Fastenings of the Components of the Kyrgyz Yurt

Components of the Yurt

To understand the fastening system of the components of the yurt, it is necessary to sequentially examine the order of its installation. As is the case everywhere among the Kyrgyz, the installation of the yurt is the responsibility of women (men only helped to lift the heavy hoop). First, the door frame is set up, and the lattice walls are stretched, placing them in a circle. The edges are connected by tying them with twine or narrow woven tape (ribbon). The top of the expanded wall is secured. For this, a patterned ribbon—boo chalgych—is attached to the side posts of the frame, which wraps around the upper part of the lattice up to the other door post. Then the dome is constructed. A dome pole is tied to each "kerege bash," at the end of which a cord is threaded through a drilled hole. The connection of the dome poles with the upper hoop, which is supported by tall poles, is the most complex stage of the yurt installation. Here, the help of men is sought, especially when securing the first poles to the hoop.

After connecting all the poles, the dome of the yurt is reinforced. For this, just above the bend of the poles, each pole is wrapped with a narrow long tape ("tizgich boo"). Next, a wide woven strip ("kerege tazuu") is attached. It is placed below the "chalgych," also stretching around the yurt, with the ends secured at the door posts. Sometimes, in this way, not one, but two strips are stretched, one below the other. After this, a mat is placed around the lattice frame of the yurt. It is made from chiy or reeds.

The next stage is hanging the door covering ("eshiktysh"). It consists of two layers—felt and chiy—and has a rectangular shape at one end (covering the door opening) and a trapezoidal shape at the other, extending over the dome of the yurt—from the top of the door frame to the smoke hole. The covering is attached using woven tape ("eshik boo"), which is thrown over the hoop and pulled to the upper crossbar of the frame, where it is secured.

In some places, chiy for the hanging door is replaced with honeysuckle twigs, which are connected not with wool, as in the chiy covering, but with rawhide straps. The fastening is done in the same way as in the chiy mat.

In summer, the hanging door can be lifted. In this case, it is rolled into a tube and secured to the top of the door frame with wool cords.

Over the poles, felt strips about one meter wide, ornamented (2-3) "dzhabyk bash," are stretched over the dome.

The latter are trapezoidal in shape and therefore fit comfortably on the top of the dome. The lower side of the strip is often framed with patterned tape and fringe woven from red wool threads. This unique dome frieze is found only among the Kyrgyz living in the eastern part. It is not used in the southwestern region. Such decoration is typical for the yurts of northern Kyrgyz.

Below the bend of the dome poles, a decorative strip "tegirich" is stretched. This type of decoration is found throughout the Osh region, but it is made differently. In the eastern part of the region, a strip made of velvet, decorated with embroidery, is most common, while in the west, it is more often made using patterned or pile weaving techniques or from colored (blue, red) fabric produced at home, less frequently from velvet.

After placing the internal decorative strips, the yurt is covered with various felt pieces, differing in shape, purpose, and name. There are various options for covering the yurt among the southern Kyrgyz.

The walls are covered with felt pieces called tuurdik. In the southwestern regions, they are also called tutuu.

For a medium-sized yurt, three such felt pieces are made, and for a large one—four. The width of each felt piece is 1.8-2 meters, and the length is 4.5 and 5.5 meters.

Woven patterned ribbons ("tuurdik boo") 6-8 cm wide are sewn to the upper corners of the felt pieces, with which they are secured.

The walls of the yurt closed in this way are surrounded by a lasso or patterned tape (kyrchoo).

The next set of felt pieces—uzuk—is used to cover the dome of the yurt. This determines their shape. They are trapezoidal, with rounded tops and bottoms. Their approximate dimensions are: height—3-3.2 meters, length at the top—2.5-2.7 meters, at the bottom—8-9 meters. First, the front side of the dome is covered with the felt piece aldynky uzuk, and then the back with the felt piece arka uzuk. The upper edges of both felt pieces touch the hoop that crowns the dome of the yurt. Patterned ribbons ("uzuk boo") are sewn to the side edges of each of them. The ribbons from the front felt piece pass over the dome poles inside the yurt at the back. The ribbons from the back felt piece are stretched through the dome at the hanging door and secured at the lattice wall.

The described method of covering the yurt is typical for the Uzgen, Soviet, Alay, and Naukat districts, partially for the Frunze district.

Felt pieces of a similar shape, their fastening methods, and names are also found among the northern Kyrgyz.

In the southwestern regions, there are several variations of covering the yurt. In the Frunze district and further west, the felt pieces for closing the walls of the yurt have features that can be summarized as follows: a strip "tutuu bash," made using felt appliqué technique, is sewn to their upper edges. Where such an ornamented strip is present, the internal decoration lacks the "dzhabyk bash," which, as noted above, is typical for Kyrgyz yurts in the eastern part of the region and for the yurts of northern Kyrgyz.

In the Laylak, partially Batken, and Frunze districts, three white ribbons (either unornamented or patterned, made using the "besh kesht" technique) are sewn to the edges of the felt covering the back side of the dome of the yurt. They cross over the dome and on the side walls of the yurt. A similar method of fastening felt pieces in yurts is noted among the Lokay, nomadic Uzbeks. The Karakalpaks also secure the felt pieces, decorating them with patterned ribbons, although the intertwining of ribbons on the walls of the yurt is absent here.

The yurts of the Kyrgyz group Noygut look somewhat different. The frame of the yurt from the chimney hole to the very bottom is covered with several (three to four) solid felt pieces, and the dome is covered with two more felt pieces, called delbir, which have the same shape as the previously described "uzuk". They are secured with white patterned ribbons made using the "besh kesht" technique, which cross only on the dome.

The chimney hole is covered with a square felt piece—tunduk zhabu u. In each of its corners, lassos are sewn.

Three of them are secured to "kyrchoo", one remains free. It is used to open and close the chimney hole.

Woven ribbons "dzhyel boo" are tied to the hoop; their purpose is to secure the yurt. During strong winds, the ribbons are lowered to the ground and tied to a stake driven into the ground near the hearth. In normal times, the ends of "dzhyel boo" are raised and hang from the hoop, so they are decorated with tassels and embroidery.

Manufacturing the walls of the yurt