Funerals
Worship of the Remains
Kokomerene
sayak
When an honored Kyrgyz dies, all relatives and friends are notified so they can come to pay their respects to the remains. If a close relative is far away, they wait for their arrival (as was the custom before) and bury the deceased later.
Those who arrive are met with cries by the horsemen, who take their horses. Women enter the yurt where the deceased lies, while men, after mourning, go to another yurt where they are welcomed and served tea. Before this, they tidy themselves up, wash, and so on.
Only women are allowed into the yurt where the body lies (the exception is the men who wash the body and the bearer).
Naryn
The men shout the *okuruk* while standing in a half-bent position behind the yurt (opposite the place where the body lies in the yurt? — F.F.).
The married daughter of the deceased comes to the funeral with her husband and father-in-law. If they live far away, they come a month later. Their horses are tied by outsiders from the deceased's village. They say a prayer: "Allah Akbar, may He have mercy!"
solto
Uzbeks from Auliye-ata come to pay their respects to the deceased in their *mahal* (neighborhood), they gird themselves over their robes and hold sticks in their hands2. While escorting the deceased to the cemetery, the elders walk with sticks (staffs) in their hands.
When news of a Kyrgyz's death spreads through messengers, all relatives and friends travel to the village where the deceased lived to pay their last respects...
At this time, in the widow's yurt (baybiche), women cry, while men silently gather in another yurt, but all arrivals must first enter the yurt where the deceased lies and say a prayer over his body.
Each relative or friend is obliged to visit the deceased's yurt within a year to read the *baty*, and most importantly — to bring gifts. This can all be done through a trusted person with a letter.
If the deceased is noble or wealthy, news of his death is spread to all around within a distance of *kunduk jer* (a day’s journey). From each notified village, three people come: a mullah, an *aulagasy*, an *aksakal*, and others... The arrivals enter the yurt or house where the deceased's family is, greet them, and again the crying and lamentation begins. Then the women stay there, while the men, after some time, go outside and settle nearby under the open sky, whether it is summer or winter.
Gifts for Visitors
Naryn
Visitors coming to pay their respects to the deceased are given gifts: men receive *mcho*4 — money, and women receive *zhirtysh*5 — pieces of white, black, or red fabric (this is only if the deceased is an adult).
*Zhirtysh* — pieces of fabric that were given to all women present in the yurt with the deceased while all posthumous rites and funerals were ongoing, if the deceased was an old person. These pieces of fabric were kept for children, supposedly so that they would live to such an old age.
Kokomerene
sayak
*Muchё* — gifts given to the elders of the villages, for example, those who sent livestock as a gift to the bereaved family.
*Doran*6 — given to the poor and the mullah before the burial.
If the deceased is an old man, they also distribute *yirtich*. The wealthy give a robe to relatives (uru).
Gifts for the Family of the Deceased
buku
Relatives and friends of the deceased, coming from afar to honor his memory, bring gifts (livestock, clothing) to assist the family of the deceased.
Reading Prayers from the Quran
sayak, buku
There are many readers — about eight people, and each reads a part (there are 30 in total); sometimes different parts are read simultaneously (on neighboring pages). Upon arriving at the *ash*, a person reads a prayer under the open sky. During the *asha*, the arrivals pray in the yurt of the deceased. After the prayer, the widow treats them to tea. Those who have not yet had the chance to visit the yurt of the deceased pray.
Washing the Deceased
Naryn
The deceased is washed just before the burial. Those who wash him are given money, clothing, or horses. There is no special *kumgan* for this rite. They wash in the yurt.
Kokomerene
sayak
Before the body is carried out, those who wash it are given his clothing. They wash the body brought from afar, despite decomposition.
kainazar
The deceased's trousers and boots are given to those who wash the body.
Clothing of the Deceased
Naryn
The face of the deceased is covered with a white cloth10. No bindings are made on the body; the lower jaw, it is said, only drops in old men, and then it is tied up; for adults, the eyes (are they closed? — B.K., S.G.)
The deceased (man) is dressed in three shrouds (keping): *koynek*, which covers him from the neck down to below the knees; *dambal* (izar) ends level with the head and feet; *chapan* (ilvafa), the longest, in which the whole body is wrapped with the head and feet and still has some excess at the top and bottom, which are tied; in addition, the body is girded. If a woman has died, the first shroud is preceded by a *beldamchi* (all from the same material), which covers the chest and goes below the knees; instead of an *elechek*, a piece of fabric two *arshins* long and one *arshin* wide is wrapped around the head.
Kokomerene
sayak
The *keping* for a man consists of two pieces of fabric, both equally covering the body from feet to head and tied at the top and bottom. For a woman, it consists of five parts: from the waist to the knees; over the chest; covering the head (like an *elechek*); the last two are like for a man. The deceased is wrapped in white cloth (which is removed during burial), tied, attached to the stretcher, and covered with a *kymkap*.
The Deceased in the Yurt
Naryn
The deceased is laid behind the *koshogё* or *chiyi*: a woman is placed to the left of the *tor'*a, a man to the right; a child can be placed on either side, although usually on the left13. The deceased is laid on their back, with arms extended so that the palms rest on the upper part of the legs, head towards the back of the yurt (the door of the yurt faces depending on the terrain, wherever it is more convenient); the face is covered with a white cloth. There are no bindings on the body; the jaw only drops in old men, and it is tied up for them.
Adults have their eyes closed, while children’s eyes remain open (probably little attention is paid to the eyes and jaw). Men lay the man, and women lay the woman.
Kokomerene
sayak
The male deceased lies on the right side (ong), the female on the left (sol). The eyes of the deceased are closed with hands, and the chin is tied.
buku
Only women are allowed into the yurt where the body lies (the exception is those who wash the body and the bearers).
kainazar
If a person dies somewhere other than home (for example, on the road), the body is kept in the house where he died until his relatives arrive. When they arrive, his body is sent home with them.
Kokomerene
sayak
Until the burial, women remain in the yurt, who do not sleep at night, guarding the body14; the relatives of the deceased treat them to meat.
In the yurt of the deceased, nothing is cooked for 3-5 days. Neighbors bring food. If the Kyrgyz want to cook earlier, they must move the yurt at least a short distance. Otherwise, the angel of death Azrael suffocates the deceased, causing the yurt to be stained with blood and defiled (*mokruk*).
Time of Burial
Naryn, Kokomerene
sayak
They bury no later than three days16.
If they have to wait for the arrival of a close relative, the body is buried after a long interval. During such a long wait, a lump of earth and iron horse shackles (*k’shen*) are placed on the deceased's chest to protect the body from decomposition17.
A person who dies at night or in the morning is buried on the same day; one who dies in the evening is buried in the morning. They bury as soon as all close relatives have gathered for the burial rite.
Carrying Out the Body
Kokomerene
sayak
The deceased is carried out of the yurt head first18. After the body is dressed in the shroud, it is carried out of the yurt on a stretcher made of three sticks. During the carrying out, the mullah performs the *janaza* prayer 50 steps from the yurt.
From the ritual life of the Kyrgyz at the beginning of the 20th century. Part - 12