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Kyrgyzstan
Social Structure
The age-old geographic separation of pockets of the Kyrgyz population
has tended to reinforce conservatism in all of the country's society.
The modern Kyrgyz still apply great significance to family and
clan origins. The majority of Kyrgyz continued a nomadic lifestyle
until the Soviet campaigns of forcible collectivization forced
them first into transitional settlements and then into cities
and towns or state and collective farms in the 1930s. Within the
centralized farm systems, however, many Kyrgyz continued to move
seasonally with their herds. There has been strong resistance
to industrial employment.
Clans
Kyrgyz identity in public and private life is said to be determined
primarily by membership in one of three clan groupings known as
"wings" (right, or ong ; left, or sol ; and
ichkilik , which is neither) and secondarily by membership
in a particular clan within a wing. The history of this grouping
is unknown, although several legends explain the phenomenon. The
left wing now includes seven clans in the north and west. Each
of the seven has a dominant characteristic, and all have fought
each other for influence. The Buguu warrior clan provided the
first administrators of the Kyrgyz Republic under the Soviet Union;
when the purges of Stalin eradicated their leaders in the 1930s,
their place was taken by a second northern warrior clan, the Sarybagysh,
who have provided most Kyrgyz leaders since that time, including
Akayev. The right wing contains only one clan, the Adygine. Located
in the south, the Adygine are considered the most genuinely Kyrgyz
clan because of their legendary heritage. The southern Ichkilik
is a group of many clans, some of which are not of Kyrgyz origin,
but all of which claim Kyrgyz identity in the present.
Acutely aware of the roles each of the clans traditionally has
played, the Kyrgyz are still very conscious of clan membership
in competing for social and economic advantage. Support for fellow
clan members is especially strong in the northern provinces. Kyrgyz
men frequently wear traditional black-on-white felt headgear,
which informs others of their clan status and the degree of respect
to be accorded them. Larger clans are subdivided by origin and
by the nobility of their ancestors; although there is no prohibition
of advancement for those of non-noble descent, descent from a
high-born extended family still is considered a social advantage.
Like other Central Asian groups, the Kyrgyz venerate history
and see themselves as part of a long flow of events. A traditional
requirement is the ability to name all the people in the previous
seven generations of one's family. Clan identity extends this
tradition even further, to the legendary origins of the Kyrgyz
people. Kyrgyz clans are said to spring from "first fathers,"
most of whom appear in both oral legends and in history. Clan
history and genealogy are entrusted to tribal elders, whose ongoing
knowledge of those subjects makes falsification of lineage difficult.
Because clan identity remains an important element of social status,
however, Kyrgyz do sometimes claim to have descended from a higher
branch of their clan than is actually the case.
Domestic Life
The Kyrgyz are classified as nomadic pastoralists, meaning that
they traditionally have herded sheep, horses, or yaks, following
the animals up and down the mountains as the seasons change. The
basic dwelling is the yurt, a cylindrical felt tent easily disassembled
and mounted on a camel or horse. The image of a yurt's circular
smoke opening is the central design of Kyrgyzstan's flag. Various
parts of the yurt have ritual significance. Because the herding
economy continues in many parts of the country, the yurt remains
a strong symbol of national identity. Families living in Western-style
dwellings erect yurts to celebrate weddings and funerals.
Traditional domestic life centers on the flocks. The diet of
the nomads is limited to mutton and noodles; fruit and vegetables
are rare even in today's Kyrgyz cuisine. The most traditional
dishes are besh barmak , a mutton stew, and
roast lamb. For ceremonial meals, the lamb is killed without spilling
its blood, and the head is served to the guest of honor, who slices
portions of the eyes and ears and presents them to other guests
to improve their sight and hearing. Horsemeat is eaten fresh and
in sausages. Traditional beverages are kumys , fermented
mare's milk, and two varieties of beer.
Family traditions continue to demonstrate the patriarchal and
feudal character of a nomadic people. Family relations are characterized
by great respect for older family members and the dominance of
male heads of households. Traditional celebrations of special
events retain the markings of religious and magical rites. For
example, the cutting of a child's umbilical cord is celebrated
with elaborate consumption of food and humorous games. The naming
of a child and the cutting of the child's hair are conducted in
such a way as to appease supernatural forces. The full observance
of the most important family event, the wedding celebration, requires
considerable expense that relatively few Kyrgyz can afford: payment
for a bride, dowry, animal sacrifice, and an exchange of clothing
between the relatives of the bride and the groom.
The Role of Women
In traditional Kyrgyz society, women had assigned roles, although
only the religious elite sequestered women as was done in other
Muslim societies. Because of the demands of the nomadic economy,
women worked as virtual equals with men, having responsibility
for chores such as milking as well as child-rearing and the preparation
and storage of food. In the ordinary family, women enjoyed approximately
equal status with their husbands. Kyrgyz oral literature includes
the story of Janyl-myrza, a young woman who led her tribe to liberation
from the enemy when no man in the tribe could do so. In the nineteenth
century, the wife of Khan Almyn-bek led a group of Kyrgyz tribes
at the time of the Russian conquest of Quqon.
In modern times, especially in the first years of independence,
women have played more prominent roles in Kyrgyzstan than elsewhere
in Central Asia. Since 1991 women have occupied the positions
of state procurator (the top law enforcement official in the national
government), minister of education, ambassador to the United States
and Canada, and minister of foreign affairs. Women have also excelled
in banking and business, and the editor of Central Asia's most
independent newspaper, Respublika , is a woman. Roza
Otunbayeva, who was minister of foreign affairs in 1996, has been
mentioned frequently as a successor to Akayev.
Data as of March 1996
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