Making a Dome for a Yurt

Dome Poles for the Yurt

The process of making the wooden frame of the yurt proceeds as follows. The prepared wood is dried by the craftsman, stripped of its bark, planed with a tartky, and shaped to the required thickness and form.

All parts of the frame, except for the frame itself, are subjected to bending.

In the south, there are several methods for bending sticks and poles. The processed parts are soaked in water (usually dipped for a few minutes in a ditch), then held in specially made smoke ovens (moru) with a high chimney, into which the wood is placed. Here, under the influence of smoke, it softens and is easily bent. This method of wood processing is known to the masters from the adigine group.

The common northern method of steaming wood before bending it in smoldering sheep dung is not used by southern Kyrgyz masters.

In the Alai Valley, bending of the parts begins after preliminary drying of the wood, without softening it.

Here, we have documented a method of bending poles using weight: stones are placed on already fastened sections of the lattice frame to create the necessary bends.

Masters from the Uzgen district (the mongoldor group) bend dome poles from unseasoned wood. For this, they drive three stakes into the ground in a specific configuration and insert the poles between them, which, as they dry, acquire the necessary shape.

However, bending of the poles is usually done on a special machine (tez), which each master has. It consists of a thick log with a natural bend, sometimes having a fork. One end rests on the ground, while the other, at a height of 70-80 cm, rests against a wall, tree, or post. A small notch is made on the surface of the log, into which the pole is placed along with a special wooden stick — shykoor, with which the master gives the pole the desired bend.

Dome poles are bent at their lower part, which connects to the lattice wall. At this point, they are shaved down to about 70-80 cm, giving them a flattened shape. Above, the poles remain round, with a cross-section of 3-3.5 cm. The degree of bending of the poles determines the shape of the yurt's dome: the greater the bend, the flatter the dome, and vice versa. Osh masters create an equal angle of bend, resulting in a hemispherical, slightly flattened dome shape. This distinguishes the southern yurt (as well as the yurts of Chatkal and Talas) from the yurts of northern Kyrgyz, where the dome is closer to a conical shape.

Some masters check the angle of bend of the dome poles using a ready-made measure called andaza.

The parts of the pole that enter the hole of the rim "tunduk" are given a slightly pointed shape.

The length of dome poles in an average yurt reaches 200-240 cm, and in larger yurts can even exceed 3 m.

The poles reinforced above the door (eshik uuk; there are three of them) are shorter than the others, as one end is attached to the upper crossbar of the door frame (bash bosogo), which is located above the walls of the yurt. Each pole has a hole at the end for attaching it to the wall of the yurt's frame.

Yurt - the portable dwelling of the Kyrgyz