Geographical Representations of the Kyrgyz People

The close connection of the Kyrgyz as a nomadic people with their environment required them to have a concrete understanding of the nature of the terrain and landscape. As a result, they developed precise concepts for many forms of relief such as a gorge or canyon, peak or needle, alkyim — the upper part of a valley, tektir — terrace, and others, which have entered scientific literature as the original terminological heritage of the people.

The Kyz-Kuyee spring (girl-bride), located in the Boom Gorge, Kyz-Art pass in the Tian Shan, Ak-Beyit mausoleum (mausoleum of Ak-Beyit), located on the Arpa pasture, and many other names of places and geographical objects are connected with legends and tales.

According to one of them, the Kelin-Taygak gorge in the valley of the Karakol River (one of the tributaries of the turbulent Naryn) received its apt name after a tragic incident that actually took place. A bride (kelin) was riding along the gorge when her mother-in-law (kayynata) was coming towards her. According to custom, the girl dismounted her horse to pay her respects — a bow (zhugunuu — to bow, crossing hands on the chest), but she slipped on the steep slope and fell into the abyss.

In Kyrgyzstan, there are also foreign-language toponyms that reveal the natural features of the region. Among the foreign-language toponyms, there are quite a few Kalmyk ones. The original names of the areas inhabited by older ethnic groups have almost not survived; they have been partially or completely changed.

Among the Kalmyk hydronyms that still exist today are: Koke Meren — water as clear as a cloudless sky, Jumkhol or Jumgol — right arm or right tributary of a river, Ulakhol — mountain river, and others. The Kyrgyz hydronyms, oronyms, ethnonyms, etc., often reflect some characteristic features of the named geographical object, for example: Ak-Buura (male camel with foam at the mouth) — a river flowing through the city of Osh, turbulent, foamy, indeed white, like the foam from the mouth of a male camel during mating season; Kyzyl-Suu (red water) — a swift mountain river in Chon-Alae, in its upper reaches it washes away red-colored deposits that give the river its red color during rain; Ak-Shyyrak (white ankle) — a ridge in Central Tian Shan, covered with glaciers and eternal snows; Torugart (low pass — a Kyrgyz-Kalmyk oronym, the name of a pass that is apparently open year-round due to low snowfall; Sandyk (chest) — pillar-like relief in Suusamyr, resembling a chest; Ketmaldy (literally, to soak the back) — the southern vicinity of Lake Issyk-Kul is named so due to the swampy nature of the territory; Arpa-Tektir (barley terrace) — an ancient leveled land surface located in the Issyk-Kul basin.

The Kyrgyz language has preserved many geographical names that begin with outdated words from Kyrgyz vocabulary (archaisms). For example, the words chok and chuk, used in the sense of dense, crowded, are included in the names of the gorge, river, and aila Chok-Tal in the Issyk-Kul basin. Other geographical names that are close in meaning include: Chok-Kamys (a locality in the area of the city of Min-Kush, Naryn region), Chok-Tash (a locality in the basin of the Ak-Buura River), Chuk-Terek (a locality in the Suzak district). The nomadic lifestyle of the Kyrgyz contributed to their acquisition of a vast amount of knowledge about the locations of useful and harmful plants, habitats of game animals and birds, etc.

The Kyrgyz used names that reflected the character of the terrain based on vegetation cover, for example: Oruktu — a place where wild apricots grow, Almaluu — of apples, Chychyrkanaktoo — of wild currant (in such places, they usually avoided grazing sheep and goats, as these dense bushes significantly damaged the sheep's wool), Chok-Tal — of tamarisk, Chok-Kamys — of reeds, and others. The reasons explaining why a locality was named after a particular animal or bird varied. Most often, the name of the locality was associated with a large number of certain fauna inhabitants, for example, Chychkanduu (sometimes simply Chychkan) — a place inhabited by mice, Koyondoo — of hares, Zhylanduu-Ter (or Zhylan-Ter) — of snakes, Balikty — of fish, Burkuttuu-Sai (or Burkut-Sai) — of golden eagles, Kumai-Ter — of vultures, Ular-Sai — a place where many snowcocks are found, Kekilik-Bel pass, where many partridges live, and others.

In the tales created by the people about hunters, such as "Tootay Mergen," "Adyl Mergen," conditional coordinates or locations of lands, localities, settlements of related tribes and other peoples are given. The pictures of the life and everyday life of distant ancestors are captured in rock paintings of hunters, for example, in the south of the republic, in the Issyk-Kul depression and in the Talas valley.