Nomadic Life in Kyrgyzstan

KYRGYZSTAN | Wednesday, 9 January 2013 | Views [640] | View Smaller Image

While it is a hard and sometimes lonely life, there is time for enjoying a good meal within the comforts of a yurt. The wife sits close to the kettle and pours a cup of tschai. Usually this is mixed with kumus (fermented horse milk) and sometimes some butter and salt. The self-baked bread, made in self built stone ovens, tastes best with some homemade marmalade or butter. As long as the meal lasts, the family seems to forget about life outside the yurt and the hardship of their lives.

Tags: family, yurt, nomads, kyrgyzstan

For most families the summer is the only season to earn money for making it through winter. The highland areas are not suited for staying during winter because of the snow. Therefore, they break up their yurts at the end of summer and move down to their poor shacks in the valley cities. In a way, Kyrgyz people may be referred to as ‘seasonal’ nomads.

Each spring, when the snow melts, the families take their yurt and other belongings again and move up the highlands. This seasonal nomadic cycle continues forever, only interrupted by occasional trips to the valley in the summer to sell cattle and stock up on goods. By spending time with Kyrgyz families, it becomes clear they value the nomadic life far above life in the cities. Summer means space, freedom and abundance.

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Although very poor, the Kyrgyz families want the best for their children. Even when this implies leaving their children behind in the valley, so they can attend school. Hagelbek, one of our hosts, told us that he sometimes does not see his children during all of summer. It must be heart wrecking to leave your children behind in the city at the beginning of spring. Nevertheless, Hagelbek is proud that his children now enjoy better education then he himself has had.

For the young children living with the family in the highland areas, there is a lot of room to play. They learn a lot of things at a young age, including horse riding by the age of 3.

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Nomadic Life in Kyrgyzstan

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