The first representations of people about nature were formed in deep antiquity. As the founders of Marxism noted, "the production of ideas, representations, consciousness is initially directly woven into the material activity and material communication of people, into the language of real life." Due to the frequent repetition of the process of mastering various objects of the external world, the consciousness of ancient people was imprinted with objects that served to satisfy their life needs. The consciousness of ancient people was formed as a result of their understanding of the environment surrounding them, and in this environment — those objects whose usefulness was established in practice; then they began to realize their relationship with nature. "Consciousness, of course, is initially the awareness of the nearest sensually perceived environment... — the consciousness of nature, which initially confronts people as a completely alien, omnipotent, and impregnable force, to which people relate completely animalistically and to whose power they submit, like... purely animal consciousness of nature (the deification of nature)."
The history of human culture is inextricably linked with the history of the development of views on the structure of the surrounding world, the gradual revelation and understanding of the objective laws of nature; first of all, those areas of knowledge were formed that served the most important needs of people.
F. Engels, emphasizing that the emergence and development of science was conditioned by the practical needs of humanity, and pointing to the sequence of the emergence of its various branches, wrote that "first astronomy appears, which is absolutely necessary for pastoral and agricultural peoples due to the seasons."
The circle of interests, the circle of knowledge of the Kyrgyz was determined primarily by the level of their social development and basic economic knowledge. Using the example of the astronomical representations of the Kyrgyz, one can analyze how the rational and the illusory interact in their everyday representations of nature, show the close connection of their knowledge with everyday practical life, and judge the level of this knowledge.
The initial information about celestial phenomena was obtained by the Kyrgyz through systematic observations of them. Gradually developing and accumulating over the course of the centuries of the people's history, passed down from generation to generation, the data, results of these observations not only satisfied the growing demands of life practice but also served as the foundation on which the cosmological representations of the Kyrgyz were formed and developed.
Even in ancient times, people, watching the movement of stars, were able to find Altyn Kazyk (literally Golden Pole) — the North Star, also called Temir Kazyk (Iron Pole), and sometimes Kut Zhyldyz — the Northern Star. People knew that this star is stationary in relation to the others and always points to the north. (Kut tarap; Kut jak — north, from where cold winds blow).
In travels through valleys and mountainous areas, shepherds, horse herders, and travelers always oriented themselves by this star. "Always keep to Altyn Kazyk or travel so that Altyn Kazyk is always on your left cheek" — this is how they indicated the way to travelers.
The Kyrgyz, observing the star Vega (alpha in the small constellation Lyra), a bright star in the northern hemisphere of the night sky, known as Ak-Zhyldyz — White Star, Zharik Zhyldyz — Bright Star, determined the time for sowing in the fields by the nature of its appearance in the early morning. The Kyrgyz were aware of stars called Dostara Kunduz — barely distinguishable even by stargazers with sharp eyesight. Their appearance in the sky was considered a bad omen, heralding misfortune, especially under these stars, referring to the largest moons of Jupiter (Eshik Kyrgan — Destroyer of Donkeys, and sometimes Kara Kuch — Unclean Force) — Ganymede and Callisto.
The brightness of these natural satellites of Jupiter changes depending on their positions in their orbits. When at perihelion, Ganymede can come significantly closer to Earth than even the planet Mars.
If earlier astronomers believed that only Saturn has a ring, then American spacecraft, "Voyager-1" and "Voyager-2" provided scientists with the opportunity to confirm that all giant planets are surrounded by rings, unlike terrestrial planets, which do not have them. In addition, two new moons of Jupiter were discovered. The surface of Ganymede impresses with huge basins and traces of powerful ancient tectonic activity.
The Great Square, relating to two constellations — the constellation Pegasus and the constellation Andromeda, was called Kergen Saba (literally, a stretched leather bag in which kumis is prepared) by the Kyrgyz. According to their observations, these four stars are not visible in spring, visible in the zenith in autumn, and appear on the western side of the sky in winter.
Of all the constellations known to the Kyrgyz, the most popular was perhaps the constellation Urkor — the Pleiades. They determined the time of year by it. The approach of the Pleiades to the horizon in the west was considered a sign of the onset of spring: If by the beginning of night the Pleiades lean to the west, it means spring is coming; As long as the Pleiades do not descend close to the horizon, the earth will not warm up; The Pleiades have leaned, and spring has come. At the end of spring, they said: The Pleiades have descended low or The Pleiades disappear beyond the horizon on the first day of May, appearing on the tenth day of June. The lush growth of plants at this time of year was associated with the Pleiades: The Pleiades have appeared — the grasses have risen lushly (literally, the grasses have surged). In the middle of summer, the constellation was already determined in the east, just before sunrise: in July, the Pleiades rise with the morning dawn; at the end of summer: with the rising of the Pleiades in the morning, coolness is felt and dew accumulates; in autumn, the Pleiades are quite high above the horizon: the Pleiades approach the zenith, the nights become much longer; by the middle of winter, the Pleiades are almost visible at the zenith in the evenings: the Pleiades have reached their zenith, which means half of winter is already behind.
The seasons were also determined using other constellations of the Zodiac, but the Pleiades, as people rightly noted, resembling a tangled herd of young mares, stand out among the other constellations. Moreover, they are available for viewing for a long time — from the middle of summer to the beginning of the next summer.
Since ancient times, the Kyrgyz determined not only the seasons but also the months by the Pleiades. This monthly counting was called togol — covering (or meeting), rapprochement, collision. The Moon passes near the Pleiades, and in each lunar month they meet once — togo-doshot, and the next day they are located next to each other. In the last days, they move further and further apart. The interval between two consecutive conjunctions of the Moon and the Pleiades is a sidereal (star) month (27.32 days). The interval from one new moon to another is 29.53 days and is called a synodic month. For this reason, the meeting of the Moon with the Pleiades falls on different days of the lunar month each time, that is, it occurs 2.21 days earlier each time (29.53—27.32=2.21) than the previous meeting. If in some lunar month the meeting occurred on the 9th, then in the next it will have to be on the 7th, and so on. Based on this phenomenon, the Kyrgyz called lunar months like this: ninth meeting, seventh meeting, fifth meeting, and so on. At the same time, the Kyrgyz believed that togol must necessarily fall on an odd number. However, esepchi — weather forecasters by the rising and setting of the Sun and by the position of the planets believed that togol could also fall on even numbers, as the year does not fit a whole number of synodic months.
Esepchi kept track of the months and predicted the weather. In one of the Arab sources relating to the Middle Ages, it is said: "Among the Kyrgyz, there is a person from the common people who is called Faginun. He is invited every year on a certain day... they ask him about all the events that are to occur this year, and he reports whether there will be a harvest or a failure, rain, drought, and so on, and they believe that what he said is true."
Despite the fact that the Moon meets with the Pleiades not on the 7th but on the 8th, the previous conventional names of the months have been preserved: first covering, third covering, and so on. It was believed that the 21st covering falls in the month of bash oona — August, while the 1st, 3rd, and 5th coverings fall in spring (respectively in May, April, March). Since ancient times, the Kyrgyz have said: Until the fifth covering comes, they do not loosen their belts, that is, they do not switch to light clothing.
In the spring months, the Pleiades are observed in the west, the Moon in the new moon is also in the west, therefore, in spring, the meeting of the Pleiades with the Moon occurs in the early days of the lunar months.
In the summer-autumn months, the Pleiades are observed in the east, and the Moon is visible in the east in the last phases, so at this time the Pleiades meet with the Moon in the last days of the lunar month.
Usually, the calculation of togols by esepchi began in December: Beshin ayynda bezildegen suuk — From the second decade of November, the cold begins. This month was attributed to the 13th togol, and December to the 11th (uchtun ayi on bir menen togoyt), and so on. After the first togol, corresponding to kulja — May, the Pleiades, as noted above, descended below the horizon, and for about 40 days in this area, this constellation was not visible.
The Kyrgyz, before the penetration of Islam, did not attribute any supernatural significance to the sky and celestial bodies. The sky — the people have called it blue sky since ancient times. People have long compared beautiful people to the Sun, Moon, or Venus: A beauty, like the Moon or the Sun.
