Ethnographic Descriptions of the Material Culture of the Kyrgyz

Among the sources utilized to address the issue of the ethnogenesis of a particular people, to identify its national traditions and characteristics, ethnographic descriptions of material culture and folk applied arts hold an important place. In turn, a comprehensive description of these aspects of folk life requires a thorough study of domestic crafts and trades as part of material production, which in the past satisfied the everyday needs and aesthetic demands of the population. The task of a comprehensive historical and ethnographic study of these phenomena also lies before the ethnographers of Kyrgyzstan.

Until recently, the material culture and domestic production of the Kyrgyz had not been the subject of special research. In pre-revolutionary ethnographic literature on the Kyrgyz, information on these issues is fragmentary, lacks systematicity, and is mostly presented without indications of the tribal affiliation of the described population. There is also no mention of the peculiarities in the development of the culture of southern and northern Kyrgyz. Among the works containing valuable information on the aforementioned issues and related to the Kyrgyz inhabiting the territory of Northern Kyrgyzstan, the articles and essays by Ch. Ch. Valikhanov, L. F. Kostenko, G. S. Zagriazhskiy, G. Bardashev, P. Khoroshin, N. L. Zelanda, and V. V. Radlov should be noted. Of great interest to us are similar data about the Kyrgyz of the Osh region, found in the works of A. P. Fedchenko, B. Ya. Grombchevskiy, V. I. Kushelevskiy, V. A. Parfentyev, N. S. Lykoshin, N. L. Korzhenevskiy, G. V. Pokrovskiy, N. I. Stogov, A. A. Kushakevich, A. Uspenskiy, and others.

Infinitely more abundant, significantly better documented, and detailed information about the material culture and domestic production of the Kyrgyz has been found in the works of Soviet scholars, most of whom based their research on Marxist-Leninist methodology.

The works of F. A. Fielstrup, who gathered a large ethnographic material during his travels in Kyrgyzstan, are of great value. In addition to published works, he collected valuable collections for the State Museum of Ethnography (GME), which received qualified scientific descriptions.

The works of S. M. Abramzon, who began his publications after the first comprehensive expedition to Alai in 1927, are extensive and varied in content. Since that time, he has been intensively supplementing the ethnographic collections of the Kyrgyz Local History Museum (now the Historical Museum), organized in 1926.

The material culture of the northern Kyrgyz has received more attention in the literature than that of the southern Kyrgyz. For instance, the Issyk-Kul Kyrgyz are the subject of works by M. Aitbaev and E. I. Makhova. The book by P. I. Kushner is a result of the author's trip to the Talas Valley. The candidate dissertation by A. F. Burkovskiy, "The Techniques of Modern Domestic Crafts and Trades in Kyrgyz Collective Farms," published as separate articles, also focuses primarily on the northern Kyrgyz.

For the study of Kyrgyz domestic production, the article by M. R. Ryskulbekov, which reveals the economic side while also providing some ethnographic information, and the section "Cooperation of Artisans and Craftsmen" in the work of S. Ilyasov, which emphasizes the development of crafts and the cooperation of small producers, are of interest. Both authors note the specificity of the southern and northern Kyrgyz.

Kyrgyz applied arts have attracted the attention of researchers since the 20th century. The first publications were the works of Hungarian scholar Almási and A. Felkerzám.

In his works, artist and ethnographer S. M. Dudin provides many interesting details about folk art. However, their value is diminished by the fact that the author often does not accurately differentiate between Kazakh and Kyrgyz works.

Alongside the articles by V. Chepelev and A. Romm, which have a general character, it is necessary to note the works of M. S. Andreev and M. F. Gavrilov, who published the ornament they collected, which holds scientific value.

Among the studies, a special place is occupied by the fundamental work of artist M. V. Ryndin (with a preface by A. N. Bernshteyn), dedicated to Kyrgyz ornamentation, which he collected over ten years. In a comprehensive review of this work, S. M. Abramzon reveals its shortcomings, which boil down to the highly controversial arguments of the authors regarding the narrative nature of Kyrgyz patterns and the lack of scientific documentation for the published ornament. The significance of the work is also diminished by the absence of many ornamental forms characteristic of the south.

The Kyrgyz Comprehensive Archaeological and Ethnographic Expedition, organized by the Institute of History of the Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz SSR in collaboration with the Institute of Ethnography and the Institute of the History of Material Culture of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR from 1953 to 1955, played a significant role in enhancing and expanding ethnographic research. The result of the work of this expedition, as well as the scientific session convened after its conclusion, dedicated to the ethnogenesis of the Kyrgyz people, was the publication of five volumes of its "Proceedings." These volumes reflect the results of anthropological, archaeological, and ethnographic research conducted by the expedition teams. Special attention is given in these publications to questions about the material culture of the Kyrgyz and their ornamentation.

In addition to accessible literature, material monuments were utilized — ethnographic collections from GME, MAE, and the Historical Museum. Illustrative materials, primarily photographs stored in the aforementioned museums, were also used. Among them, the photographs of S. M. Dudin, who visited Southern Kyrgyzstan and Eastern Turkestan at the beginning of our century, hold particular value. Besides illustrations, S. M. Dudin left a report on his trip, which, like the photographs, is kept in the GME archives. This report and the photographs contributed not only to the restoration of important features of the material culture of the southern Kyrgyz.

In studying domestic production and crafts that existed in the past century, ancient techniques were recorded, revealing the ethnographic specificity of the southern Kyrgyz.

A valuable source for studying material culture and applied arts has been numerous colored and pencil sketches of household items and ornaments, as well as photographs taken during field research by artist V. N. Lazarevskaya and photographers Yu. V. Neskvernov and D. Bakeev.