Kepichkul shared the story of his name, which, as he recounted, was changed by fate. "I am one of 13 children in the family, but unfortunately, 11 of them did not live to adulthood. Before my birth, my mother, following the tradition of 'yrym' (a ritual with good intentions), went to stay with relatives. When I was born, a man cut the umbilical cord. I was initially named Tobokel, but then my mother saw an elder in a dream with a book, who asked what my name was. She replied, and the elder pointed out that Tobokel was the name of another boy. In fact, my name is Kepichkul, which means 'galoshes'," he said.
Kepichkul recalled how 64 years ago, in the winter frost, he took his future wife on horseback. "I was born in 1939, my wife Aysalkyn in 1940. We studied at the same school, but I had to drop out after the 7th grade due to my mother's illness. At that time, my father worked in the mountains, herding cattle," he shared.
They got married in 1958 when Aysalkyn was still in the 9th grade. "My mother, while on her hospital bed, told me: 'Get married while I'm still alive.' I was dating Aysalkyn and waiting for her to finish the 10th grade. My mother was confident that I could bring home a bride since my uncle worked at the school," Kepichkul recalls. On that day, December 31, he took his uncle's car to fetch the bride. The next day, January 1, they arrived at the wintering grounds of Terek, where his father was with the animals. They continued their journey on horseback due to the deep snow. The 'nike' ceremony was completed, and they held a small wedding.
The couple raised 10 children — 8 daughters and 2 sons, and they also have 29 grandchildren, 26 great-grandchildren, and 8 great-great-grandchildren. "We worked on a collective farm. During the times when my wife was giving birth, maternity leave was only one month, after which one had to return to work. I was a foreman since 1965 and received several awards. Unfortunately, one of our sons, born in 2004, passed away from illness, and the other passed away close to the age of 60. After that, one of our daughters moved in with us to take care of us," noted Kepichkul.
