#kyrgyz people

[divinum-pacis]

March 2024: Kyrgyz women pose during the Nowruz celebration in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. [Igor Kovalenko/EPA]

[postcard-from-the-past]

Kyrgyz people from Russia

Russian vintage postcard, mailed in 1902 to Rybnik, Poland

[the-first-man-is-a-cat]

Afghanistan, photographed by Silvia Alessi

[juregim]

my favourite silly thing is watching native americans discovering central asians because the reaction is always “…huh?…..are we cousins or what….”

[witekspicsoldpostcards2]

TURKMENISTAN -> The Kyrgyz people (also spelled Kyrghyz, Kirgiz, and Kirghiz)  are a Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia. They primarily reside in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and China. A Kyrgyz diaspora is also found in Russia, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan. They speak the Kyrgyz language, which is the official language of Kyrgyzstan.

[thyinum]

Please, when you see something written in Cyrillic, don't assume right away that it's russian. Russian is not the only language that uses Cyrillic. There are also Ukrainian, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Montenegrin, Serbian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Mongolian.

It's a sensitive topic especially for us Ukrainians because russian language is a weapon. It's a colonial language, it's presented like one and only true slavic language, it erases and replaces other languages. Belarusian is literally on the verge of extinction because of russian. Ukrainian has been banned 134 times throughout history, it is still called a "village language", a dialect of russian. Russian colonialism is literally the reason why there are so many russian speaking people in Ukraine (I was one of them btw). Ukrainian is banned on russian occupied territories and people are getting in trouble or even killed for using it there, Ukrainian POWs in russian captivity are getting brutally beaten for speaking Ukrainian.

Like okay, I can get why there's this confusion, so here's a clue to understand that the language you're looking at definitely is not russian — the letter і. If you see ї (like i but with two dots) it's 100% Ukrainian. If you see j it's Serbian. Russian alphabet also doesn't have such letters as Ђ, Љ, Њ, Ў, Џ (dont confuse with Ц ). Yes, it's not always gonna be easy to detect that the language in front of you is not russian, but when you have trouble with it just ask or run it through any translation app and it'll probably tell you the language.

Hope this will be helpful.

[buried-in-stardust]

In Akqi County, Xinjiang.

The Kyrgyz people mainly live in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and China, and are one of the official ethnic groups of China. Within China, they are mostly distributed in the southwest of Xinjiang. The practice of eagle falconry among the Kyrgyz can be traced back to 4000 years ago, and is now considered a national-level intangible cultural heritage in China.

The eagles (or sometimes northern goshawk/other birds of prey), are captured from the wild, tamed, then released back into the wild after five years. With the help of the eagles, hunters on horseback are able to hunt pheasant, rabbits, and foxes more easily.

Because of their nomadic lifestyle, eagle falconry played an important role in the past, but in recent years, increasing settlement of the Kyrgyz, environmental destruction, and other factors has meant eagle falconry has become more of a pastime. However, Akqi County is invested in keeping the tradition alive and holds seasonal tourist events where they showcase their falconry as well as promote other cultural traditions through events and exhibitions.

[edited two videos together]

[vintagegeekculture]

Luo Song's art depicts a crossing of the Silk Road from the Chinese perspective, with one long poster split into four sections.

It starts with Chinese merchants leaving on horses in Chang An, ancient capital of China (now called Xian), and you can tell it's Chang An because of the presence of the Drum Tower (a city landmark), and the Giant Wild Goose Tiger Pagoda. There's also a dragon there in case you don't get the point.

Then it comes to the Painted Caves of Dunhuang, an art gallery in the desert. The flying woman is an apsara, a Buddhist wind angel of the Silk Road. Tyrannical upper class Chinese teenage girls love to have photo shoots of themselves as Dunhuang Apsara they put on social media like Weibo and bilibili.

Then comes a section in Xinjiang, West China, a region home to the legendary Oasis Cities, and the Turkic and Persian peoples like the Tajik, Uyghur, Kyrgyz, Mountain Mongols, and Pamiri. The mountains in the far right of the image are the Flaming Mountains of Turfan, which has a unique optical illusion at certain times of day: as a result of shimmering hot desert air combined the unique patterns of the rock, the cliffs appear to be on fire. My best guess for the building in the center, showing Turkic architecture, is that it is the Tomb of Tamerlane in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. According to legend, the tomb is inscribed with "If I still lived, the world would tremble."

Finally, the last bit has an angel in the Georgian/Armenian style, representing the passage into the lands of Christian Central Asia, followed by one of the westernmost end points of the Silk Road, Istanbul, represented by the Hagia Sofia....and in the far left, Venice.

[the-falling-star]

A Quick Reminder

Palestine is going through a genocide/ethnic cleansing/colonization

Sudan is going through Genocide/Famine/War

In Congo the Children are being sold / the woman are getting sexually assaulted along with minors and impregnated/ Man are being slaved

Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and other Turkic Muslims are facing: possible genocide, forced abortion, forced sterilization, forced birth control, forced labor, torture in the north-western region of Xinjiang by china.

the Syrian Civil War is primarily rooted in a feud between Russia and the United States and their allies in the region over natural gas pipelines passing through Syria on their way to European markets, Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale military intervention in Syria to prevent the fall of their ally Bashar al-Assad and stop Syria from joining the Western sphere of influence = Syrian are dying everyday because of other people greed.

In Yemen 18.2 million people are facing famine/poverty/health diseases(cholera).

[vexillology-for-brains]

Kyrgyzstan Flag Change Updates

With a new Olympics upon us, I've been keeping my eyes peeled for interesting flag events and accidents. But I also get to talk more about the Kyrgyzstan flag change!

THERE IT IS! For the first time, I and probably most of the world, have seen the new Kyrgyz Republic flag in the wild, on a flagpole, actually flying.

From what I've seen, all of the Olympic uniforms that carry the Kyrgyz flag also use the updated version of the national flag with the straightened sun rays.

Wikipedia has also updated the Kyrgyzstan page and related pages with the new design, so this design really is going forward at full force.

While the nature of the flag change was not the most democratic event in recent flag-design changes, many Kyrgyz citizens were strongly against the change and related expenses, I'm happy to see the Kyrgyz athletes and their enthusiasm while they wave this new flag of their nation and represent their people in the Olympic Games.

I'll probably end up making a long post of flag related trivia and goofs that the French commit because they've already screwed up with hoisting the Olympic banner upside down in the opening ceremony.

See y'all soon!

[whencyclopedia]

Raiders, Rulers, and Traders: The Horse and the Rise of Empires

Chaffetz deftly illustrates the vast history of Asia and its great empires -- Chinese, Persian, Indian, and Mongol -- through a history of horsepower. The cultures of the people of the steppe, their religions, technology, and migrations also come into play. Expertly, Chaffetz shows that horse breeding and trading, not the fabled Silk Road, linked these historical forces together over time and distance.

The Silk Road may have carried the world’s most luxurious fabrics for trade, but it was paved with horses’ hooves. From the Bronze Age to the 20th century, the empires of China, Persia, India, and Mongolia conquered astride the backs of horses. By focusing on the history of the horse in Raiders, Rulers, and Traders, David Chaffetz provides fascinating insights into conquests in history, from the Persian Empire of Cyrus the Great to the Russian Empire of Alexander II.

Chaffetz traces the evolution of the horse from a wild animal of the Eurasian steppe to its place at the center of war and commerce over almost 3,000 years of human history. The earliest horses weren’t much larger than donkeys. He shows that the first domesticated horses pulled carts and chariots — as it took centuries of breeding until they were strong enough to carry humans. The breeds of horses reflected the cultures that adopted them: the sleek, speedy raiders of Arabia; the huge, powerful Persian steeds; and the sturdy Mongol breeds whose endurance and ability to thrive in harsh conditions were key to Ghengis Khan’s continent-spanning conquests. Maps of the Eurasian Steppe in every chapter help readers to keep track of the disparate locations, and illustrations show the artifacts that these cultures created to celebrate horsemanship.

Of the empires covered in the book, China gets a special focus. The Great Wall was built by the Qin Dynasty in the 2nd century BCE to protect the northern frontier from horse-mounted raiders. Yet China needed horses for its own armies, and large-scale horse breeding was difficult in the hills and fertile valleys south of the wall. A sophisticated trading network grew along the frontier in which trade goods like silk and tea were traded were exchanged for animals.

The Silk Road grew in the wake of a 1st-century BCE military expedition led by the Hun general, Li Guan Li, to find the “blood-sweating” Ferghana horses that nomads had described to Chinese horse traders. Braving high mountain passes and arid wastes in a journey that presaged those of Coronado and Lewis & Clark in North America, Li laid siege to a citadel near the present-day Kyrgyz city of Aravan. His reward was 300 of these “celestial horses” along with a promise of 2 horses every year thereafter. These yearly journeys, and the return of payments of silk and other commodities, established the Silk Road.

Indian emperors also relied on imported horses from central Asia. In a region whose jungles and deserts were unsuitable for breeding horses, huge trade fairs arose across India, where rajas met Afghani horse breeders to do business. Like China, India faced waves of horse-borne invaders from Afghanistan and Persia. As the sea trade with Arabia and, later, Europe developed, southern Indian rulers gained key means to defend their lands.

Horsepower remained the key to empires into the dawn of the 20th century, during which gasoline-powered vehicles arose. In later chapters Chaffetz covers Britain’s strained efforts to breed horses in India – and strike deals with Afthani traders – as well as the Russian Empire’s use of cossack cavalries to conquer the steppe.

In appendices, Chaffetz details the prices of horses in China and India in both historic and present-day terms. A timeline connects concurrent developments in the Western Steppe (Persia) the Indian Subcontinent and the Eastern Steppe.

Chaffetz writes frequently for publications like Asian Review of Books and is a member of the Royal Society for Asian Affairs. Raiders, Rulers, and Traders is a broad history that will augment readers’ knowledge of the great empires of Asia. Its focus on horse husbandry is a useful gateway into history for reluctant learners.

Continue reading...

[suzumori521]

i noticed that your banner is art of a (kazakh or kyrgyz?) falconer with a golden eagle. do you have a interest in falconry or have you ever practiced it?

Yes! I love cultures from various countries around the world, but among them, I have a special appreciation for Mongolian and Central Asian cultures. The traditional falconry culture of the Kazakh people, using majestic Golden Eagles, has left a profound impact on me. I'm truly fascinated by them.

Although I haven't had the opportunity yet, it's my dream to one day visit and experience the nomadic life of Mongolia and learn from the Kazakh falconers.

By the way, the ethnic groups featured in my creations are fictional and are a blend of various real-world cultures, incorporating elements that don't actually exist. So, please keep that in mind.

[yuri-alexseygaybitch]

Thank you to the Red Army and the 34 million Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Belarussians, Estonians, Georgians, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Latvians, Lithuanians, Moldovans, Russians, Tajiks, Turkmen, Ukrainians, and Uzbeks who saved the world from fascism. Fuck reactionary nationalism and fuck what became of the Soviet people's sacrifice. We won't let the future they fought for die out.

[moonkattinator]

recently i have been seeing people posting videos of traditional uyghur/kazakh/kyrgyz music and dances but then the caption will say “traditional music of chinese province xinjiang” and i just think it’s so dark sided like if you’re going to celebrate the culture of these people you HAVE to say what their ethnicity is, because they are NOT chinese and so much of uyghur culture and language especially is being erased right now.

[flowerbloom-arts]

Hii I love your art style so much it's actually so cool💞!! Do you ever think of nationality hcs for the Simpsons characters? For example, I still like to imagine Seymour as having Armenian heritage even though I'm one of those people who completely disregard the Armin Tamzarian episodes. But he's still Armenian to me, probably from his moters side. He gets his American side from Sheldon. It makes sense to imagine Herman Hermann as coming from Lithuanian heritage or Dewey Largo to be Italian. I mean I can even see how Lenny could be part Central Asian, maybe Kyrgyz?? These hcs are very self indulgent I won't even lie I'm a huge history and geography nerd, but they're so fun to think about. I currently have Skinner with an Armenian flag tie in my drafts. Also also also I think Seymour has a tie collection. That's my rant, don't think too hard about it :P

Aaaaaa all of those are so cool!!! I loved making up nationality headcanons in the Moomin fandom but as of right now I'm not in the thought market to come up with such for Simpsons characters - I guess the only not totally substantiated headcanon I have is Dr. Nick being Argentinian?

I wish I could say more but arrrgghhhh I haven't thought much of it until now! Thank you for liking my art!!!