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 Felt carpets and yurts The Yurt The Kyrgyz tent is an extraordinarily practical and pleasant dwelling. The interior is always cosy and inviting, one is constantly surrounded by pure, fresh air, one breathes more easily and the whole day long enjoys seeing a glimpse of the sky through the smoke outlet. Of an evening the stars come twinkling through the rising smoke, and the moon too peeps into our airy dwelling. I enjoyed myself in one word splendidly in these tents and would not have chosen to exchange them for Persia’s best chaparkhaneh (Hedin 1893: 395). The nomad tent is both beautiful and practical. It keeps the heat out in the summer and the cold out in the winter. It does not like damp areas but can stand up to rain in moderate quantities. Yurts come in different sizes and they can be up to 10 to 12 metres in diameter. The colours vary between almost completely white to different shades of grey. The wealthiest individuals often have white yurts with beautiful woven bands at the upper edge and around the doors. These yurts are used mostly as decorative objects in that they are put up on the occasion of important visits, in connection with rituals or during festivals. They grey yurts on the other hand are utility objects that are used for example by herdsmen in the high mountains. Despite the fact that during the last hundred years the yurt has only partly been used as a dwelling, the nomad tent has a central place in the lives of many Kyrgyz. The felt tent is a natural element at festivals and in connection with various rituals. At festivals the tent can be used as a showroom for Kyrgyz arts and crafts, as an eating place or accommodation for those taking part in the festival. The yurt is also an important element in the burial ritual. Before the actual funeral the deceased lies for three full days on a lit de parade in the tent. It is expected that family and friends will in the course of these days call in to tender their condolences and pay their last respects to the deceased. It is usual for deceased inhabitants of the capital to be transported to their family’s village. Not until then are they placed in a yurt for three days before being buried in the family grave. If the deceased has no family ties in the countryside, a yurt may be placed in the courtyard or backyard of the tenement complex where the deceased lived. Seen from the door the left side of the yurt is the man’s and the right side is the woman’s. In the woman’s half we find the kitchen department where food is prepared and kitchen utensils stored. On the man’s side are placed weapons, equestrian equipment and other things that belong to men. |
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27.09.02- 02.02.03 EDITORS: UTSTILLINGS- OG PUBLIKUMSSEKSJONEN,UKM INFO@UKM.UIO.NO. SITE CREATED BY FEBER AND FATGUY