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Riding in the Footsteps of Genghis Khan
They say that Kazakhs can ride before they can walk – so it is no surprise that most of the games at the Golden Eagle Festival take place on horseback.
The Kazakh people of Western Mongolia practically live on horseback.
For hundreds of years, Kazakh nomads had been roaming across the Altai Mountains – between what is now Mongolia and Kazakhstan – riding their small but hardy Kazakh horses (similar to Mongolian horses, but daintier), herding their fat-tailed sheep, horses, cattle, goats, Bactrian camels, and domestic yaks across long distances.
Communist control over Kazakhstan during the 1930s caused large numbers of Kazakhs to flee, and to settle more permanently in Bayan-Ölgii Aimag in the western corner of Mongolia. Once there, relative isolation allowed them to keep alive their Kazakh language, animist beliefs, Muslim religion, and rich cultural traditions.
The horse is central to Kazakh identity as a nomadic people, and features heavily in their rituals, language, art, and even their cuisine. Horses are loved and revered as providers of transportation, food, labour and companionship, and every Kazakh in the extended household has their favourite.
Today, most Kazakhs in Western Mongolia maintain a traditional lifestyle, typically moving their animals – and their gers: their round tents – three or four times a year to find new grazing pastures in this high, cold, and windy landscape with rocky soil and minimal rainfall. Warmth and colour in what is otherwise a harsh environment comes from richly embroidered clothing, tapestries, and blankets, sewn together from the lush furs of the hunted winter fox, felted from combed out camel under-coat, or cut and stitched, using the soft skins of sheep slaughtered for food and pelts. Social evenings are spent in blanket-lined gers, around fires of wood and manure, drinking airag (fermented mare’s milk), arkhi (cow’s milk vodka), or straight vodka, and singing songs accompanied by a two-string dombra (see: At Home with the Kazakhs).
Kazakh nomads are known for their skills as riders and horse-back hunters – skills that are demonstrated by the traditional horseback games on the programme at the annual autumn Golden Eagle Festival in Bayan-Ölgii Province. This festival signals the beginning of the hunting season, and is a chance to show off one’s traditional dress and one’s riding and hunting skills. It gives the community the chance to foster those skills amongst the young, and to promote them to outsiders to encourage tourist dollars. Perhaps most importantly, it allows people who have been wandering on distant plateaus with only their animals and immediate family for company, to come together and socialise.
The year I attended this colourful event, there were 98 eagle hunters participating: a small contingent of whom had crossed the border from Kazakhstan, and a few who were women. In addition, there were assorted camel riders, horse racers, and countless others in the entourages (see: It’s Not Just Birds).
But, like any good nomad, they all knew how to ride a horse!
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“Port-A-Loo”
The facilities at the festival grounds are rustic – to put it mildly! This is the ‘toilet block’: three wooden platforms with short-drop holes, enclosed on three sides by a shielding cloth.
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Kids at the Fairgrounds
At the ger camp, where the competitors and vendors are staying, pink-cheeked children watch me with curiosity.
Kiz Kuar – “Girl Chasing”
Meanwhile, back in the ring, young men and women have entered the Kiz Kuar, …
Couple Racing
… while I’ve seen Kiz Kuar translated as “girl chasing”, it is the young women who are doing the chasing.
Kazakh Couple Horseback
The woman is meant to chase the man with her whip swinging, …
Whip Chase
… and when she catches him, she is meant to ’embarrass him’ with a kiss.
Chasing your Man
The fastest pair around the circuit win. The couples, who have already been judged on the merits of their traditional dress, are clearly having a blast!
Wild Rider
Being female and wearing frills is no impediment to being able to ride like the wind! While men and women have differing ‘roles’ in society, it has been said that being on horseback is a great equaliser, and the women in Mongolia’s nomadic groups have always had a level of respect and autonomy not enjoyed by many of their neighbours.
Kazakh Horses
When the winning couples have been declared, the horses are temporarily left aside …
Rich Costuming
… and everyone rejoins in the middle for a dance party.
Dance Party
Naturally, the eagles are invited …
Circling
… and some of the horses join in, galloping around the perimeter.
Elder Couple Dancing
This wonderful old couple has seen a few seasons dancing together!
Hunter and his Eagle
The búrkitshy or berkutchi – as eagle hunters are called in the Kazakh language – and their búrkit, or golden eagles, …
Kazakh Hunter and his Golden Eagle
… are everywhere, and are the stars of the festival.
Kokpar (Kuk-Bar)
In the next contest, the headless body of a dead sheep is placed in the middle of the ring, …
Sheep Grab
… a rider bends to pick the sheepskin up from the ground, …
Sheep-Chase
… and tries to get it to a point in the arena without losing it to the other team.
Sheep-Fight
The tug-of-war over the sheep …
Sheep-Tug
… is dramatic …
Sheep-Grab
… and vigorous.
Sheep Grab
The contest over the sheepskin was repeated a number of times with different participants.
Refereeing the Kokpar
I was never clear on the rules: sometimes one hunter had a head start with the sheep, other times a second rider was there to interfere. Clearly there are rules, however. With their whistles around their necks, referees keep a close watch on the action.
Tug-of-War
Sheep-Wrestle
I continue to marvel at how these riders managed to stay on their horses! We left as the awards were being announced over an undecipherable sound system, in awe of the ability of all the riders.
Last Look at my Ger
With the festival over, it’s time for a last sleep in my blanket-lined ger, …
Mountains Below
… and a morning flight back to Ulaanbaatar over empty-looking mountains. (iPhone)
Somewhere down there, nomads are herding their animals, and hunting winter furs. In the words of a Kazakh proverb I’ve quoted before:
“A fast horse and a soaring eagle
are the wings of a nomad.”
Long may they roam the steppes.
Happy Wandering!
Pictures: 02-03October2016
