Sacred Sites of the Southern Kyrgyzstan: Nature, Manas, Islam
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Aigine Cultural Research Center Sacred Sites of the Southern Kyrgyzstan: Nature, Manas, Islam Edited by Gulnara Aitpaeva Bishkek 2013 УДК 908 ББК 26.891 S 13 © Aigine Cultural Research Center, 2013 The research work and the publication was supported by The Christensen Fund, 260 Townsend St Suite 600 San Francisco, CA 94107 USA Author of the project, Gulnara Aitpaeva Working group, Aibek Samakov, Cholponai U-G, Gulnara Aitpaeva, Kyial Tajieva and Meerim Aitkeeva Design by Cholponai U-G Photographs by the team of the Aigine CRC, Aibek Samakov, Cholponai U-G, Guljan Kudabaeva and Gulnara Aitpaeva Sacred Site of the Southern Kyrgyzstan: Nature, Manas and Islam, Aigine Cultural S 13 Research Center. – B.: 2013, 240 p. ISBN 978-9967-27-146-3 This publication is a result of the participatory research conducted by the Aigine CRC, together with traditional practitioners and experts, in Batken, Jalalabad and Osh provinces for the last three years. The first part of the book contains oral history of natural and historical sacred sites, as well as, sacred sites related to Manas and Islam. The second part of the book contains life stories on interconnection of people, sacred sites, animals, plants and the stars. Printed and bound in Kyrgyzstan by St.art Ltd. S 1805080000-13 УДК 908 ISBN 978-9967-27-146-3 ББК 26.891 CONTENTS Note from the Editor 4 Acknowledgements 5 Introduction 6 Part 1 Sacred Sites in the South of Kyrgyzstan 11 Chapter 1 Natural Sacred Sites . 11 Sacred Lakes . 12 Sacred Caves . 18 Sacred Mountains . 21 Sacred Springs . 22 Sacred Rocks . 29 Sacred Trees . 31 Chapter 2 Traces of Manas at Sacred Sites in the South . 48 Chapter 3 Historical Traces at Sacred Sites in the South . 59 Chapter 4 Islamic Sacred Sites . 93 Sacred Sites Related to Prophets . .95 Sacred Sites Related to Azireti-Ali . 105 Sacred Sites Related to Eshens . 108 Sacred Sites Related to Khoja . 109 Sacred Sites Related to Ata – Holy Fathers and Righteous Men . 111 Sacred Sites Related to Righteous Women . 120 Part 2 Contemporary Dimensions of Ancient Kyrgyzchylyk 154 Chapter 1 People and Sacred Sites . 155 Chapter 2 People, Sacred Sites and Plants . 184 Chapter 3 People, Sacred Sites and Animals . 191 Chapter 4 People, spirits and healing practices . 196 Chapter 5 People, Stars and the Cycle of Time . 214 Chapter 6 Traditional Nutrition . 228 Glossary 231 References 238 NOTE FROM THE EDITOR This book represents a collection of field notes and interviews. All the data were first recorded, then transcribed by the team of the Aigine CRC. Informants gave their consent to be interviewed and also agreed their interviews to be published in a book. There were cases when the informants asked not to indicate their full name; therefore, we have included only the first letter of their names. In the majority of cases, we tried to give exact pronunciation of Kyrgyz words in the English transliteration. We have used the transliteration below. The text abounds in a great number of Kyrgyz words such as apa, ata, mazar, which have been transcribed into the Latin alphabet, but not translated into English. This has been done to keep the personal titles and the nature of the Kyrgyz text. These words are italicized and explained either in the footnote or glossary. The glossary includes words and concepts mentioned in the articles, and they are important for understanding Kyrgyz spiritual culture. Definitions are based on field data collected in Batken, Jalalabad and Osh provinces of Kyrgyzstan. All verse texts in the book are translated word-for-word. There are cases when a sacred site and a village or a certain place share the same name. In these cases the names of the sacred sites are italicized, while the names of villiages/places are not. Transliteration Kyrgyz alphabet Transliteration Pronunciation notes Й iy Semivowel, as in yes Ң ng Nasal n, as in English thing Ө o Front vowel, as in German schön Ү u Front vowel, as in German für Ы y Х kh 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The team of the Aigine Cultural Research Center express their deepest gratitude to traditional practitioners and experts, who contributed to publication of the books dedicated to sacred sites of the southern provinces of Kyrgyzstan. Aigine CRC is also grateful to The Christensen Fund and its Regional Office for understanding the importance of studying the sacred sites and traditional spirituality and for rendering financial support to implement the projects. We also would like to express our gratitude to the team of translators, Baktygul Tulebaeva, Cholponai U-G, Gulmira Aldakeeva, Guljan Kudabai-Gallagher, and Kyial Toksobaev. And our special thanks to the team of editors, Dr. John Newman, Dr. David Montgomery, Dennis Keen, and Jennifer Webster. Aigine CRC thanks all the associates for their invigoration and help in conducting our work. 5 INTRODUCTION The history of the project. In 2010-2012, Aigine Cultural Research Center carried out field works on exploring sacred sites in southern provinces of Kyrgyzstan. Research studies in Osh, Jalalabad and Batken provinces included identification, description and writing down of the provenance and functioning of these sites. Whenever possible, sacred sites were also photographed. Based on the conducted research, in 2011-2012, books were published on each southern province. This publication is a collection of materials from three previous books published in Kyrgyz language. Definitions. Sacred sites in Kyrgyzstan represent areas of dry land and bodies of water, as well as constructions and items, which are spiritually or/and religiously meaningful for local people and where sacral practices and rituals are performed (Wild & McLeod, 2011). Sacredness, or divine presence, in each site are of different origin, including spiritual, religious, mythological, epic, historical and contemporary, as well as personal, family, community, ethnic and state-related. The Kyrgyz use such defining words as mazar, kasiettuu jer and yiyk jer to refer to sacred sites. The word “mazar” is derived from Arabic, and initially it meant “a place visited by people, a pilgrimage destination, usually a tomb of a Muslim saint,” while later this word gained a more specific meaning and started to be defined as a “shakhid’s burial site” (Islam, 1991). Today, in Kyrgyzstan, both in the south and in the north, the word “mazar” can mean various sites and items that are regarded as sacred by people. “Kasiettuu jer” means a site that has a special spiritual power and impact. The word “yiyk”, depending on the context, can be translated both as “holy” and “sacred”. In the very beginning, and sometimes even now, we use both terms, occasionally adding the word “sacral”. And yet gradually, as we were carrying out our work, the word “sacred” took over and is used predominantly now. As it seems to us, it conveys the meanings attached to the Kyrgyz words more accurately. They place a slightly bigger emphasis on the divine rather than human, spiritual rather than material, and unseen rather than visible. Major working principle of the Aigine CRC. While studying the country’s sacred sites throughout the span of seven years, Aigine CRC knows that the main condition and principle conducive to the effectiveness of such activities is responsible collaboration with local dwellers of different age group, social status and ethnicity. Only through establishing trust-based and long-term relations with local intellectuals and those who know the past and nature, as well as spiritual practitioners and different-level authorities, it is possible to identify, describe and study the provenance and functioning of sacred sites. In the course of participatory research activities in southern provinces more than 400 sacred sites were identified. This number includes those sites that were added to lists and depicted. In actuality, this number may be slightly vaster, particularly in Osh province. Field activities in this region commenced during the tragic summer 6 of 2010 when the Kyrgyz and Uzbeks, the two ethnic groups that have been living in this area side-by-side since long ago and making a pilgrimage to the same sacred sites, clashed in a heavy conflict. This shattered the investigation capabilities of our working group significantly. A network of sacred sites in the south. In the course of three-year participatory research, it became obvious that the south of Kyrgyzstan is permeated by a network of sacred sites. If we are to describe the main features of this network, it should be noted that it is a big, diverse, dense and solid network covering the entire region. It includes sites of absolutely different types and origin. These sites can be grouped and classified based on such basic features as the function they serve, type of origin, time of emergence, etc (Aitpaeva, 2011). In this book, on the basis of two features such as type of origin and time of emergence, we have separated the following four major groups: 1) Natural sacred sites; 2) Sacred sites related to Manas; 3) Historical sacred sites; and 4) Sacred sites related to Islam. The four chapters of the first part of this book are dedicated to these four groups of sacred sites. Natural sacred sites in the south. In the south, as well as all over Kyrgyzstan, there are plenty of natural sacred sites, or those not made by hands. The majority of such sites are an outstanding example of the fact that Kyrgyz people, like other peoples, who have been living amidst mountains since long ago, hiding from bad weather in caves and worshipping the warmth of the sun and the moon, could not imagine their existence without nature. Natural sacred sites that are densely scattered all throughout southern provinces are testimony to the fact that those inhabiting these areas had developed respectful and caring relations with the natural world.