Culture of Kyrgyzstan

The red lines inside the sun visualise the crown of a yurt, the traditional dwelling of nomadic farmers, once the main population of the Central Asian area.

An aggressive post-Soviet campaign was established to make the latter the official national language in all commercial and government uses by 1997; Russian is still used extensively, and the non-Kyrgyz population, most not Kyrgyz speakers, are hostile to forcible Kyrgyzification.

The poem, with close to half a million lines, is twenty times longer than Homer's Odyssey, and one of the longest epics in the world.

It is a patriotic work recounting the exploits of Manas and his descendants and followers, who, according to tradition, fought against the Chinese and Kalmyks in the 9th century to preserve Kyrgyz independence.

[3] Originally made by nomadic farming tribes to be used as building material for, and decoration of, their movable dwellings, the yurt, Kyrgyz women still produce a wide range of textiles, mostly from the wool of local sheep.

[4] Tush kiyiz are large, elaborately embroidered wall hangings, traditionally made in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, by elder women to commemorate the marriage of a son or daughter.

Flowers, plants, animals, stylized horns, national designs, and emblems of Kyrgyz life are often found in these ornate and colorful embroideries.

On the road and in the villages, the cuisine tends to be standard Kyrgyz dishes, liberally flavored with oil or sheep fat, which are considered both delicious and healthy by the local population.

The Kidnapped Bride March 2004 This article contains some text originally adapted from the public domain Library of Congress Country Study for Kyrgyzstan at http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/kgtoc.html