A tragic wedding party
The road from Suusamyr to Kochkor passes over the Kyz Art pass. At 2664m it is not a particular high pass, but there is a sad legend about it which draws attention to the hazards of travelling through the mountains.
It tells of a war between two tribes of Kyrgyz – those living on the Suusamyr plain and in the Tyup region of Issyk Kul. The origins of the conflict are not known, nor the details of the battles that were fought, but in the time honoured tradition of the Kyrgyz, when it was decided that “enough was enough”. The two khans decided to conclude a peace between their peoples and to cement it with a wedding. The baatyr (or hero) from Suusamyr had a beautiful daughter and the one from Tyup had a son – their wedding would unite the two factions who then become relatives.
A large festival (toi) was held to celebrate the armistice between the warring parties. For several days meat was boiled in big pots and the people lost of the number of sheep, horses and cattle slaughtered to feed the amassed crowds … and how much Kumys was drunk. The two enemy baatyrs gave each other presents and negotiated the wedding arrangements.
Eventually, according to tradition, the bride was dressed in silk and velvet and in the company of forty companions to meet her groom who lived beyond the pass. The group arrived at the pass and as they reached the summit a storm blew up. The wind blew through the gorges and the pass was covered in cloud and a snowstorm began which blinded and forced the travellers to a halt. Unable to proceed further, the girls gathered together and hunkered down to wait out the storm. The storm was so intense, however, that the snow covered them … and froze them.
In the morning, the groom and his friends set out and arrived at the pass and discovered the fate that had befallen the travellers.
The girls were buried at the pass and their communal grave covered with a mound, which is still there today.
And, since that time, the pass has been known as the “Girls Pass” – or Kyz Art. It is said that whoever travels over the pass should dress very warm as it is always cold and windy … and always has been, ever since the death of the Princess and her companions.
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It’s time for a confession … Today’s post was supposed to be a love story from Kyrgyz legend, to commemorate St. Valentine’s Day: the story of Ak Jan and the Frankish Knight, (it’s one of my favourite legends), but, somehow, I slipped up and posted it on Sunday instead.
I only realized the mistake after the postcard was already up on the internet and so I had to rethink my plans for today. I have already posted some of the other great legends which contain love stories, (about Cholpon Ata - which seems to be the favourite legend amongst most of the Kyrgyz – and the Aigul Flower), and although there are still romantic stories which I could tell, I decided instead, to follow Shakespeare’s example, (in perhaps the greatest love story of all time, Romeo and Juliet), and share the tragic story of a wedding party where things did not go exactly according to plan and a pair of crossed eyed lovers from opposing warring clans come to a sad end.
Bishkek