. Guests were always welcome because they brought news and were new people, with whom one could talk about anything. Guests were offered only the best and they were most long-awaited people in Kyrgyz families.

Ancient dwelling of Nomads – the Yurt. A skilled master can make a yurt in one month, but it will last for decades. The yurt accompanies people throughout their entire life – it moves with them from place and when a person dies, relatives place a yurt near the house of deceased to express their grief and respect for the memory of the dead.

The yurt consists of a wooden carcass and felt. It is easily dismantled and transported from one place to another. During its assembly, first, a door is hung on it. After that, wooden trellis (kerege) which serve as wall are set in place. Tunduk (a wooden circle in the upper part of the yurt) is connected to kerege by long bent poles.

Then the kerege are tightly fitted with mats, covered with ornamented felt pieces of different forms and sizes and tied around with narrow embroidered stripes and laces. All in all, yurt seting takes about one hour.

The inside of the yurt divided into several parts. At the center, under tunduk is a hearth, on which food is usually cooked. To the right of the entrance is a female half, where cooking utensils and food are kept. To the left of the entrance is a male half, where men keep a horse harness.

A day in the yurt starts long before sunrise. The first rays of sun find yurt inhabitants already doing everyday chores. Women prepare breakfast and put food into bags for men, who leave for jailoo (pastures) with herds of sheep. After seeing their husbands off, women start numerous minor and major household chores. Small boys,  who are barely able to walk, already learn to ride horseback. Girls learn art of cooking, embroidering, and making shyrdaks, ala-kiyiz and tush-kiyiz – national carpets made of felt and fabric that not only serve for such practical purposes as home warming, but also for decoration. Kyrgyz ornament the richness of colors and forms that exist in nature: a vivid diversity of field flowers, eagles with proudly spread wings, curved of mountain goats and ibexes, and snow-capped mountain tops…

National costume. As in history of other nations, social status in ancient Kyrgyz culture was reflected  in clothing. Women's costume changed throughout a woman's entire life.

Shokulo – is an ancient headdress of a bride.

Elechek – high headdress of an adult married woman on a thick base that was coiled from a strip of white canvas or cotton linen. Length of a linen reached 7 m and determined by a woman's social status and wealth. After death of a women elechek was used as a shroud.

Chyptama – this kind of clothing was decorated with an obligatory ornament and looked like a waistcoat.

Famous turk trousers were made from tanned leather.

From the earliest times Kyrgyz people were renowned as good furriers.

National cuisine. Kyrgyz cuisine is very rich and unique.

Nomadic lifestyle was a constant constant migration from one place to another across steppes and mountains in cold and warm weather, and therefore, their food was nutritious and rich in calories.

The cuisine of Kyrgyz people is rich in dishes made from flour and meat. The best Known meals and drinks of Kyrgyz people are:

Besh-barmak – boiled meat meat with small pieces of dough and bouillon;

Boorsoks – pieces of dough, fried in a oil;

Chuchuk – fatty sausage made from a horse meat (delicious);

Shorpo – traditional Kyrgyz soup;

Chak-chak – drink, made from best sorts of barley, wheat and corn.

Music. Kyrgyz people came from Yenisey and pre-Islamic music culture has been reflected in musical instruments and folklore from ancient to present times. Inhabitants of the Yenisey river basin were famous for their guttural singing and their music was based on the interaction of musical instruments and voice.

From ancient times Kyrgyz people have been using availible natural material to make musical instruments, whose usage allows to preserve and express the sound of the nation.

There are many Kyrgyz instruments that differ by their sound range. They are komuz (a 3-stringed instrument), temir-komuz (a metal stringed instrument played by plucking), sybyzgy (a wind instrument made from reed), dobulbas (drum), chopo-choor (a clay wind instrument) and many others.

“Manas” Epos. A folk historical epos “Manas” dedicated to a courageous national hero Manas, who defended people and land in ancient times. It is, in a way, a kind of a stepped “Iliad”. It is an epic that describes lifestyle of the Kyrgyz, their customs, traditions, moral, religious rites, geographic and medical knowledge, diplomatic relations with other countries and nations.

This epos has been significantly renovated in the last years. It is possible, that not long ago many separate episodes were united into one.

Kyrgyz people say that even three nights are not enough to narrate epos. At present it is the longest epos in the world that contains about million lines.

Only a person with a deep inner world who knows his nation's hopes and aspirations, its legends, stories, genealogy, traditions and customs, a person with a certain magic power, can become “manaschi” – the narrator of the “Manas” epos.