Not exactly a common sight in Kyrgyzstan, Red hair can make heads turn, but it could have been so different if ancient records are to be believed

As I listened to the Global News podcast from the BBC, I wasn’t sure if I could believe what I was hearing … in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, a Gay Canadian comedian was leading a Ginger Pride Parade as part of the Fringe … it has to be a joke, I thought … but no, even though it might well have been an instrument for promoting his show, Ginger Nation, at the Edinburgh Festival, apparently it also had a serious point.  (You can hear the report here.)

Apparently, there aren’t that many redheads in the world; they make up only about 1 or 2 percent of the population, but I was very surprised to hear that Scotland is home to about 19% of all the world’s redheads – and apparently they represent some 13% of the population of Scotland.

It seems that it can be difficult being born with red hair … children are subject to taunts, (or being called names such as Irn Bru! Carrot top! Ginger minger! Duracell! and the like), leading to a sense of isolation and of being discriminated against … not to mention a skin sensitivity that leads to intensive sunburning.  There was even some coverage f a family forced to move home as a result of the bullying, ridicule and even physical violence that they suffered – all on account of their red hair.

For the record: Red hair is inherited – the result of a genetic mutation in a chromosome, and can be passed on to children even if neither parent has red hair … provide they both carry the appropriate genetic code which they have in turn inherited from their ancestors.

As far as I am aware, there is no such thing as a International Day for Redheads … although I am sure that will come as a lot of Minority Groups are now adopting such a day to celebrate their otherness, to give support to members of their community and raise awareness of the issues that affect them in the wider population.

As it happens, however, there Redhead Day: a Dutch summer festival that takes place each first weekend of September in the city of Breda, in the Netherlands … and this year that falls on August 31st and September 1st.

Although there are some, “Redheads” are not exactly a common sight in Kyrgyzstan, and so they can be a cause for people to turn their heads … in Asia, it is always consider impolite to “stand and stare”.

As it happens, if the ancient chronicles are to be believed, this might not always have been the case.  Chinese Chronicles dating from the second century BC describe the Genkun or Jiankuna people, which have been identified as the ancestors of the Kyrgyz, as a tall people, “red-haired with fair complexion and green (blue) eyes”.  It’s said, (for example on the website of the Kyrgyz embassy to the USA and Canada), that there are some Muslim sources dating from the seventh to the 12th centuries that also support this.

Looking at the Kyrgyz of today this sometimes seems as an incredible anomaly – as they tend to have a dark complexion, (especially those that have spent the summer months on  a jailoo tending their livestock), and sporting straight jet back hair.

In texts which date from the Tang dynasty, the Genkun or Jiankun who had dark hair and eyes were identified as descendants of the Chinese General Li Ling.

To be fair, (no pun intended), the Kyrgyz like most nationalities are a fairly heterogeneous group displaying a wide variety of characteristics, probably as a result of occasional inter-marriages with peoples from other ethnicities with whom they came into contact – either because their territory straddled across the routes of the Great Silk Road, or the various empires that came and went.

Certainly, this question has raised several heated and detailed debates on internet forums

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Interestingly, one of the legends about the origin of the Kyrgyz tells about their ancestor from whom they were descended: Kyzyl Taigan, (Red Dog – or Red Wolf).

The daughter of a local khan was in the habit of taking long walks in the company of 40 maidens, (servants).   On one occasion they returned home to discover that their ail, (village), had been attacked and ravaged by a band of enemies.  So complete was the devastation that in all the village  and they found only one creature still alive: a  red dog.  The princess and her 40 maidservants become mothers, (in a company where there was only one male – the red dog … hence he is considered the ancestor of the peoples).   The 40 maidens, (or kyrk-kyz), began to be called Kyrgyz.

Incidentally, a cult of the Heavenly Dog was widespread between the ancient peoples in and surrounding China.

The generally accepted theory of the origin of the Kyrgyz holds that the Kyrgyz that appear in the Chinese records were from the northern Altai Mountains – where the trees grew so tall “that an arrow could not reach their peaks”.  A Kyrgyz Khanate stretched from the Yenesei River in the Eastern Tien Shan, (which was later superseded by other Turkic empires: the Karakhanid, the Mongol, Chagatal, … Khokand and finally by the Russians and the Soviet Union).

Among Kyrgyz historians there seems to be a modern trend which, whilst accepting this traditional view, suggests that this was only one group of Kyrgyz.

Kyrgyz traditional tells of forty tribes … although I have seen lists which have different numbers … and some of those tribes, (for example, the Azyk, Bugu, Cherik and Sary Bagysh), may well have migrated from Yenesei with the collapse of the Kyrgyz Khanate, others were already resident here in what is now Kyrgyzstan, drawn from the ancient Sakas, (Sythians), and Usuns.

Ethnically, the Kyrgyz tend to resemble somewhat the Mongols or Chinese, while the Uzbeks and the Uighurs, (the latter live mainly in China), resemble more the people of Turkey.

There used to be some confusion in identifying the Kyrgyz, themselves, and the Kazakhs. This is because the Kazakhs, (a larger nationality), were often referred to as “Kyrgyz”, (some suggest that this was to avoid confusing them with the “Cossacks”), whilst the Kyrgyz themselves were often referred to as “Kara-Kyrgyz” (= “Black Kyrgyz”) to distinguish them.

The Kazakhs were nomadic pastoralists who herded animals on the steppes – and it is sometimes said that the Kyrgyz were nomads who wandered from place to place vertically whilst the Kazakhs were nomads who wandered from place to place horizontally.

Oxford's coat of arms

Place names can be very picturesque and convey an image, rightly of wrongly, of the place in question.

In Britain, for example, we have Oxford and the city;s coat of arms depict a Ox walking over water – fording a river.  (It’s true that the full crest also has a Black Elephant, a green beaver and a panther … but, hey, the name is Oxford!).

Then we have have Newcastle … and not just one of them – there’s Newcastle upon Tyne and Newcastle under Lyme … and I always imagine that one being submerged or being buried underground).

We also have Sevenoaks and there really were seven oak trees until six of them were felled in the “great hurricane” of 1987.

Aukland in New Zealand has, (or rather had), its One Tree Hill; a 182-metre high volcanic peak which got its name because at the time the city was founded there was indeed just one tree on the summit.  This got chopped down by a settler in 1852 and although there were several attempts to replace it they seemed almost doomed to failure as none seemed to take.  However, the final blow came in 2000 when the last tree had to be felled after an attack by Maori activists and it has not been replaced.

Here in Kyrgyzstan we have On Archa – Ten Juniper Trees – which I pass every month on my way up to Naryn and back again … I have wondered about making a detour to stop and count the trees, but although I have been to the village I never did find them.

There are lots of other examples of descriptive names, like Ak Suu – White Water; Altyn Arashan – Golden Spring;  At Bashi – Horses Head; Arpa – Barley;  Djety Oguz – Seven Bulls;  Issyk Kul – Warm Lake;  Kara Balta – Black Axe; Karakol – Black Hand; Kara Suu – Black Water; Kyzyl Oi – Red Rocks; Saimaluu Tash – Painted Stones;  Sary Tash – Yellow Stone; Tokmok – Hammer … and so on.

Two of my favourites are Sary Chelek – Yellow Bucket, and Min Kush – One Thousand Birds.

As it happens, although I have been in the neighbourhood, I have never actually been to either of them.  Still, the names are evocative, the photographs are impressive and they are on my, as it were, “Bucket List”, (pun intended).

I have written about Sary Chelek, (and why it has this picturesque name), elsewhere … so what about Min Kush?

Apparently, there are legends about how the area was inhabited by a wide variety of different birds.  There were so many, in fact, that when they took off they blocked out even the rays of the sun … although anyone who remembers the images in Alfred Hitchcock’s film The Birds might not think this sounds so appealing.

It seems, however, that there is another legend which tells how, a long time ago, a Kyrgyz warrior “stole” a beautiful Djungary girl, (which suggests that it was some sometime in the sixteenth century as the Djungarsky Khanate dates from this time), and married her. The girl caught and tamed bird and, longing for home, she sent a bird carrying a note with their whereabouts. After receiving the message, the Djhungary attacked the Kyrgyz and there was a bloody massacre which claimed many lives on both sides. The Kyrgyz retreated and reached the heights of Tastar-Ata and many soldiers where to die in their defence of this redoubt.  All of the dead were buried on a ridge near the mazar Tastar-Ata amd this area became known as the “Bird of Sadness” (Munduu-Kush). Gradually, this name was reduced to a moon-Kush, and eventually turned into Min-Kush.

For the record: there is another interpretation of the name – Min Kuush, as opposed to Min Kush … yes, I have trouble telling the difference too.  It seems that Kuush means “narrow” and, in this version, the locale was named Min Kuush because the area has a lot of narrow canyons and Crevices … hence the name “A Thousand Narrows”.

The town is 420 kilometers from Bishkek – about 10 hours away – in the Djumgal district of the Naryn oblast … but it is up a cul de sac – off the “main road” between Kochkor and Suusamyr – which, although it’s a pretty impressive route, is hardly a major highway.  The turn-off is in the village of Aral, at one end of the bridge over the Kekemeren River.

From there, the road heads South, along the banks of the Kekemeren River before turning East again and into the mountains, on difficult roads which haven’t been repaired in years, along the banks of the Min Kush River through what I am told is spectacular scenery … two hours from the nearest community from which it is sometimes cut off as landslides block the dirt road.

Spectacular – but at a cost … if, elsewhere in Kyrgyzstan, the cry is that “there’s gold in them there hills”, here it would be “there’s uranium in them there hills”.  I don’t know if it is true, but it’s said that you can find every element of the Mendelev Periodic Table of Elements somewhere in Kyrgyzstan … and Uranium, (a silvery-white metallic chemical element, with symbol U and atomic number 92), was discovered in the hillsides around Min Kush in the 1950′s.

During the Soviet period, the Uranium was mined and a prosperous mining settlement was established in the valley, in 1953.  It is often quoted, with pride, that uranium from Min Kush was used in the first space rockets … but not so often acknowledged that another first was that it was also Min Kush uranium that was used in the first Soviet atomic bomb,

It was quite a thriving community and was known as “Little Moscow”.

It was, however, a restricted area, apparently not marked on maps and special permits were needed to go there.

For the record: because it counts as a high mountain region and of special strategic importance, employees of the mine were well paid and benefited from many special concessions … among them were higher salaries (according to one report, two and a half times higher than the national average), extensive social services, and guaranteed early retirement.   The store was apparently famous throughout the republic – its shelves laden with imported fruit, a large selection of shoes and jewelry.

If it is true, then its hardly surprising that there was a waiting list of applicants looking for a job in the mine.

According to the 1959 census Min Kush had a population of 10,000 people – mostly ethnic Russians and Germans – rising to 20,000 in the 1960′s.  Today, although there are technically something like 7000 people registered with the authorities as residents,  there are just about  3500 living there.  Most of them are older people – pensioners who once worked at the Uranium mine.   The rest have gone in search of work elsewhere.

The mine has now closed, many of the buildings deserted or dismantled, (sold as scrap or even as bricks), many of the residents have left looking for jobs elsewhere, according to a recent interview with one of the residents, there hasn’t been a wedding toi,(wedding reception), in the settlement since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

As well as the mine there was also a factory that produced crayons, (coloured pencils), and felt tip pens.   There’s also a coal mine and other minerals have been found nearby, but at the moment it probably not economically viable to mine for them.  It seems that there has been an attempt to start new businesses – but according to some reports 70% of the population are said to be unemployed and one on the site of the official news agency reported that only 100 people have jobs – the rest relying on pensions and state benefits.

According to one report, all that operated in the “city” nowadays are the hospitals – four doctors who can provide basic First Aid and there is no ambulance – and the schools – but there are few resources for, for example, new texbooks.  The settlement does not have a theater, there is no newspaper, no radio.  In another report a resident states, “We have no hot water water, no heating” … and a bit plaintively, “we have nowhere to go.”  Even the once separate Russian (Orthodox) and Kyrgyz (Muslim) cemeteries have been merged.

One of its interesting claims to fame, however, is that Min Kush apparently has a Bandy club … but I wonder how many games they get play in a season?

For the record: Bandy is a version of hockey – played on ice, but like field hockey is played outdoors with a larger team (11 players) and a ball instead of a puck. (In Russian it is known as “Hockey with a Ball”).

Some sources seem to suggest that the game originated in England, but this isn’t clear and if this is true then it seems to have disappeared from it’s native land sometime before the first world war. It is also considered to have been an “ancestor” of Ice Hockey – created (or, at least, codified) in North America in the nineteenth century, but – once again – this isn’t clear.

Bandy is still played in about fifteen different countries including Belorus, Canada, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, India, Italy, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Sweden, the USA … and Kyrgyzstan, which has recently established a Bandy Association and were planning to participate in the 2006 World Championships in Sweden, organized by the Federation of International Bandy.

There are hopes that one day it will become an Olympic sport – it was a demonstration sport at the 1952 Winter Games in Oslo.

Unfortunately, as I said, I have never been to Min Kush and so I don’t have any photographs and I can’t find any in the public domain … but I did find this clip  of a news item from Azattyk ünalgysy, (the Kyrgyz language service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – an international multimedia, news and broadcast org), on youtube – it’s in Kyrgyz but I think, (hope), that, given the background information above, it will give you a feel for the place, the people – and the hardships of their life:

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YcBUCMECOg

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The Kurmanbek Baatyr mausoleum

As well as the epic saga Manas, the Kyrgyz have about 40 other “minor epics” such as Kojojash, Kurmanbek Baatyr, Tolubai and Er Toshtuk.

The name Kurmanbek is a fairly common name among the Kyrgyz and although it will probably be associated for many years to come with the second President of Kyrgyzstan, it has a long and illustrious history.

The minor epic Kurmanbek, is grounded in the 14th/15th century when Kyrgyzstan was part of the Kalmyk-Oriat state of Dzungaria, and is about the struggle of the Kyrgyz against foreign aggressors – the Kalmyks led by the Khan, Dalen.

For the record: the Kalmyks were a group of the Oirats, (western Mongols in Russia), whose descendants migrated from Dzhungaria in 1607. Today they form a majority in the autonomous Republic of Kalmykia on the western shore of the Caspian Sea.

Incidentally, Kalmykia is Europe’s only Buddhist government.

After the fall of the Yuan Dynasty in 1368, the Oirats emerged as a formidable foe against the Eastern Mongols, the Ming Chinese and their successor, the Manchu, who founded the Qing Dynasty, in a nearly 400-year military struggle for domination and control over both Inner Mongolia and Outer Mongolia. The struggle ended in 1757 with the defeat of the Oirats in Dzungaria; they were the last of the Mongol groups to resist vassalage to China

The hero of the epic , Kurmanbek Baatyr, rallies around himself representatives of the separate and disparate Kyrgyz tribes, and heroically defends the freedom and independence of the people.

In a city called Jazzes, near to present day Andijan, there lived a Khan by the name of Teyitbek. He was a weak khan and was unable to resist the hordes of Kalmyks which every year made devastating attacks on the Kyrgyz lands.  His senior wife, Sulaika, was already forty years old and childless, when gave birth to a son, and after many days of celebrating he was given the name Kurmanbek.

From his childhood, Kurmanbek became famous for his intelligence and strength. When he was just twelve years old he won bouts in single combat against adult Dzhigits.

Then, when he was sixteen years old, he collected around himself forty companions representing the forty tribes of the Kyrgyz; giving them each a pitch black horse; dressing them all in chain mail armour and helmets; arming them with shields, swords and spears, bludgeons and fighting axes; training them to strengthen them and develop their fighting spirit. The he led them in daring raids on their enemies, killing several athletes and soldiers in duels.

Eventually, he developed a desire to end and seek revenge for the oppression and insults that his people had suffered at the hands of the Kalmyks and he decided to go war. Kurmanbek gathered his companions and addressed them. The set out and do battle, defeating various groups of soldiers, eventually demanding a tribute of gold and silver, cattle and camels.

Dolen gathers scholars from among the Kalmyks and explains the situation. They gather the tribute and send it Kurmanbek who, fearing a trap, attacks the convoy. A ceasefire is called, and the two groups negotiate a truce. Hearing about Kurmanbek’s victory over the Kalmyks, the Khan of Kashgar invites him to visit and heaps praise upon him and becomes a lifelong friend and ally.

However, Teyitbek, (Kurmanbek’s father), does not rejoice in his son’s victory, offended that Kurmanbek has acted without consulting him and after a lengthy argument conducted through an intermediary, the two are eventually reconciled – after a fashion.

Emissaries are sent to other Khans in the region, and after some difficulty a marriage is concluded between the hero’s daughter and the Khan of the Afghans. Kurmanbek and his wife settle down and a son, Seyitbek, is born.

The dispute with his quarrelsome father resurfaces and Kurmanbek decides to move away, to Turpan, which is now in Xingjian, in China and the family feud is intensified when Kurmanbek’s mother dies. Teyitbek retains Teltoru, Kurmanbek’s athletic war horse – something which will have fatal consequences.,

When Kurmanbek returns home, Dolen has decided not to pay the Kyrgyz their annual tribute and gathered his army. They approach the Kyrgyz camp at night and manage to remain undetected. Kurmanbek, however, has had a nightmare and describes it to his wife who interprets it for him – he is lost to the Kalmyks.

Kurmanbek mounts Korikuren, a young horse which lacks experience and fighting spirit of Teltoru, and sets forth to meet the Kalmyks. In the ensuing battle, Dolen flees, but turning and looking through his telescope, he realizes that the horse under Kurmanbek is not Teltoru but a young novice, and he gathers his fleeing troops and addresses them.  He inspires them to turn back and face the oncoming Kyrgyz.

In the melee, Kurmanbek and his horse are surrounded by the enemy, the horse grows weak and the hero falls to the ground, where he slips and is stabbed by Dolen with a spear.  He collapses on the ground with his blood seeping into the sand and loses consciousness.  Regaining consciousness the following morning he crawls along a ditch and sees an approaching caravan.  It was his old friend, Akkan, the Khan of Kashgar who, having heard of the fight with the Kalmyks is rushing to his aid.  But it is too late.  Kurmanbek dies of his wounds, and the Khan brings the sad news and the body to Kurmanbek’s wife and son.

Along with the dramatic narrative and recitative, the epic contains many sharp social motives and references to the traditional folk life, (for example, the description of courtship and marriage in the account of the marriage of Kurmanbek’s daughter to the Afghan Khan, Kanyshay).

There are four known versions of the epic.

1. The first was written down in 1923 by K. Miftahov, taken from the storyteller M. Musulmankulov.
2. The second variant dates from 1928 and was written down from a performance by the storyteller Manap Kalendarov living in the region of Jirgatal in Tajikistan.
3. The fullest is the variant of the Akyn Kalyk Akiev which was published in Kyrgyzstan in 1938 and 1957.
4. Then in 1966, a version was recorded by S. Dyikanbaev.

The Komuz - the traditional Kyrgyz instrument

One of the best known legends of the Kyrgyz is about the hunter Kambar, the Komuz and the first Kyrgyz tune.

Kambar was a hunter who lived in the mountains. He was, true to his calling, a brave and strong man – on one occasion encountering a snow leopard whilst on a hunting expedition and overcoming it single handedly.

He traveled far and wide throughout the mountains and knew even the smallest paths through them. He knew all the animals and birds and could easily distinguish them by the calls. Despite being a hunter, he never killed a single bird. He was particularly fond of them because he liked to sit and listen to them singing. He knew all of their individual songs and could name them all from the tunes they sang.

One day he was out hunting in the thick forest and he heard a new sound. One he had never heard before. A high pitched sound. It seemed to him that maybe it was a new species of bird. He looked around but could see no-one, nor any strange new animal that he had never encountered before. He found that the sound emanated from a particular tree, and he circled it, looking for some sign of who – or what – was the source.

If it was bird, he decided, then he would try to disturb it so that he could see as it flew away. He whistled. But the sound continued uninterrupted.

And then a gust of wind blew. The branches of the tree swayed in the wind – and the sound changed. A melody seemed to emerge. Transfixed by the beauty of the sounds he was hearing, Kambar decided to climb the tree to explore further.

Throwing off his outer garments he started to clamber up the tree. When he got to the top he found that the sound was coming from a thread which was stretched between two branches. As it was caught in the breeze, at rocked and rang, producing the wonderful sounds. On closer inspection he discovered that the thread was the gut of an animal – maybe a squirrel which had misjudged the distance between two branches and skewered itself.

Fascinated, he collected the thread, rolled it up carefully and took it back home to his yurt.

That evening he unwound the thread, but try as he might he could not produce the enchanting sound that had so caught his attention in the forest. So he returned to the forest, back to the apricot tree where he had found the thread, and cut some wood from it. From this he fashioned a komuz so that he could stretch the thread taut as it had been stretched between the branches.  There was enough thread for three strings.

As he touched each string on his new instrument he discovered they produced different sounds. He tried to recreate the melody that he heard in the forest glade.

For many years he played that komuz and people came to listen to the music. They also made instruments for themselves and learned to play the melody – which is today known as Kambarkan … in honour of the first Kyrgyz musician.

Here is a clip with Asylbek Nasirdirov playing a melody on the Komuz: 

It’s a small and seemingly unimposing village which one might easy pass by and miss it, but it is one that I often cite as an example of the fact that there is almost always something of interest to be found wherever you look.  All that is needed is a sense of inquiry and an open mind.

As is often the case throughout Kyrgyzstan, there is little to actually see; monuments, buildings or ruins that would give evidence of mankind having inhabited the place over the centuries.  That is not to say, however, that such evidence is non existent … over the years, archaeologists have made a number of discoveries … it’s just that they are not visible.  For example,

• near the village, the remains of an ancient settlement have been discovered with examples of petroglyphs and stone statues.
• In the 1940’s archaeologists discovered the remains of a medieval bath house with ceramic pipes to channel in the water an turquoise glazed bricks on the floor.
• Near the lakeside a potter’s workshop has been unearthed and from time to time ceramics, coins and other artefacts are sometimes found washed up after storms.
• There have been a wide range of other individual finds unearthed in the locality, such as a large copper pot … and locals believe that there are yet more “treasures” to find.

Some of these finds can be seen in the new “private museum” housed in the Raritet Bookshop in the Dom Druzhba building in central Bishkek.

There is a road into the mountains leads to the canyons of Kalmak Suu, Taldy Bulak, Dure Suu, Kabyrga and Toru Aigur.  There are also routes over the mountains to Lake Kel Kogur, the Chon Kemin valley and also onto Almaty.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about the village is the story behind its name … which Kyrgyz for Bay Steed and, as that implies, the village was named for a horse.

Now, a strong and healthy horse is a symbol of wealth to the Kyrgyz.  (It is said that a rider can fall asleep on his horse – but it will find its own way carry its master back to their home yurt with no problem – and I can believe it … I’ve seen it).  There are many legends about clever and bold horses … and Toru Aigyr was one such horse.

There are several versions of the legend – but they agree on the main points:

Toru Aigyr was a magnificent, fiery, brown horse owned by a famous, brave and popular hero of his people.  One day the hero and his horse left to fight against the enemies of the people who were threatening them … and they were absent for a long time.

Months passed.

News came that the battle was over.  The people waited for the hero to return … but he didn’t.  Even so, they did not lose hope.

Then one day, whilst grazing the sheep in the meadows above the lake, some shepherds looked out over the waters and saw something dark and pointed swimming through the normally calm waters.  Curious as to what it could be, they watched it closely.  Finally, after many hours, it came close enough to be identified.  It was Toru Aigyr.

The crowd stood and watched as the horse emerged from the lake, shook itself dry and then raced inland to the mountains, where his master’s yurt had stood.

The people now realised that their beloved hero had died – and that Toru Aigyr had brought them the sad news.

Wild Pigeon in flight

I was intrigued to see news reports recently about some workmen who were renovating a house in Britain and came across a pigeon in the chimney … not just any old pigeon, but a messenger pigeon with a coded message written on thin rice paper and  attached to its leg.  It seems that the bird was carrying a secret message from an agent in France back to his superiors during the Second World War and seems to have got waylaid on his flight … meaning that the message was never delivered.

What was particularly intriguing about the story was that when the message was eventually delivered, some years late, the code breakers at GCHQ had to admit that they had met their match … they couldn’t decode it.  Well, that’s if you believe them … with all the modern techniques and computer power available to them, a simple code written in the middle of the last century dumbfounded them – or was that a case of double bluffing … or simply that no-one had the time of inclination to get down to it.

Anyway, they turned to public for help, making an appeal for anyone who could make headway in deciphering the message … and sure enough, interpretations came  flooding in … well, that is. someone manage to make sense from the groups of characters scrawled onto the paper.

Pigeons have a long history of interrelationship with mankind.  They have a distinguished record of use in the military – especially during the two world wars, for carrying messages.  Thirty two pigeons were awarded the Dickin Medal for war contributions to the war effort.

Their service took advantage of their remarkable “homing” abilities, being able to navigate their way back to their roost from wherever they happen to be released … which is also utilized in the sport of Pigeon racing.

They have also served as a food since ancient time, in Roman, Jewish, French, Middle Eastern Chinese and Indonesian cuisine.  Mrs. Beeton included recipes for Roast Pigeon and Pigeon Pie in her famous cookbook.   They are kosher in Jewish tradition and they were the only kosher birds that were considered suitable for korban, or offerings, for those who could not afford a more expensive animal and their are Bible stories connecting pigeon sacrifices – including that of Jesus’s parents sacrificing doves at his circumcision.

The Bible also tells that Noah sent out a dove – which is basically the same bird – after the great flood in order to determine if the waters had receded.  The term “Dove” is also used as a term of endearment in the Song of Songs.

According to the song, on the second day of Christmas, the beau gave his true love two turtle doves … and a partridge in a pear tree.

… and so on

I said that the dove was basically the same bird … the terms dove and pigeon are used practically interchangeably.  The word Dove is usually used to describe the smaller species whilst “pigeon” is used to describe the larger ones.

Together they comprise the family of Columbidae, which includes some 310 different species.  They are found all over the world … except, that is, for the driest parts of the Sahara, Antarctica and the Arctic.  It’s no surprise, therefore, that are to be found in Kyrgyzstan.

In fact, there are ten species that are found here:

To be honest, I was surprised to see that some of the species were listed in the Red Data Book, but it seems that something like 10 species of Columbidae have become extinct since about 1600 – including the Passenger Pigeon … and the Dodo.

In the wild, Doves and Pigeons build relatively flimsy nests from sticks and other debris, which may be placed in trees, on ledges, or on the ground … so the elaborate Dovecotes and Pigeon Lofts built by men for their domesticated cousins are pretty substantial affairs.

In the nests the female will lay a pair of eggs and both parents take care looking after the eggs and the young, “squabs“, (for example, producing “crop milk” to feed them, secreted from special cells in the lining of their crop), until they leave the nest anywhere between a week and four weeks after hatching.

Pigeons and Doves vary considerably in size; from the New World Ground Dove which can weigh as little as 22 grams to the New Guinea Crowned Pigeon which can weigh in at 2.4 kilograms.

Most of the pigeon species which are evident here seem to measure about 15cms long, with short bills and legs.  They bob their heads like other pigeons – which is apparently connected with their vision.    The wings are large and the wing muscles, which comprise about a third of their weight, are extremely strong giving them considerable power and manoeuvrability  in flight.

They also vary considerably in plumage.  I hadn’t realised this and assumed that they were more or less white, (doves), or grey, (pigeons).  Here they come in a wide range of colours from the usual white and grey to brown and even brown and white “piebald”.  The ones that congregate in the yard outside my office at the moment, for example, are small and brown.

Many species have a speckled pattern on their chests, and there are a number of Kyrgyz legends about this.  They nearly all boil down to the same story … although the characters and some of the details of the context change.  In one case, for example, the story is about a man who has a surplus of camels and a deficiency of goats – so he sets about exchanging one for the other … whilst in another it is a dispute between a woman and her daughter-in-law … but one element of the story that they all seem to have in common is that in the course of an argument someone throws a die which is used to make patterns in the lepyoshka, traditional flat bread.  They turn into a Turtledove and fly away … and carry with them, down to this day, the mark of the die on their speckled breast.

Near to Bishkek there are two waterfalls that carry the name Golubiniy Vodapad: Pigeon’s Waterfall.

One is in the Alamedin Valley … and the other in the Tash Bulak Gorge, (Belagorka or Sokuluk Valley):

The Alamedin valley is one of the most striking features of the Kyrgyz Krebet, just South of Bishkek. The village of Koi Tash, 30 km from Bishkek, is the confluence of four roads: one from the capital; another which climbs to the West over the ridge, past Golubiniy Waterfall (Pigeon’s or Dove Waterfall) to Kashka Suu in the Ala Archa valley; a third to the East towards Issyk Ata, and the fourth leading up to the main Alamedin valley. The canyon narrows and the stream, one of the main rivers flowing through Bishkek, cascades down to the Chui plain.

Tash Bulak (“Stone Spring”) is a village sitting astride the Sokuluk river which flows through alpine meadows and woodland with many varieties of wildlife. The village is still known to many locals by it’s Soviet name Belagorka, and it was the site of a very successful collective farm. Nowadays the village is not as prosperous but is still quite attractive with decorated houses. It can serve as the starting point for several walks. Nearby is the Golubiniy Waterfall, (Pigeon’s waterfall – not to be confused by its more famous namesake in the Alamedin valley), which plummets over the steep cliffs. There is a trail over the mountains to the Kochkor-Suusamyr road, which used to be used to drive sheep over the mountains, but it hasn’t been used in recent years and is generally impassable now.

The Pleiades

October 31st is known as Halloween and every year at about midnight on this night, the star cluster or constellation known as the Pleiades, (or  Seven Sisters), appears almost overhead in the night sky.  For this reason November is known as the Month of the Pleiades.

The Pleiades cluster is in the constellation of Taurus and form one of the most obvious and recognizable features of the night sky.   Their prominence in the winter skies of the Northern hemisphere have helped to give them a place in many different cultures, from Greek mythology, (from which they take their name), also Celtic and Norse mythology, across North Africa, the middle East, Asia, and the Americas, (and also in Maori and Aboriginal folklore from the Southern hemisphere).  They are even mentioned in the Bible in four places.

Well, as with most cultures, the nomadic Kyrgyz developed legends connected with the constellations in the night sky and there is one linking the Pleiades, the Pole Star and the Great Bear, (or Ursa Major, which the Kyrgyz called the Seven Bandits).

The legend is controversial these days as it centres of the tradition of Ala Kachuu, or (Bride stealing). 

There once were seven bandits who stole a beautiful girl, known as the Tender Girl, the daughter of Pleiades and rode off into the night sky – literally.  Pleiades set off in hot pursuit.

The bandits reached the Pole Star – known as the Golden Stake.

The bandits appealed to the Pole Star: “We have stolen Tender Girl, the daughter of Pleiades, and now they are pursuing us. Help us.”

The Golden Stake replied: “Kumiss belongs to the man who drinks it, and the girl to the man who steals her.  There is nothing to be afraid of, you can live here in the night sky.”

A short time later Pleiades also came to the Pole Star and said: “Seven bandits have stolen our only daughter, Tender Girl.  We cannot reach them.  Help us and order them to return our girl to us!”, they cried.

“Perhaps your daughter left with them of her own accord,” said the Golden Stake.  “Will they listen to me?  No, you had better reach them and take your daughter back yourselves.” 

So Pleiades resumed the pursuit.

To this day the Seven bandits circle the Golden Stake, (hiding from the eyes of foreigners the Tender Girl in their midst), with Pleiades in pursuit, never able to catch up with them.

The woe of the Pleiades who lost their only daughter to the seven bandits is so great theat they radiate only coldness, not warmth … and that is why, the nomads say, that when the Pleiades are seen in the sky the night is very cold. 

The practice of Ala Kachuu has come under considerable and mounting criticism over recent years as a result of a number of high profile cases which have sadly included a number of suicides as girls have rejected the traditional role of acquiescence to their fate. This has raised more exposure in the international media, but even here, inside Kyrgyzstan, there has been a growing concern over the practice.

There have, for example, been attempts to raise the matter in the parliament, and amend legislation, but the deputies have generally rejected or failed to provide a quorum for debate.

Interestingly, the attitude of Pleiades in the legend is not what has come to be the usual traditional approach as expressed by the Golden Stake.  The traditional approach seems to be for the kidnapped girl to be encouraged to accept her fate … and anything different would bring disgrace to both her and her family.  In this legend, however, Pleiades not only chases after the kidnappers but appeals to the authorities for the return of their only daughter.
 

Safed Bulan

The village of Gulistan is located in the South of Kyrgyzstan, in the region of Ala Bukin of Djalal Abad oblast, at the confluence of the Padsha Ata and Chanach Sai rivers.  It is the home of one of the most important Moslem shrines in Kyrgyzstan - Safed Bulan and the mausoleum of Shah Fazil.

It is still an operating Sufi mosque and pilgrimage site.

A complex consists of the mausoleum itself, (along with several others), several vaults, a necropolis - about 700m from the main mausoleum and including a collection of 2700 heads – and a mosque – as well as the holy mountain Archa Mazar. 

The walls of the mausoleum are 160cm thick and the central cupola is almost 16 m tall.  The interior is decorated with decorative panels, rosettes and relief inscriptions with Quranic texts and inscriptions in Farsi. Ibn-Nasir’s tomb stands in the middle surrounded by Islamic grave stones or kayrak.  

Shah Fazil ruled the Ferghana valley for some 16 years and is reputed to have brought Islam to Central Asia. Actually, according to the tradition, this distinction probably belongs to his father, Dzharir, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammed.  Jarir travelled preaching the new religion but encountered some resistance so the army of Arabs that he had brought with him were busy spreading an enforced adoption of the religion. 

Here in the Ferghana valley, however, his alliance with the local communities was to be sealed by his marriage to the daughter of a local governor.  The locals had schemed on using the bride to obtain information about the invader but they were foiled by the fact that the girl fell in love with her husband and refused their entreaties.  So they resorted to bribing one of the servants who informed them that the Arabs would be at their weakest on Fridays, during the time of Prayer. 

So, the rebels burst in upon the Arabs whilst they were at prayer, and although some were able to escape, some 2700 prisoners were taken and quickly despatched – beheaded.

Bulan was a woman, (a black woman), who searched the corpses for the body of her lover.  Despite it being forbidden she collected the skulls of the fallen and washed the blood from them in the nearby stream and buried them.  According to tradition, in recognition of her good deeds, Allah turned her white, (although more secular historians have come up with alternative explanations for her transformation), and this led to the name given to the shrine Safed Bulan, which means White woman.  After her gruesome task was completed she stayed on and lived out her life in the village looking after the graves of the fallen warriors. After her own death, she was buried nearby and a special mausoleum was erected in her honour. 

Jarir escaped the slaughter and returned to Arabia.  Here he had a son, Fazil, and eventually met his end when he was poisoned.

Fazil learned of the treachery which had befallen his father and decided to seek revenge.  He came to Central Asia and stayed on, ruling the country for 16 years before, like his father, he was poisoned at a feast.  The mausoleum was reputedly built by his son as his last resting place, around 1050 AD.

Although historians regard this story as just a legend, (as there is no account of such incidents in other sources), archaeologists have discovered evidence of as large battle dating from this period nearby.

Under Islamic tradition, the dead are not to be disturbed and so, although the faithful made pilgimages and prayed at the site, there were no attempts to excavate it.  During the Soviet period, however, several tombstones were removed to museums in Tashkent and St. Petersburg.  One of them is said to record that body of one of the prophet Mohammed’s relatives was buried on the site.

The site underwent major restorations in 1978 and 1996.  Apparently the restorations made things worse in that they used concrete instead of traditional materials – resulting in damage to the microclimate inside.  The US government has given a grant for new work to be undertaken to correct the damage. 

It is claimed that this is the site of the first mosque to be constructed in Central Asia.  Apparently, there is now also a new twenty-first century mosque opened on the site.

]]> http://ianbek.kg/?feed=rss2&p=9452 0 http://ianbek.kg/?p=9390 http://ianbek.kg/?p=9390#comments Thu, 06 Sep 2012 01:00:28 +0000 ian http://ianbek.kg/?p=9390 There is a Kyrgyz legend that tells of the seven mazars, (or shrines – a term often used to refer to the graves of men venerated as Muslim “saints”), which have been built and named for the seven fathers of the Kyrgyz: Baba Ata; Cholpon Ata; Issyk Ata; Jumgal Ata; Kochkor Ata; Suleiman Ata and Tastar Ata.

For the record: Ata means Father

To be honest, however, although I could place all of these on a map, there were a couple that I have never heard of in any other context and, in particular, I have often wondered why Manzhiliy Ata wasn’t in the list.   The other day I was reading an article about Shamanistic healing rituals when I came across a different  list which ran:  Cholpon Ata, Karakol Ata, Manzhiliy Ata, Kochkor Ata, Oisul Ata, Oluia Ata and Shing Ata … but, although this omitted the entries from the first list that had caused me problems and included Mazhiliy Ata,  I have to admit that it also included names which were new to me.

To make matters worse, Kochkor Ata always used to cause me a problem because, as if quite often the case here in Kyrgyzstan, there is more than one place called by this name.

For the record: Kochkor Ata is the name of a fairly modern city down in the Djalal Abad oblast, situated on a relatively flat stretch of land, (lying between 600 and 800 meters a.s.l.),  in the Ferghana valley not far from the Uzbek city of Andijan and the main Bishkek-Osh highway.  Bishkek is 525km away… and Djalal Abad 56km.

When I say “modern” that’s because it seems to have its origins in a “tented settlement” which grew up around the newly discovered Isbastken oil deposit, in the early 1950′s.   Since then it has grown into a small city, (it was granted city status in 2003), with a population of about 20,000 and is home to businesses in the oil and gas, building and ceramics industries.  There are also links to agriculture of the neighbouring region.

As well as a couple of bazaars, several schools and a hospital complex, the city also boasts a relatively new football stadium built by one of the local oil companies and which is home to the local team, Neftchi – “Oilmen” –  founded in 1952 when the original settlement was created.

Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find out why the city was given the name  Kochkor Ata.

Kochkor Ata

The legendary Kochkor Ata was an old man, a sage, seer, who lived in the village of Kum Debe, North West of the village of Kochkor in the Naryn oblast.

For the record: Although the term mazar usually refers to a Muslim holy place and they are usually administered and supervised by a mullah, in Kyrgyzstan there are often vestiges of Tengrism, or the old shamanistic traditions also associated with it, and so they tend to represent a fusion between Islam and non-Islamic traditions and practices.

The shrine at Kum Debe is located where there are two low hills connected by a shoulder, (and which some people say resembles the humps of a camel).  Some people, for example, say that it is the burial place of  a Muslim saint.  Others connect the history of Kochkor Ata shrine with Kyrgyz folklore.

Pilgrims include people who come to the shrine pray for recently departed relatives, childless couples, and healers with their patients.

There are several stories and legends associated with Kochkor Ata:

For example, the Kazakh explorer and ethnographer Chokan Valikhanov who travelled through the region in the nineteenth century on behalf of the Tsarist empire, mentions that the eighteenth century Kazakh sultan Barak, “became careless, and showing off his strength he invaded the sacred place of the Kyrgyz, Koshkar Ata.”  In reponse, the Kyrgyz became angry, attacking the Kazakh camp and pursuing the invading army as far as the Ili River.  Although Barak escaped their clutches, according to Valikhanov, the Kyrgyz gave the credit for this to “the holiness of Kochkor Ata”.

There is one folktale which emphasizes the importance of approaching the mazar in an appropriate manner: when praying at the mazar one must pray not just for oneself but give thanks for one’s fortune and pray for the health and happiness for all the family.

The tale tells of a young couple who lived in Kochkor.  Unfortunately, the husband was a very mean and cruel man.  Although they had been married for five or six years and had been trying to have a child, they had been unsuccessful.  Though it was not her fault, the husband would come home at night and start to beat her.  One cold and snowy February night, hew returned home again.  He was drunk and began to beat her even more mercilessly than before.  Eventually he threw her out into the cold without even a headscarf or shoes, saying: “Go to the Mazar in Kochkor Ata and pray for a child.”

Despite her sadness and the cold, she set out and had walked some distance when she came across a small fire and she stopped to warm herself by it.  As she warmed her almost frozen body she noticed a small man with a long white beard sitting nearby, wearing a small white hat, (Bakai Kalpak), and a coat, (Ketmentai), like those that were worn by heroes.  He seemed a very pleasant and peaceful old man.

The Aksakal spoke to her, saying: “Come. Come. I have been waiting for you.  What wish did you come with?”  She poured out her heart to him, crying she begged him for a good child who would grow up to be successful and helpful to her family – and others.

At that point, her husband burst onto the scene … and unaware of who the old man was he demanded a child from Kochkor Ata..  The old man looked at him and scolded: “Only a child! Then go away from here.”

The couple returned home and in the course of time, she found that she was expecting.  The child was born whilst the husband was away, returning a few days later, anxious to see the child.  When his wife proudly presented the child to him, he took it, looked upon it … and promptly died.

According to popular wisdom, the man sealed his fate by his selfishness and failure to respect age old customs and traditions.

Another is that of Tolubai Synchy, a legendary character but one that may be based on a real person that lived in the fourteenth or fifteenth century; a prophet, seer or soothsayer.

He is renowned for his wisdom and many sayings and proverbs, which express deep thoughts.  In some ways he was like as a politician, in that he was not afraid to stand up for the ordinary people in the face of the rich and powerful.

Chosen as a seer by the khan Azizhan, whose land stretched from the Altai Mountains to the foothills of the Tien Shan Alai.  When he was at the height of his power and the people prospered, but there were still internecine resentment aqnd he planned an invasion of neighbouring China.

His particular talent was that he was a specialist, an expert, with animals, especially horses. People would bring him their horses and ask for his advice. For example, they might ask if a particular horse was good for Oodarysh, (the traditional Kyrgyz sport of wrestling on horseback), or a good horse for At Chabysh, (long distance racing), and what they needed to do to make the horse into a champion. Tolubai’s answer might include hints about training or feeding.

The epic tells how Toulbai had one special horse, a Tulpar, which is a term that is used for “champion” horses – better than the others.  He was a gift from Azizhan, but things did not turn our as the Khan had aniticipated.  Wanted to award the seer with a horse, a magnificent horse, to serve as an example, a morale booster and incentive for the people  … it was to be one the best horses in the kingdom.  So he had all the best horses paraded past the old man.  Tolubai, however, sat indifferent at the sight of all the magnificent beasts; which confused the ruler and his people alike.  More and more horses were brought, and the Khan began to get angry, shouting at the old man because he would no chose a steed.  Then a grey Karmyshev was brought before the old man, emaciated and practically dragged before the old man, who jumped from his seat declaring that this was the one!

Azizhan was not only confused, he felt humiliated as all this took place in the public eye.  In a rage he ordered that the old man should have his eyes gouged out and he should be cast out from the camp.

Toulbai took his horse, a young animal, and nursed it back to health.  He raised it, training it and giving it special food so that it became famous for its speed, stamina and strength.  Its powerful lungs and sure-footedness gave it a general adaptability which meant that it could excel in both the mountains and on the lowlands.

After forty days in the wilderness, tending and caring for the horse, Tolubai returns to the camp with his wife and the newly recuperated horse and issued a challenge to Azizhan.

In another version, one of the local bai-manaps, (bai means rich and manap signifies an important person), took a liking to the horse and wanted it for himself. He asked Tolubai to give him the horse, but Tolubai loved the horse and refused.  This upset the manap who sought his revenge by blinding Tolobai, gouging out his eyes.

A group of horseman set out in pursuit of the old man and his wife.

Suddenly, Tolubai hears the hoofs of one of the pursing horses approaching rapidly. He asks his wife, “What sort of horse is following us?”, and she tells him “It’s a Toru horse”, a giant of a horse. So Tolubai tells her to head for the stony ground, so that the horseshoes of the Toru would come away from the hooves and it would not be able to follow.

Having escaped from the Toru, Tolubai hears another horse approaching and once again asks his wife, “What sort of horse is following us?”, and she said “It’s a Karageer“, a dark grey horse. Tolubai tells her to ride towards the sun, because he knows that the skull of the Karageer was thin and that the sun bearing down on the forehead meant that the horses brain would overheat and it would have to give up the chase.

Finally Tolubai hears yet another horse rapidly approaching, and asks his wife “What sort of horse is following us?” and this time she says “A Sary At“, a Yellow Horse. This time Tolubai tells her to ride into the mountains because he knows that the lungs of the Sary At were not strong and it could not run for long in the high altitude. Sure enough, the third and final horse gives up the chase.

On their Tulpar, Tolubai and his wife are able to ride on, and having escaped into the mountains they are able to live a long and happy life.