MUSEUM OF PEOPLE'S FRIENDSHIP

KAZAKH YURTA

The main occupation of the Kazakhs was nomadic and semi-nomadic cattle breeding, which predetermined the type of nomadic dwelling, which is the Kazakh yurt.

The Kazakh yurt is not only an element of the material culture of the people, but also contains symbolism, which contains the most diverse information about the religious and mythological picture of the world. In the folk picture of the world of the Kazakhs and their ancestors, the model was, firstly, external signs of the surrounding world accessible to ordinary consciousness, and secondly, human society.

The structure of the Kazakh yurt

The Kazakh yurt consists of a wooden frame and a koshom cover. The wooden frame consisted of lattices, a rim, poles connecting the lattice to the rim, and a door frame. The richest Kazakh yurt is ten-rope, it is also called the khan's yurt, because earlier only the richest people could afford such a yurt. The most common type of Kazakh yurt is a six-rope yurt. This means that the yurt is assembled from six kerege - wooden lattices. The size of a Kazakh yurt is determined by the number of ropes. Depending on the number of ropes, the number of heads - kerege is determined, and the number of uuk - concave structural elements that make up the dome of the yurt - depends on them.

Links of the cylindrical wall of the yurt were made from 20 crossed saganaks, fastened with rawhide straps made of camel skin threaded through the holes. The mount is very flexible, so the grilles could easily move and move apart. The dimensions of the links were not standard, but usually the length of the spaced link did not exceed two meters at a height of 1.2–1.5 m.

Shanyrak is a circle that forms the ceiling of the yurt. Shanyrak is made from birch or black willow (black willow). In the middle of the shanyrak, in order not to drop a tudnik (a piece of felt), a kuldireush is installed. There is a thick, round plaque. 5-6 concave kuldireush connect it with the shanyrak circle. The parts connecting the kerege and shanyrak and forming the domed roof of the Kazakh yurt (bent long sticks) were called uuk. Through holes were gouged around the circumference of the rim, into which the upper ends of the poles were inserted, reaching up to 2.5 m in length. At the top, they ended with a tetrahedral point.

In shape, the dome of the Kazakh yurt had a low hemispherical shape. The rim of the yurt had a large diameter, and the poles had a larger curvature in the lower part.

Individual parts of the wooden frame of the Kazakh yurt were so strong that they could withstand the weight of the koshomny cover, the pressure of wind, snow and the warming winter cover. The frame was so firmly and reliably fastened that the installed Kazakh yurt could be lifted without disassembling. The weight of the wooden frame of a large eight-rope yurt averages about 150-200 kg.

The door of the Kazakh yurt is “sykyrlauyk” (translated as “creaky”). Door parts are fastened to each other without nails. The door of the yurt, its upper platbands and jambs were decorated with various carved ornaments, painted in different colors and inlaid with bones.

The felt cover of the Kazakh yurt consisted of four main parts, corresponding to four parts of the frame. The lattice cylindrical wall was covered with four square pieces of felt, which also covered the lower third of the dome. Two trapezoidal felts covered the entire dome, leaving only the rim open. A rectangular felt with several elongated corners was tied from above at three corners, the fourth corner was not tied: using a long rope and a pole with a fork sewn to it, this corner of the felt was pulled back and the upper opening was opened, which simultaneously represented a light window and an outlet for smoke, which was closed during time of cold or rain. The last part of the felt cover was made up of a door - a rectangular panel sewn from a double layer of felt and hemmed on a mat woven of grass. The koshomny door at the top was tied to the rim, with its lower edge touching the ground.

All the work of assembling and disassembling the yurt for the Kazakhs was assigned to women. A Kazakh yurt can usually be installed by 2-3 women, and they dealt with this business within one hour. First, they put the links "kerege" in a circle and tied them together with woven braid, between the two lattices they inserted and tied the door frame. Then one of the men raised the rim using a special pole with a fork at the end, reinforced it with 3-4 poles, and then inserted the rest, tying their lower ends to the upper forks of the “kerege”. The lattice wall at the top, where it was fastened to the poles of the dome, was pulled together from the outside with a wide woven strip, reaching 30–35 cm (even up to 45) in width. Baskur usually had an ornament and was one of the obligatory decorative elements of the interior of a yurt.

The lattice walls of the frame were first furnished from the outside with ornamented chiy mats, then they tied felt felts covering the cylindrical lower part, tied the koshom door, and covered the dome. Outside, at about half the height of the kereg, the koshom cover was girded with hair noses or a woven ribbon, to which the ropes of the covering felts of the yurt dome were tied. If the yurt was covered with long felts, then outside in two places the beldeu was tied up. The felt flap was attached last.

Ribbons, different in width and pattern, were woven from woolen, more often camel yarn. They served as interior decoration. Woven or wicker narrow ribbons descended from the rims into the yurt, and in case of strong wind they were tied to a stake driven in the middle of the yurt. From the dome hung ribbons for tying the poles during the yurt's transportation. These ribbons often ended with multi-colored tassels. In the event of a strong wind, additional support poles were strengthened inside the yurt, and a rope loop was thrown over the dome. Over the centuries of nomadic life, the Kazakhs have developed a strict and rational distribution of a very limited area of their dwelling, on which everything necessary for household use must be placed.

Parts of the Kazakh yurt

The Kazakh yurt has always been set up in an open, sunny place. This was due to the fact that all the economic and household activities of the nomad are connected in time with the circulation of the sun. The door of the yurt was located strictly to the south. According to the angle of incidence of the rays of the sun falling into the yurt through the upper opening, according to the gradual transition of rays from one part of the yurt to another, the nomad determined the time and built his daily routine. Therefore, the arrangement of furniture and the division of the Kazakh yurt into parts had a strict order.

In the middle of the Kazakh yurt, there was a place for a hearth. Such an arrangement created the best draft for the fire and contributed to a more uniform heating of the room. In the late XIX - early XX centuries. the fire was made directly on the ground or a small depression was made for it in the ground. Above the fire, an iron tripod for a kettle or "moss" was installed with a hook for hanging the kettle. The entire floor of the Kazakh yurt, that is, the land, with the exception of the place for the hearth, was covered with homespun and felts. Opposite the door behind the hearth was the best place, where a hill was set up at the wall of the yurt, that is, the main property was piled up. Usually, a special wooden stand was placed down, chests, koshom cases or bales with spare clothes and other things were placed on it, rolled blankets, pillows, etc. were placed on top. Sometimes this hill was covered with an ornamented felt carpet or embroidered cloth blanket.

The place in front of the hill was called "tor" - the most honorable place in the yurt: the head of the family and the most honored guests usually sat here. On top of an ordinary felt mat, it was covered with special pads for sitting, quilted on wool, fur (corpse, bostack), ornamented with a felt or carpet.

The space of the Kazakh yurt near the entrance (bosag) was intended for household purposes, there was a female half to the right of the entrance, various food supplies, dishes were placed here, dried meat was hung on the wall, there was also a leather vessel for kumis on a wooden stand, a cabinet for the most valuable products (tea, sugar, sweets). Often this corner was separated by a screen. To the left of the doors were placed things related to men's work: saddles, harness, weapons, etc. In winter, in extreme cold, a sick or prematurely born lamb, another weak animal could be placed here.

On both sides of the door frame, the beds of the owners of the yurt were placed - on the right of the elders, and on the left of the younger members of the family. The beds were spread at night, and during the day they were rolled up and laid against the wall. Wooden beds made by Kazakh artisans have become a fairly common element of the yurt's decoration. The bed was hung with a curtain of red fabric. Behind the bed was a wall carpet made of ornamented felts or embroidered fabric sewn onto felt.

Even from the outside, the rich Kazakh yurt looked very elegant, as woven ornamented woolen ribbons were used to fasten it. Kerege were furnished with patterned mats, and a koshom door was hemmed on the same mat.

When migrating, the Kazakh yurt was disassembled into its component parts and transported in a pack.

The Kazakh yurt is easy to assemble and disassemble. It retains heat well, protects from wind, and in summer from heat. A padded liner prevents moisture from entering if the cover mats are soaked in rain. In summer, in the heat, the lower felts are raised for coolness, and the chiy pad protects against the penetration of dust and debris. For the winter, yurts were insulated: they were covered with double felts, covered with snow, surrounded with sheaves of reeds, and dug in with earth. Auls were set up in places with natural shelters from winds and blizzards. On frosty days, a fire was constantly burning in the yurt, but, despite this, its inhabitants did not take off their clothes, and in frosts they also wore fur coats.