Manufacturing of Bridles (Zhugyons) and Whips (Kamschi)

Making Harness

To this day, specialists in the production of harness parts, particularly bridles (zhugyon) and whips (kamchi), continue their work. In the south, they are referred to as zhugyon usta and kamchi usta. Most of them are elderly people who learned the craft from their fathers. They have preserved their skills in the eastern part of the Osh region. In the Alai district, the masters Kutchu Atabaev (born 1881, village of Terek) and Zair Atayev (born 1878, Lenin collective farm) are renowned. They have never brought their finished products to the market, just like their fathers, as there has always been a high demand for harness and kamchi. The raw materials in the form of hides (both processed and unprocessed) are acquired by the masters (often in exchange for finished products) from local residents, and they also use the catch from hunters.

We will focus on describing the process of making only the kamchi. It is woven from rawhide. The most expensive and elegant kamchi is made from the skin of a mountain goat.

When making the whip, the master uses a peculiar tool called iychi (Fig. 72, a). This is a bow-shaped stick (70-80 cm long) made from honeysuckle (yrgay). The ends are tightly bound with twisted straps 1.5-2 cm wide, which form the base of the whip. There are two types of kamchi based on the method of production: sewn (tikme) and woven (ormyo). In the production of tikme kamchi, the master covers the base of the whip with a strip of leather, which is tightly stretched and sewn on one side using an awl and thread.

Woven kamchi is made in different ways. There are terme and buldursun. The terme kamchi is woven from 12, 16, 24, or 32 straps that wrap around the base created on the iychi. Depending on the number of straps, their width, and quality, different patterns and shapes of the whip can be achieved: fine-scaled, quadrangular, hexagonal, round, and coarse-scaled.

The technique for weaving buldursun kamchi is different. It is woven without the iychi. The ends of eight straps are attached to something stable and intertwined by hand to form a quadrangular whip. Each face has a braid pattern. This weaving technique closely resembles the braiding of the "chalma" cord and is likely ancient. The epic poem "Manas" mentions the whip buldursun.

The finished whip is first smoothed with small pebbles held in the fist, then it is pulled through sydyrgy (Fig. 72, b). This consists of two small sticks (15-20 cm). Each has semi-oval, semicircular, and angular depressions on its surface. The boards are joined, and through the holes corresponding to the shape of the cut of the kamchi, it is passed several times, as if polishing. After this, the whip becomes more elastic.

The handle of the whip (sap) can be simple, made from a wooden rod, carved, turned, or made from a roe deer leg. The whip is attached to the handle using leather, wire, and rivets.

Since the end of the last century, when the Kyrgyz transitioned to a new sedentary lifestyle and animal husbandry lost its previous significance as the main occupation, the production of various items from hides and leather has gradually decreased. Leather dishes disappeared, and the need for leather bags and pouches diminished. With the cessation of nomadic life, cases for storing bowls became unnecessary.

Now, in the daily life of collective farmers and workers of state farms, animal hides are still used to make floor mats, while the use of sheepskin for clothing and hats has significantly decreased. Factory-made leather products have firmly entered everyday life: utility bags, briefcases, belts, and suitcases. Unfortunately, local industry almost completely disregards the valuable folk traditions in decorating leather goods.

Tanning of suede among the Kyrgyz