Winter in Kyrgyzstan is a harsh test for all living organisms.
In the cold winter days, many of them suffer from disasters and need. The wise man Asan-Kaygy, knowing this, is very saddened:
Tarazasyng keteryp
Tarbandagan shor tumshuk
Tash baka baikush kantti ekan?
Booru zherge jabyshtan,
Basa albagan balchakhtap,
Baka baikush kantti ekan?
Kirer eshigi jok,
Korgolor teshi jok.
Konuzy baikush kantti ekan?
Carrying its home on its back,
Clumsy, unhappy,
What has happened to the poor turtle?
The body pressed to the ground,
The fat one cannot walk,
What has happened to the poor frog?
To enter — there are no doors,
To hide — there are no cracks,
What has happened to the poor beetle?
Raised from a young age in the spirit of caring for nature, the Kyrgyz never destroyed anthills. On the contrary, they tried to feed the insects with kurut (balls made from thick sour milk and dried in the sun), which they crushed into small pieces and sprinkled on the anthill. People knew: kumurskasy kёp kolot- konshularda, talaa-tokoylordo, shalbalarda zyanduu kurt- tar az bolot, alardyn joosu ushulu kichine kumurskalar bolot. — Where there are many ants, there are few harmful worms.
It is known that ants play a significant role in soil formation and are its sanitizers. In the Moscow region, a nature reserve ("Upper Klyazma") was organized for ants for the first time.
There are 6000 species of ants on the planet, about 350 in our country. Forestry specialists have calculated that the inhabitants of one nest of red ants destroy at least 100,000 pest insects per day; in one month, the population of 5 anthills destroys up to 30 kilograms of pests.
In elevated areas where snakes lived (zhylandyn ordosu, uyugu — a place where snakes gather), it was forbidden to light fires, pour water, etc.
The wise, life-experienced elders often told the young that living beings do not bring any harm to humans; on the contrary, they are very necessary for people, as they were created by nature itself: Ar bir zhandykty jaratylish bekirinen jaratkan emes — Nature did not create various species of animals for nothing.... It is known that the Kyrgyz, if snakes crawled into their homes and did not leave for a long time, would pour milk into a flat dish and place this dish on their path. Everyone tried not to be "mykaachy" — bloodthirsty, killing innocent living beings.
The Kyrgyz punished such a bloodthirsty person (mykaachy kishini) by not inviting him to celebrations for circumcision, weddings, housewarming, or large memorials for respected aksakals, expressing their contempt.
The elders taught young children to treat ants, bees, butterflies, spiders, turtles, frogs, etc., with care, and this was passed down from generation to generation.
It is known that lizards, toads, and frogs eat and destroy pests (mosquitoes, garden snails, various butterflies, flies, etc.) that are close to the surface of the ground. One frog, for example, can eat up to 1 kilogram of insects a day.
Asan-Kaygy's thoughts about insects are filled with anxiety:
Salgan tamy jok,
Kylgan kamy jok,
Algan dany jok,
Bakkan maly jok,
Kezu-bashyn kegertup
Bayagy kegen baikush kantti ekan?
Kore turgan kozu jok,
Chymyn baikush kantti ekan?
Jyygan balyn tarttyryp,
Ayuu menen kastashyp,
Aary baikush kantti ekan?
He has neither home nor fence,
No harvest, no livestock,
Blue by nature eyes and head.
How does the poor fly live?
To see, there are no eyes.
How does the poor bee live?
The winter supply of honey,
Was taken away by bears.
How does the poor bee live?
Bees are tireless workers. Wild and cultivated relatives provide medicinal aromatic honey, pollinate plants and fruit trees.
It has been proven that garden plots, alfalfa and clover crops pollinated by bees yield much more than unpollinated gardens and fields.
The following lines of the great humanist are filled with concern for birds:
Uyasyn kar baskan chykhar,
Shoru tashtay katkan chykhar,
Chymchyk baikush kenetti ekan?
Childe tushty kysh boldu,
Suunun bary tonup, muz boldu
Kaz, erdekten kancha eldu ekan?
Karkyra-turnalar kanetti ekan?
How does the poor bird live?
After all, its nest is left under the snow.
A harsh winter has come,
Lakes and rivers have frozen.
And how many geese and ducks have perished?
What has happened to the cranes?
Earlier, it was believed that birds, by eating the harvests of grains, berries, and fruits, only bring harm to farmers. Such existing views still indicate a not sufficiently high level of ecological awareness among people. There are examples of irreparable losses caused by humans consciously disrupting ecological balance in nature. Recently, in Switzerland and France, starlings began to be destroyed under the pretext that they harm vineyards and gardens. As a result, the number of various insects and their larvae that feed on grain crops, young shoots, grape stems, cherry leaves, etc., has greatly increased, and yields in fields and gardens not only did not increase but also decreased.
A starling eats 300 caterpillars or 360 garden snails in a day. The appetite of its chick is remarkable; in 2-3 days it doubles its weight, meaning it eats 800-900 grams or more.
There is nothing superfluous in the nature of Kyrgyzstan.
All plants and living beings are part of a complex ecological system, and they are interconnected, forming a necessary link in each other's living conditions. Asan-Kaygy is deeply right in saying: Tabiyat ozu jaratkan nerselerdin tugyl sakta- gyla — What nature has created, preserve it fully. His humanistic thoughts resonate with our time, our worldview.
Only a great humanist, like Asan-Kaygy, could think about the protection and preservation of living nature in pre-revolutionary times. After all, the conditions for this were created in the republic only after the victory of the Great October. In our country, including Kyrgyzstan, there are state reserves and protected areas. The 1977 Constitution of the USSR contains an article on the protection of plant and animal life, i.e., the Soviet state considers the issues of human interaction with nature, the tasks of environmental protection, and the restoration of rare species of animals and plants as equally important problems of modern society.
In our republic, the following have been established: Ala-Archa Natural Park, 4 reserves, 16 hunting, 10 forest, 21 botanical, and 18 geological protected areas. Each of them is unique in its own way. For example, the Issyk-Kul Reserve is designed to protect waterfowl that come to the lake for wintering. In the Sary-Chelek Biosphere Reserve, bison, deer, bear, and snow leopards find peace in relict nut forests.
Scientific and environmental protection work is carried out in all reserves. For example, in winter, during harsh frosty days, wild animals are fed in the reserves, and they are protected from poachers; in summer, the preservation of rare and valuable medicinal plants is monitored, etc. Such careful treatment contributes to the preservation and reproduction of rare animals and birds, as well as plants that grow only in this area. According to the latest data, more than 7000 elk, about 10,000 wild boars, 10,600 argali, 93,200 mountain goats, 37,200 pheasants, 166,000 snowcocks, and about 2000 snow leopards inhabit the reserves and protected areas of the Kyrgyz Ala-Too.
Every year, the number of rarely encountered animals and birds in the world increases in them: argali, females of deer, brown bears, gazelles, mountain geese, curlews, etc. Currently, in the Issyk-Kul region, falcons, gyrfalcons, golden eagles, hawks, and falcons are being bred — they are tamed and trained. In our republic, relict nut forests, mountain junipers, Tien Shan firs, as well as plants such as saryndyz, tulips, arkar otu, snowdrops, mountain flowers, buttercups, etc., are under protection.
Currently, wastelands and open windy places in the republic are being planted with cold- and heat-resistant varieties of fruit trees and shrubs.
However, it should be noted that the measures taken in the republic to protect and preserve animal and plant life cannot be considered sufficient. For example, over the past 100 years, nature has lost almost 3000 snow leopards in the Tien Shan and Pamir-Alai mountains due to hunting and poaching, which is four-fifths of their total population. This is a lot for our endemic species, the beautiful ibex.
Natural swamps in the Issyk-Kul basin (in the areas of Kuturgi, Oi-Tala, Uryukty, Ananyev) have dried up, resulting in a decrease in the number of frogs, snakes, muskrats, hares, pheasants, and others. In the unique, cleanest body of water in the world — Lake Issyk-Kul — 1000 tons of phosphate and 100 tons of nitrogen, as well as a mass of organic waste, are discharged annually. In the rivers of Jergalan, Cholpon-Ata, Chots-Ak-Suu, increased levels of nitrates, zinc, and copper have been noted. In the area of Cholpon-Ata, the pollution of water exceeds permissible norms. The lake can be poisoned directly or through water blooming — from algae, including toxic blue-green ones. It is not the drop in the water level of Issyk-Kul, but its increasing pollution — this is the painful problem of the lake.
Such valuable shrubs as chychyrkanak — sea buckthorn, and beru karagat — barberry, are cut down and burned for fuel. Economic activities with harmful consequences continue in the Sary-Chelek Biosphere Reserve and in the nut forests of Arslanbob. Forests are often cut down and burned, roads are laid through them. Forest lands are being converted into arable lands, they are being absorbed by reservoirs. Shrubs and trees located in the territory of state reserves are being cut down; livestock is grazed there, and hay is harvested. All suitable agricultural areas are plowed and sown. And only on narrow strips of land that have not yet been plowed, in reeds, along riverbanks, water bodies, and irrigation canals, trichogramma, syrphid flies, lacewings, bees, bumblebees, leafcutter bees, and others inhabit. In these same places, ground beetles, ladybugs, etc., hibernate in the plant litter of fallen leaves and dry grass, as well as in the buds. In willow, sea buckthorn, and other thickets, pheasants, nightingales, and woodcocks find shelter and nest. These floodplain forests have great water protection significance, prevent bank erosion, and protect the soil from erosion.
Elderly people remember the quiet, dry, clear, blue golden days in the Chui Valley and against them, the silver of many spider webs, solemnly and slowly floating low above the ground. Unfortunately, we can no longer see such a picture now. The oversaturation of the natural environment with mineral fertilizers and pesticides (superphosphate, nitrate, pesticides, herbicides, etc.) has already led to the extinction of many species of animals, predatory and singing birds, and beneficial insects on our planet.
From 1940 to 1986, the use of mineral fertilizers in the republic increased 43 times, pesticides 10 times, while the gross agricultural product increased only 2.7 times. It should not be forgotten that harmful substances, such as nitrates, accumulating in agricultural products, can threaten the genetics of humans themselves. Direct poisoning by pesticides affects 2 million people worldwide every year (data excluding the USSR) and takes up to 50,000 lives. The number of cancer cases due to pesticides is increasing.
One of the first victims of the "chemical plague" were spiders.
The venom of spiders is highly valued in the world. For example, an ounce of dry venom from a female black widow (karakurt) costs 2,360,000 dollars. All types of spider venoms are used in pharmaceuticals.
The disappearance of wandering spiders is a serious signal, a symptom of nature's severe illness, and only humans can help it.
The Fate of Kozhozhash
In the Kyrgyz epic, the thought that indifferent attitude towards nature leads to nothing good is repeatedly expressed. It is encapsulated, for example, in the words of the Gray Goat (which personifies, as we remember, nature), addressed to the hunter Kozhozhash:
Tilegin berse echkinin,
Senin da bir kun
Kozhozhash Kezutsdun jashy kel bolor,
Jaratylish aylana vzhu saqa joo bolor...
If the words of the Gray Goat come true,
Then you, Kozhozhash, one day
Will shed bitter tears,
And the nature surrounding you
Will be your enemy.
The fate of Kozhozhash is known: he did not heed the warnings of the Gray Goat and met his death in the crevices of the rocks. The fate of the old hunter Ashir from the poem "Karagul Botom" is also tragic. A very accurate and lucky hunter, Ashir killed many animals in his lifetime.
When he was over eighty years old, his not-so-young wife gave birth to a son, whom they named Karagul. To protect the son from the evil eye, the parents tied nine red beads on a thread around the child's wrist. The son was dressed in clothes made of goat skin (a small coat, trousers, and a tubeteika). And so, when there was no meat in the yurt, old Ashir went hunting, and behind him, unnoticed by his mother, followed 6-8-year-old Karagul, who walked for a long time crying but did not catch up with his father and, tired, fell asleep in the bushes of kochia. Not finding game all day, irritated and tired, Ashir was returning home, accidentally noticed something in the bushes, and thinking it was a fawn, shot at it. Running up to the bush, the hunter saw that he had shot not a fawn, but his son Karagul:
Kiyik bir bolup sen jattyn botom
Men kiyik ton kaydan kiygizdim botom.
Kiyik bir dedim men attym botom
You lay there like a fawn, my dear.
Why did I dress you in a coat made of goat skin?
I thought it was a fawn, but I shot you, my dear.
The people believed that old Ashir was struck by the curse of kayberena, as he cruelly destroyed animals, completely forgetting the wise admonition of the Kyrgyz: Kunoosuz zhandyktar dy olturbo, ubaldan kork — Do not kill innocent living beings, have mercy, and above all, fear the curse of the protectors. Any Kyrgyz did not forget this admonition, and only when extreme need forced them to slaughter an animal, they acted like this: Sende kunoo jok, mende unoo jok ozun kechir zhariktygim. — You are not guilty before me, but I have no food, forgive me if you can, dear.
We have briefly touched on only a few works of oral folk art, where the ideas of protecting and preserving the environment, living and non-living nature resonate with today's pressing problems.
Oral folk art has an exceptionally great educational significance — it is a source of love and understanding of the world around us, caring for nature, and the rational use of its wealth.
Ecological education cannot be seen only in the promotion of the latest scientific knowledge. It is necessary to widely attract the most diverse means of ethical and aesthetic influence on people, relying on centuries-old folk wisdom and culture. People with great life experience said: An sezimsduu, madaniyattu boluu bu epostor don zhatka aytu, komuzda chon kuu cherte biluudu гана эмес... Jan-zhanybarlarga, suu, tokyolorgo adamkerchilik mamile jasoodo — To be cultured, conscious — is not only to know one of the epics by heart, to play the komuz... The main thing is the humane attitude towards animals and the surrounding nature. This is the essence of human culture. This is where the enduring value of the epic, folk folklore, which has concentrated the instructive experience of human interaction with nature, lies.