YURTA. DESCRIPTION AND CONSTRUCTION ORDER OF YURTA

In the past the character of house-hold of Kyrgyz was nomad’s, which left the deep tracks on material culture. The style of housing construction, the items of house-hold, the transportation all of it depended on conditions of life, on steady seasonal migration.

For transportation on highlands canyons, on impassable and narrow path it was necessary to have light transfer dwelling. Yurta met all these requirements. It was very comfortable, easy fixed and assembling. It weighs about 350 kg, and that is why it is easily transferred on pack animals.

The construction of yurta is wooden - birch, willow, poplar. The willow is flexible and firm, was used for making “kerege”, trellised frame of yurta and for poles. Birch was used for “tyunduk”. The wood parts of yurta were fastened by raw leather belts.

Felt is main material in decorating of yurta. The majority of house-hold articles are made from it. Because of its natural property: compactness and waterproof it is used in covering of yurta. Due to its flexibility, felt organically repeats the shape of yurta.

Yurta is called “ak ui”- the white house, “ordo” is set of “bi”, “boz ui” is grey house. The stylization of yurta is womanly inside, because the majority of articles are made by hands of craftswomen and manly outside - firm, hardy, the construction of it meets the weather conditions.

The inside decoration of yurta meets all national canons. The right side of yurta was called “epchi jak”- woman’s part. The left part -“er jak”- man’s part, where were kept house articles of handicraft and hunting. Also it was the place where master worked-“usta”. In front of the entry was “toor”- place for guests, where “djuk” was taken to. It was obvious according to the apportions: “tekche” was hanging from the right side “djuka”, in which woman’s hat-“elechek” was kept. “Ala bakan” was put from the left side “djuka” - pole, decorated by silver and precious stones on which were hanging the rich coat from fur of fox, marten, from brocade and velvet. “Kolomto” is the saint place of hearth, located next to the exit.

On the white felt covering, the firmament of yurta was decorated by crossing lines, which not just decorated but also fixed the wooden parts of yurta. The rim of yurta was decorated by “chachyk”, hanging and fixing the poles, giving the balance and coloring of garlands of bright red threads.

Yurta was the creation of man’s hands decorated by embroidery, art carving. The fantasy of craftswomen and rich experience allowed creating beautiful things, meeting all requirements of aesthetic taste, giving the things all beauty of surrounding nature. Keeping and passing on from one generation to another the yurta is not just a dwelling but a creative workshop for national creation. The yurta embodied all kinds of handicrafts meeting the utilities requirements of everyday life; it carried the aesthetic ritual beginning.

Usually yurta was set on the top of mountain for observing the beauty of endless valleys, canyons, and to watch over the pasture.

It is well known that ancient Turkoman oriented the entrance of yurta to the east. Sometimes the entrance of yurta was oriented depending on conditions of place (location of villages toward the mountains, rivers, and direction of dominated winds). Very often on the summer pastures in the villages yurts were set in a circle and all doors of yurts were turned to the center, incarnating the ancient model of world as a megaron.

Sometimes yurta also was set with the entrance directed to the south in Mongolian style.

Besides all these differences there were peculiarities in setting of yurta. The main difference takes to the shape of dome’s part of yurta. In the North part of country the dome of yurta is cone-shaped, in the South of country and in Talas and Chatkal Valleys the dome has half-spherical shape, due to the sharp bend of lower parts of dome’s poles. Differences in kinds of yurts are not limited in the shapes of dome, also there are ways of covering the yurta with felt in two rows (the lower row covers the trellised part and upper the dome’s part).In some regions (valleys of Talas River and in some South regions) yurta is covered from top to the end by three or four rows of felt which don’t reach the ground on 20-25 cm, such way of covering of yurta was practiced during the time of summer pastures migration.

The order of construction of Yurta

1. Draw a circle by diameter of Yurta

2. To set the doorway

3. On drew circle to set “kerege” and fix it between each other with robes

4. To tie the top part of “kerege” with ribbon “kerege tangych” by the size of Yurta

5. To raise “Tunduk” on the height of “uuks” with the help of pole in the center, supporting it to set 6-10 (uuks) on the different sides of yurta

6. The upper part of “uuks” is fixed in a special opening in “tunduk” and is fixed by the same side to the “kerege”

7. All “uuks” should be tied up with narrow ribbon “uuk-tankych”.

8. "Jabyk bash” is to be fixed by ornamental part directed inside of the yurta.

9. “Kanat-chyi” is fixed along the “kerege” around the yurt

10.

11. “Tuurduk”(the side felt) is bended to “tuurduk boo” with narrow ribbons.

12. “Tuurduk” is fixed in the center with robe “bel-kyrchoo”.

13. “Eshik-chii” (the door of yurta) is bended to the “tunduk”.

14. First of all the front side of yurta should be covered by felt “uzuk”, and its ribbons “uzuk-boo” are bended to the “bel-kyrchoo”.

15. Then the second part is covered by felt “uzuk” as well.

16. The last felt “tunduk jabuu” is covered.