Covering of the Yurt
The entire wooden structure of the yurt was covered with felt kiyiz. To cover the walls of an average-sized yurt, 3 felt pieces tuurduk were needed, and for a larger one - 4-5 felt pieces (in the south - tutuu). The width of each felt piece was on average 1.7-2 m, and the length was 2.5-5.5 m. In the Alay Valley, unlike other regions, the tuurduk was made elongated by sewing a strip of black felt 25-30 cm wide to the upper edge - tutuu bash. Such felt pieces covered 2/3 of the dome, while the upper part was covered with special felts - uzuk. Often, yurts with 4-6 segments were covered with solid felts kotyro tuurduk, which did not reach the ground by 25-30 cm. To the upper corners of the felt, woven cords tuurduk boo were sewn, with which they were secured to the wooden poles. In most cases, such coverings were used by the less affluent layers of the population, while wealthy Kyrgyz covered only small yurts zhayloo uy that they took to summer pastures. There were two dome covers: the front aldynky uzuk and the rear terku uzuk, trapezoidal in shape with a semicircular cut at the top and a rounded lower part. Each of them, covering the dome, descended onto the tuurduk, and at the top reached the smoke hole. The edges of the felt were trimmed with a thick woolen cord jeek (Antipina, 1962, pp. 161-166; Alymbaeva, 2000, pp. 92-107).
The smoke hole was covered with a square piece of felt - tunduk jabuu. A rope was sewn to each corner. Three of them, called zhan boo, were attached to the yurt's waist kyrchoo, while one remained free - it was used to open the smoke hole. The door opening was covered with a curtain about 160 cm high and 80 cm wide. It consisted of two parts: an upper triangular part - kyonchek and a lower rectangular part - eshik. The kyonchek was made using the technique of patterned matting. The lower, main part consisted of two rectangular pieces sewn together: the inner one was made of chiy, and the outer one was made of felt.
Outside, the lattice walls of the yurt were wrapped with a mat made of chiy, which reached an average height of 130-140 cm.
In winter, the mat provided additional protection against the cold, and in hot weather, when the lower edges of the tuurduk were lifted, it allowed fresh air to pass through well.
When setting up the yurt, the right wing was first stretched, then the left wing, leaving a gap for the door frame between them, and then the other walls were stretched from both sides, correctly connecting the short side strips - sakanak. Then the door frame was installed, the short side strips were secured with the cord kapshyt tatgych, and only after that was the top of the spread wall secured with patterned ribbon bash chalgych. Many craftswomen tried to make the same patterned ribbon for all parts of the yurt. After the walls of the yurt were installed, they began to build the dome. For this, men used a pole bakan to raise the hoop, while women inserted one pole from three sides into the hoop's hole, tying its lower end to the forks of the wall strips. After all the poles were installed, the dome of the yurt was secured. For this, a narrow long ribbon uuk tizgich was wrapped around each pole a little above its bend. In cold weather, before wrapping the walls of the yurt with a mat, they were wrapped at the lower edge with a strip of patterned felt 40-60 cm wide, which in the Ketmen-Tyubinsk Valley was called chiy ayak, in the Talas Valley - kerege baymak, and in the Tian Shan - kerege tangych. A woven strip tegirich 20-25 cm wide was also intended for securing and decorating the walls of the yurt. In the Chuy Valley and the eastern part of Issyk-Kul, it was used to wrap the upper part of the wall; in the Tian Shan - the upper and middle parts; in other northern regions of Kyrgyzstan, tegirich was passed under the poles, and in some southern regions, it was placed along the bend of the dome poles.
Saymalachik - a round low tent made of uuks and tunduk, covered with felt like the top of a yurt. A summer tent in the valley of the Arpa River. Cheshchtyubinsk district, Naryn region, Semirechye, 1924.
In the Alay Valley, the upper part of the yurt wall was wrapped with a woven strip - kerege tazuu, sewn from several strips in such a way that their ornament did not repeat (Antipina, 1962, pp. 162-166).
After placing the internal decorative strips and wall mats, the door panel was hung, securing it with ribbon, and then the walls of the yurt were covered with felt. In many groups of Kyrgyz, the yurt was wrapped outside with a felt rope, in the Tian Shan - also with patterned felt 10-20 cm wide, and in the south - with patterned ribbon (Alymbaeva, 2000, pp. 92-107).
Soilomo - a felt tent with a gable roof. “One slope acts as the back wall, and its member is secured under the felt. A long longitudinal pole is placed over two vertically installed tents; the slopes are formed by a rope stretched over pegs. The corner of the felt is thrown back for convenience in photographing.” A summer tent in the valley of the Arpa River. Cheshchtyubinsk district, Naryn region, Semirechye. 1924.
Yurt - the main portable dwelling of the Kyrgyz in the 19th century