Book Review: Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Kyrgyz Republic published by UNESCO

 

This book provides brief and interesting information about the Kyrgyz way of life. It starts with the Akyns. These were the Kyrgyz epic tellers who combine singing, improvisation and musical composition. They were the figures who participated in story telling contests. The pre-eminent Kyrgyz epic is the 1000-year-old Manas trilogy which is known for its length (16 times longer the Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey). The Kyrgyz epic trilogy of Manas, Semetey and Seytek describes the unification of the scattered tribes into one nation.

The Kyrgyz population lives in yurt. Yurts are Turkic nomadic dwellings which remain the symbol of family and traditional hospitality, fundamental to the identity of the Kazakh and Kyrgyz peoples. Yurts are made from natural and renewable raw materials. Felt is also used by Kyrgyz for making items such as carpets, cloths and headwear. Sheep wool is used for felting. The Kyrgyz male headwear is Kalpak and the female one is called elechek. In the past Kalpak showed the social status of a person.

Komuz is the most popular and wide-spread string musical instrument in Kyrgyzstan. Metalworking masters are called usta or zerger. I might be a Persian word. For Kyrgyz people the most valued metal is silver, which is also as white metal. Silver is also used as an amulet against evil spirits.

The Kyrgyz have many traditional games. One of them is Besh tash, which literally means a game of five stones or group of stones). It is also mentioned in the Manas epic. Another game is Kyz kuumai, a game in which a woman rides a horse as fast as she can, while being chased by a male participant. First a man chases a woman. After reaching a certain point the woman chases the same man. If she manages to catch up with him, she whips him with a horse whip.

When a child is born, every child in the surrounding wants to be the first one who brings good news about the childbirth to other relatives. Genealogy played an important role in Kyrgyz culture, especially in choosing a partner for marriage. All Kyrgyz people must know at least seven generations of their forefathers.

Islamic Nikah is the main wedding ceremony. A cup of water is prepared for this ritual. Some sugar is added to water and sometimes a silver coin is placed at the bottom of the cup. After reciting verses from Quran, the newly-wed couple drinks water from the cup. The meaning of sharing water is that the couple agrees to live through thick and thin.

Some of the few Kyrgyz quotes are

“whoever does not know one’s forefather becomes a slave.”

 “a proverb is a father of words.”

“the one without a horse is like the one without legs.”

For food the Kyrgyz people eat lamb, beef, horse, meat, camel and yak meat. The most valued meat is lamb and horse meat. Horse meat is usually used for big celebrations. Chuchuk is a horse meat sausage which is made out of horse intestine stuffed with horse meat and fat.  Traditional Krygyz cuisine has seasonal variations. In spring and summer, most of the food is made out of fresh meat and the main beverage is Kymyz, fermented mare’s milk. Krygyz nomads use dried and jerked meat in winter. The winter beverage is bozo, a beer-like thick slightly alcoholic beverage. The main ingredients in Kyrgyz cuisine are meat, milk and flour. The youngest person goes around with a jar with water and a flat bucket and pours water to the hands of those sitting around the tablecloth.

Chuchuk, one of the main delicacies is a horse meat sausage. This is made out of horse intestine stuffed with horse meat and fat. Horse stomach, mane and boiled meat are also served as a meat plate. When Kyrgyz eat food the most respected person receives the sheep head. Gulazyk, is another meal of the Kyrgyz people. It is meat made into powder. This was done in the olden times for longer journeys. Kurut is also produced by Kyrgyz people. Kymyz- a drink made from horse, cow and camel milk. The one made out of mare’s milk is considered to be the best. Kymyz is considered to be the beverage of heroes.

This publication contains information on the intangible cultural heritage of the Kyrgyz people including traditional knowledge related to everyday life, livelihoods cultural practices as well as arts and crafts. This book could be of use to university students, scholars, tourists and the general public.

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Book Review: Cities of the Dead: The Ancestral Cemeteries of Kyrgyzstan by Nasser Rabbat, Elmira Kochumkulova and Altyn Kapalova

 

I learn from this book that the Kyrgyz territory was formally incorporated into the Russian Empire in 1876. In Kyrgyz tradition the living does not visit the graves of the dead. There is a popular Kyrgyz saying that ‘a Kyrgyz is born in the yurt and will die in the yurt.’ Yurt is the traditional home of the nomadic Kyrgyz people

Due to Stalin’s sedentarization policy the Kyrgyz and the other nomadic peoples of Central Asia were forced to give up their nomadic life. While reading the book, I also came across many words in Kyrgyz language which are commonly used by other mountain societies in Central Asia. For instance, Boorsok in Krygyz language is referred to a particular type of bread. It is also used by other communities in the region.

On page seven of the book, one of the authors named Elmira says that for many Kyrgyz their ethnic identity overrides their religious identity as Muslim. Overall the hybrid nature of Kyrgyz cultural identity can be summed up in the following expression: “We are born as a Kyrgyz, we live as a Russian, but we die as an Arab.”. Furthermore, in the book I see the transition in the Gumbez structure. Gumbez is the traditional Kyrgyz burial marker.

The book has a lot of pictures and less text. The different ways in which Gumbez were constructed is shown. The most interesting thing for me is the yurt structure around the graves during the Soviet period. Metal replaced the original yurt material. This book gives me an idea of working in the change in burial rites and sites in my native district and region.

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Book Review: The Ismailis and Kirgiz of the Upper Amu Darya and Pamirs in Afghanistan: A Micro-history of Delineating International Borders by David Straub

 

This thesis explores the Afghan occupation of the Upper Amu Darya and the Pamirs. The creation of the international borders in 1895 and the effect it had on the Ismaili and Kirghiz communities is investigated. Special emphasis is placed on how the new borders impacted trade and migration. With that, the position of the local political elites is also discussed.

Many of the border agreements are also mentioned in this world. How British, Russia, China and Afghanistan affected people of the mountain societies is described. After Mir Ali Mardan was ousted, a Kirghiz was appointed as the new governor of Wakhan. People from the south started migrating to Wakhan.

The Kirghiz near the Chinese side were once looted by the Qing officilas at Rangkul. As per the author, there was a pashtunization of local administrative positions among the Ismailis. Eleven Hakims were appointed in Wakhan. This composed of various ethnicities. Rehman Qul, a headman among the Kirghiz moved due to Soviet incursion and decided to go to Taghdumbash Pamir in Xinjiang. All the political, social and economic disturbances caused by drawing of borders is thoroughly discussed in this work. Anyone who has interested in politics of mountain communities of Central Asia should read this work.

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Book Review: Letter from Birmingham Jail By Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

This text calls for direct, non-violent resistance in the fight against racism. With that it brings forward the healing power of love. Luther believes that Birmingham is probably the most segregated city in the United States. He says that for years he has been hearing the word ‘Wait!’. This ‘Wait’ according to him, has always meant ‘Never’.

Luther talks about the nations of Asia and Africa gaining independence. Meanwhile in the United States the Negros still creep at horse and buggy pace towards gaining a cup of coffee at a lunch counter. Furthermore, he says that one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. He further stresses that a law is just on its face and unjust in its application. The white moderate has gravely disappointed him. Lukewarm rejection is much more bewildering than outright rejection.

In the concluding paragraphs Luther advocates against utilitarian love and thinks that one should start thinking about humanity, instead of one’s own self.

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Book Review: Jail Diary and Other Writings by Bhagat Singh

 

This is a very important collection of Bhagat Singh’s works. Singh was an Indian Communist revolutionary executed by the British colonizers in 1931. His age at that time was 23. He wrote his diary in the last two years of his life. After his execution his jail diary was handed over to his father. The first chapter in this book is on the problem of Punjab’s language and script. His statements, letters, hunger strike demands, pamphlets and petitions are part of this collection.

Singh says that centuries of warfare and Muslim invasions had dried up the literature of Punjab. He says that Muslims totally lack Indianess that is why they want to propagate Arabic script and Persian language. Singh says that Punjabi people themselves refuse their own captivating language.

In one of his statements Singh is of the view that a radical change is necessary to reorganize society on socialist basis. Regarding the LCC Ordinance Singh says that misrepresentation is and has always been the best instrument in the hands of the government to meet their enemies. Further in the book he strongly advocates against imperialism. He believes it to be exploitative. Singh’s letter to his father is also published as a chapter in this book.

Singh’s message to young political workers is to adopt Marxism as ideology. He wants them to work among people, organize workers and peasants and for the Communist party. He praises Lenin’s political acumen. Moreover, in another chapter he accuses British Labor leaders of betraying their struggle. He says that they have been reduced to mere hypocrite imperialists. Singh says that for him compromise never means surrender. This book a must read for those who want to study South Asian history.

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Book Review: The Untouchables: Who Were They and Why They Became Untouchables by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar

 

Ambedkar says that the Hindu civilization produced three social classes. These include the criminal tribes, the aboriginal tribes and the untouchables. The number of these classes is about 85 million. Among these the Untouchables are about 50 million. The author is of the view that Hindu civilization gauged in the light of these social products could hardly be called civilization. Furthermore, he says that the Hindu does not regard the existence of these classes as a matter of apology or shame and feels no responsibility to inquire into its origin and development. The existence of such classes should be more a cause of shame than pride.

The author says that today all the scholarship is confined to Brahmins. They could not rise against the doctrines in which they were brought up. In this book the author advances a thesis on the origin of Untouchability. He himself considers it a novel thesis. It comprises that there is no racial difference between the Hindus and the Untouchables. Untouchability has no racial basis and it also has no occupational basis. The distinction between the Hindus and the Untouchables in its original form, before the advent of untouchability, was the distinction between Tribesmen and Broken Men from alien Tribes. It is the broken men who subsequently came to be treated as Untouchables.

According to the author Untouchability sprung from two things. One was the hatred of the Broken Men as Buddhists by the Brahmins. Second was the continuation of beef-eating by the Broken Men after it had been given up by others. Ambedkar concludes that Untouchability was born some time about 400 A.D. It was born out of the struggle from supremacy between Buddhism and Brahmanism which has completely molded India’s history. The study of which has been sadly neglected by the students of Indian history.

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Book Review: Buddha or Karl Marx by Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar

 

The editorial committee of this book found three different typed copies of an essay on Buddha and Karl Marx in loose sheets. The essay is divided into sub topics. This includes basis of the ideas of Buddha and Karl Marx. With that, the author compares Buddha and Marx. Furthermore, in the book withering away of the state is also discussed.

Marx and Buddha were divided by 2381 years. Ambedkar believes that having read both Buddha and Marx, a comparison is what he should do. The author believes that Buddha was born a democrat and died a democrat. He stresses that Buddha was of the view that ‘each man should be morally so trained that he may himself become a sentinel for the kingdom of righteousness.’ Ambedkar says that the communists themselves admit that their theory of the state as a permanent dictatorship is a weakness in their political philosophy. He further says that Russians do not seem to be paying any attention to Buddhism as an ultimate aid to sustain Communism when force is withdrawn.

Buddha’s method was to change the mind so that whatever he does is without force of compulsion. Ambedkar believes that Russian dictatorship would be good for all backward countries, but this is no argument for permanent dictatorship. This form of dictatorship he believes, paid no attention to spiritual values. Ambedkar stresses that man must grow materially and spiritually. He opines that equality will be of no vale without fraternity or liberty. Ambedkar concludes that all three can coexist if one follows the way of Buddha.

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Book Review: That Untraveled World by Eric Shipton

 

The Untraveled World is the autobiography of a famous mountaineer and explorer named Eric Shipton. Shipton was born in 1907 in Ceylon, where his father was a tea planter. The author shares his experience from East Africa. In Kenya he arrives in 1928, where his first job was an apprenticeship on a large coffee farm at Nyeri. Further in the book he discusses his visit to Himalaya and Karakoram mountains. It was during the rule of Muhammad Nazim Khan that Shipton visited Hunza.

In 1940 Government of India offered the post of British consul-general in Kashgar to Shipton. Shipton says that Kashgar post was founded in 1888 by Younghusband. The first incumbent George MacCartney held the appointment for twenty-five years.  Personally for me, the chapter on Kashgar is very interesting as it gives insight to the political and social environment prevalent at that time. Shipton accepted another position of consul-general at Kunming in Yunna. Shipton also shares his experience of treks to Everest. In the concluding chapters the author discusses competition in the mountaineering field and wildlife. He believes that Karakoram, Kuen Lun, Alaska, Southern Andes are the field of fresh endeavor even for the traditional mountaineer.

Shipton says: “The springs of enchantment lie within ourselves: they arise from our sense of wonder, that most precious of gifts, the birthright of every child. Lose it and life becomes flat and colorless...”

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Book Review: The Birth of Tajikistan: National Identity and the Origins of the Republic by Paul Bergne

 

In October 1917 the Bolshevik Revolution broke out. During this period much of Central Asia was ruled by autonomous rulers such as the Emir of Bukhara and the Khan of Khiva. By the 1920s the khanates were converted into People’s republics. In 1924 Stalin the then people’s commissar for nationalities redrew the frontiers on ethno-linguistic lines. Among these was the Soviet Socialist Republic of Uzbekistan- the land of the Uzbeks.

Turkic Uzbeks were not the only ones living in Uzbekistan. There was a considerable number of Persian speaking population. Bergne writes that, in opposition to Uzbeks the Tajiks first gained an autonomous oblast (administrative region) within Uzbekistan, then an autonomous republic and in 1929 got the status of a full Soviet Union Republic. The new government had to survive the civil war which followed the revolution, build a new country in a remote terrain, create a Tajik identity (which did not exist before).

The author has tried to document as to how the idea of Tajik state came into form and how the birth of the Tajik nation took place.

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Book Review: Terrorism: Theirs and Ours by Eqbal Ahmad

 

This publication is part of the special open media pamphlet series edition. The first section includes an edited transcript of a public talk Ahmad delivered at the University of Colorado in 1998. The second section is an edited excerpt from Ahmad’s interviews with David Barsamian published in the book Eqbal Ahmad: Confronting Empire.

Ahmad points out the problem with the definition of terrorism. He says that he examined twenty official documents on terrorism, but none of them offered a definition. Moreover, he says that we approve the terrorism of those groups whom officials do approve. Eqbal Ahmad advises America to avoid double standards. He says that a superpower cannot promote terror in one place and expect to discourage terrorism in another place. Ahmad says that there is a fundamental principle of politics, which is that when power has no countervailing forces balancing and checking it, it is always abused. He discusses the issue to Palestine, Afghanistan, Kashmir and other conflicts in which international powers were involved. This brief publication is a glimpse of Ahmad’s near prophetic sense.

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