Hunting with Trained Birds
According to the beliefs of the Kyrgyz, some particularly gifted individuals knew the language of our smaller brothers and could freely communicate with them, establishing contact; that is, our ancestors placed animals and birds on the same level as humans.
Kyrgyz people not only had a good ability to differentiate trained birds by their behavior and agility, but they also distinguished them magnificently by age (kushtun tulogu). For example, they identified the age of a hawk: after the first molt; after the second molt; after the third; after the fourth; after the fifth. This marks the end of the hawk's age. The age of the golden eagle begins with barchyna: bir barchyn burkut — after the sixth molt; eki barchyn — after the second, and so on. It is said that a golden eagle can live up to fifteen barchyna.
The golden eagle nests on inaccessible cliffs. When a Kyrgyz hunter discovers a nest with chicks, he does not disturb it for 2-3 months. When the chicks grow, a group of hunters climbs the cliff, and one of them descends on a rope to the nest while the parents are away hunting, as a hunter caught in the nest is subjected to a fierce attack from the adult birds, sometimes tragically for the person. The hunters at the top shout and shoot to prevent the adult birds from approaching the nest. The quality of the bird can already be judged by the chick. If there is only one chick in the nest, it is considered to be particularly agile, strong, and, most importantly, good at hunting. However, hunters prefer a golden eagle caught as an adult: it has more courage and predator skills.
Adult golden eagles are caught with nets in areas where they hunt. The net, called kolbor in Kyrgyz, is set up on stakes in the shape of a square, sometimes a circle.
On the ground under the net, a live pigeon or keklik is tied as bait, sometimes a chicken. Having prepared the net this way, the hunter hides not far from it.
A passing golden eagle, seeing the bait, swoops down and hits the net. The loosely driven stakes fall, and the eagle becomes entangled in the net. The hunter emerges from hiding and frees the eagle from the net. Sometimes, instead of a live bait, some carrion — a kid, a hare, etc., is used, and another eagle is tied nearby the net. A passing golden eagle, seeing the eagle, lands near it, then, upon discovering the carrion, tries to penetrate the middle of the net where it lies. At the first attempt of the eagle to reach the carrion, the stakes fall, and the net entangles the eagle.
The bird is carefully examined. Special attention is paid to the pupils of the eyes, the neck area of the back, the distance between the legs, the condition of the claws, the volume and strength of the muscles in the upper thigh, the wingspan, and more. After studying the character of the bird, training begins.
The captured bird is kept indoors. A leather hood, called tomogo, is placed on its head to cover its eyes, and shackles (baltir boo), made of raw leather, are placed on its legs. The trainers, known as munushkers, begin to tame the hunting birds from the very first day. The most important condition for successful taming is that the trainer feeds the chick from his hands, constantly shouting one word — kytuu, to which, after repeated repetition (usually at the end of the training period), the birds develop a conditioned reflex. Later, if the trainer shouts this word to a bird that has flown far away during the hunt, it immediately returns. Predatory birds are easily trained in a weakened state. To make the bird reach a state of exhaustion faster, it is fed meat previously soaked in warm water, which deprives the meat of fat and many nutrients; for the same purpose, the bird is often awakened at night. After the golden eagle gets used to its owner, he gradually moves the bird further and further away from himself and lures it back with the meat and the shout "kytuu." Then the hunter sits the golden eagle on his arm (wearing a thick leather glove) and travels with it through populated areas so that the bird becomes accustomed to people, dogs, etc.
Sometimes during the training, the eagle's esophagus is cleaned. For this, a wad of traru — koy is pushed into the bird's mouth. The wad, entering the esophagus, mechanically cleans the digestive tract of waste and is then expelled from the mouth in the form of vomit. After this, a saline solution is introduced into the bird's body through a tube, which completes the cleansing of the intestines and is expelled along with the contents of the intestines. After such a procedure, the bird becomes voracious.
The final stage of training is the conditioning on a fox dummy (chyrga). One of the eagle trainers drags a dummy along the ground at a distance, while the hunter removes the hood from the bird's head and tosses it into the air. The golden eagle flies towards the dummy and grabs it. After each attempt on the dummy, it is fed meat. Then, instead of the dummy, a live fox, previously caught and with its jaws tied, is used. This method of training hunting birds achieves great success.
Kyrgyz people keep trained birds constantly hungry, allowing them to peck at the brains of the game and swallow a few drops of fresh blood after each successful hunt. Only after the hunt do the eagle trainers feed the birds their fill with fresh game meat.
Other hunting birds are also caught using nets, with pigeons, jackdaws, or crows as bait. The training is exactly the same as with the golden eagle, but less troublesome. Instead of a dummy, a wabilo — a pair of pigeon wings tied on a string is used.
Hunting with such trained birds as falcons, hawks, gyrfalcons, and others usually begins at the time of the grain harvest and continues until February; hunting with golden eagles is done on snow from November to February, when the foxes have good fur, and wolves start attacking herds during the day or roam in search of food where the golden eagle can easily spot and catch them.
Thus, the Kyrgyz have been closely connected with the surrounding nature since ancient times. They knew how to hunt with trained birds, and their hunting had a commercial character. Therefore, in folklore, there are many names for birds, and their accurate characteristics are provided. The practical focus of the Kyrgyz people's knowledge is expressed in the fact that many small birds, which do not represent economic interest, did not receive their names.
With each passing year, many ancient customs and traditions fade into the past. But in Kyrgyzstan, hunting with a falcon or golden eagle remains just as beloved and revered as in ancient times. With the help of this powerful bird, thousands of foxes, marmots, wolves, and hares are hunted in the mountainous region in a single season.
Currently, Kyrgyzstan has decided to revive ancient types of Kyrgyz national hunting, as evidenced by the recently organized "World Nomad Games."..
Methods of hunting and regulation of game by Kyrgyz hunters in the 19th - early 20th century.