Kyrgyzstan Yurts
Mimi Robinson
Indigenous Artisan Communities
Located in Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan has been well known since the times of the legendary Silk Road for the temporary yurt camps that nomads set up during summer months at the base of the Tien Shan mountains. The landscape there is of monumental scale, characterized by the deep blues and purples of distant mountains, snow-capped peaks, and the vast sand-colored horizon. Nomadic cultures have been shaped by this land and live in balance with the seasons, connected to place and traditions.
A typical yurt in Bokonbaeva, Kyrgyzstan can be moved in a day. It is the model of living simply, with a small footprint.
Known for their longstanding felt-making artistry, yurt makers from the large Kyrgyz village of Bokonbaeva, on the edge of Lake Issey-Kul, work with local resources, creativity, and ingenuity to create yurts that reflect the nomadic culture and environment of Kyrgyzstan. The structures are light enough for nomads to carry, flexible enough to fold and pack, and sturdy enough to be dismantled and reassembled. Handmade from local sheep’s wool fashioned into felt, the dwellings are constructed with a bent willow and birch framework. Yurts provide a cool home in the hot summers and warmth during winter months.
The round frame at the top of the yurt, called the tunduk, creates four points, each directed to a corner of the world.
More than just a dwelling, the yurt symbolizes the world in which nomads live, and is a sacred portrayal of life under heaven. The round shape of a yurt evokes the sky, and its central pillars are particularly meaningful, symbolizing the cosmic axis between earth and heaven—the root of the community’s spiritual practice. The hearth (fire) is placed in the center of this representation of the universe within the yurt.
Women laugh and sing together as they work on the traditional felt rugs.
Women of the community come together to make the felt shyrdak (patchwork) rugs that are used as traditional household coverings in the yurt. One afternoon I had a chance to sit with them as they sang, laughed, and sewed together. I learned that their craft is inspired by the plant and animal world, with popular spiral and curl elements symbolizing the horns of animals such as sheep.
The ornamental patterns have deep meaning for the Kyrgyz culture and reflect their understanding of the earth, mountain, waters, stars. Good wishes for prosperity, strength, and courage are woven into the textiles. The felt creations are a harmonious blend of rich warm reds, warm orange, and purples with accents of magenta, colors that reflect the Kyrgyz culture and their everyday world.
Contributors
Many talented individuals are featured in the West Marin Review. Please click below for this volume’s contributors.
- FRONT COVER
- Lia Cook Binary Traces Young Girl
- BACK COVER
- Carol Whitman High Tide at White House Pool
- PROSE
- Muriel Murch Farming the Flats
- James Misner Three Short Stories
- Rick Lyttle Harry Truman and Me
- L. L. Babb Chuck Lange Kicks Ass
- Linda Gebroe A Play in Four Pitches
- Barbara Heenan Grabbed by the Pussy
- Lina Jane Prairie Kelp Work
- Morgan McDonald Mobile
- Elizabeth Wing The Plankton Expedition
- G. David Miller Mad Dogs and Americans
- POETRY
- Reeva Harrison In Pursuit of Thingness
- J. C. Stock Mountain Bliss
- Nancy Cavers Dougherty Inversion
- Amy Elizabeth Robinson Reading Michael Meade’s Why the World Doesn’t End…
- Jorge Bravo The Universe
- María Baranda From Dylan and the Whales Translated by Forrest Gander
- Mary Winegarden Long Marriage
- Derveaux Baker Second Chances
- Jon Langdon When It Counts
- Regina O’Melveny The Bird
- Claire Millikin Christian Girl
- Rebecca Foust all this beauty
- Jim Nawrocki On Reading The Encyclopedia of Creation Myths
- Wayne Hill The book about walking
- Luis Lenz-Fontan Life
- Barbara Swift Brauer Fog / Trees Returning
- Sarah Anna Paden Hoshigaki
- Stephen Ajay Windless and By Our Own Hands
- Kathleen Evans Crossing the Line
- Brian C. Felder Cold Calculus
- David Swain Border Crossing
- Elizabeth Wing Pierce Point
- ART + ARTIFACT
- Lia Cook Binary Traces Young Girl
- Emely Garcia-DeLeon Point Reyes Seashore
- Wendy Goldberg Inside Out and Early Spring Clearing
- Charles Robinson Granddaughter Isabel Robinson
- Thomas Wood Tomales Bay at Chicken Ranch Beach
- Torrey Baron Shadows
- Julia Lucey The Bear and the Bees
- Jennifer Thompson Can’t Face It
- Abbey Wenk My Happy Place
- Pam Fabry Blue
- Patricia Thomas Negative Dark Matter
- Bear Lombard Our School Fox
- Stella Bailey White Horse
- Dana Hooper Jigsaw
- Anne Hudes Dolphin Light
- Mimi Robinson Kyrgyzstan Yurts
- Barbara Lawrence Point Reyes Lunch
- Danae Mattes Horizon and Harbor
- Betsy Kellas Invocation and Barriers and Boundaries 3
- Vi Strain Moments of Natural Beauty
- Amanda J. Sanow Red Hill
- Jo Margolis Grid with Calligraphic Frame
- Kate Kozubik Red Tree with Bird
- Glenn Carter Knot
- Marianne Reger Bouquet
- Marsha Balian A Day at the Races
- Gene Crowe Purse, SF MOMA
- Jane Zich Running Deer
- Alex Farnum Kelp Work
- Anne Faught Pages from a Life
- Jon Ching Indestructible
- Eleykaa Tully Hope
- Laurence Brauer Fog, Trees, Mt. Wittenberg Trail
- Jean Warren Coming Together
- Caitlin McCaffrey The Claw Family
- Amanda Tomlin Bees
- Harriet Kossman Mabel, Cleo, and Peter: Morning Meeting on Pamela’s Deck
- Sherrie Lovler Inspiration
- Barbara Treichler Gregor California Pipevine Swallowtail
- Mark Ropers A New Day
- Carol Whitman High Tide at White House Pool