For a country and a people with a history of profound loss – from the Mongolian conquests of the Middle Ages to the “cultural amnesia” effect of Russian/Soviet occupation throughout the 19th and 20th centuries – Kazakhs have a incredibly rich heritage, which they are working hard to reclaim. Archeologists tell us the horse originated in what is now Kazakhstan, as did the apple tree, in the foothills of the Tien Shan mountains. (Almaty, the former capital city, is also spelled ‘Alma-ata’ – the Kazakh words for "apple" and "father".)
And no Kazakh tradition is more fascinating and unique than hunting with trained birds of prey, particularly golden eagles. We had the opportunity to meet an eagle-hunter and a young trainee prior to the Asian Winter Games torch relay – it was an amazing experience.
The tradition of eagle-hunting is believed to have originated 6000 years ago, and was later adopted by other countries. 13th century records indicate that both Genghis Khan and Kubla Khan owned thousands of hunting birds.
Berkutchy
An eagle-hunter is called a berkutchy. It is a life-long profession, and in Kazakhstan is often a hereditary one. The art of wild bird training was developed over centuries, the secrets imparted from father to son.
The relationship of the bird and its master is constant and all-consuming. In the training of a young eagle, the berkutchy must sacrifice sleep for long periods. For weeks, the growing bird is rendered sightless under a leather hood and fed only by its berkutchy, until the bird is fully dependent. This intimacy turns into lifelong trust with the eagle - twenty years or more.
There are currently only about 40 officially recognized eagle-hunters in Kazakhstan today, but those numbers are poised to increase. Interest in the sport has been growing since the republic became independent with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
A Kazakh proverb states: "There are three things a real man should have: a fast horse, a hound, and a golden eagle.” (We assume that a good woman figures in there somewhere too, but it’s still a great proverb.)
Golden Eagle
The Golden Eagle is common throughout Central Asia. These huge birds weigh up to 17 pounds with a wingspan of seven to eight feet. The talons on an eagle's toes are curved and razor-sharp for catching and holding their prey. The eagle's eyesight is especially remarkable. With vision about eight times sharper than a human’s, they can spot prey up to a mile away.
Early winter is considered to be the best season for hunting, as game acquire winter furs. The gear required includes tough leather gloves, leather hoods used to cover the eagles' eyes to keep them calm, and saddle-to-wrist supports needed to carry the birds for long periods of time on horseback.
The eagles are trained to hunt marmot, rabbit and fox, and the best eagles can even bring down wolves.
This is our last Kazakhstan “cultural post” as we are set to return to the United States next week. We have enjoyed sharing all that we have learned with you and appreciate your interest.
Stay tuned for our final post this Friday, when we will finally be able to introduce you to Sam!
Steve & Tonya
Family and Friends,
We have an official court date – Friday, February 11. Our legal bonding days have concluded (we will continue to visit Sam daily until we return) and yesterday, we met Bayan, our adoption coordinator, and Madina, our translator, at a notary’s office to sign the paperwork required to formally “pass papers” to the court and secure the hearing date.
Of course, even this joyous occasion came with its own bit of drama, as, upon arriving at the notary, Bayan discovered to her dismay that Steve didn’t have his immigration form inside his passport. Without it, she would not be able to submit the papers, nor would we be able to leave the country. No stress there!
Concluding that the form must have slipped out sometime during our trip, we made the 30-minute drive back to our hotel in Borovoe to search our room in hopes of finding it. Thankfully, it turned up quickly, so back we went to Schuchinsk, breathing sighs of relief and gratitude and then handing the immigration form off to an equally relieved Bayan!
Since arriving in late December, we’ve been working toward this ultimate goal of going to court. This is a major step in that direction.
Thank you, as always, for your prayers and support.
Steve and Tonya
Well, it was bound to happen. Each day, at noon, our hotel serves glasses of kymyz (koo miss) to the guests. Kymyz is a dairy beverage made from fermented mare's milk – carbonated and mildly alcoholic. The drink is important to the people of the Central Asian steppes, especially Kazakhs, who attest to its many health benefits.
In case you were wondering (we’ve come to ponder these things), kymyz is not always easy to come by, because milking a horse is no easy task! Here’s how it’s done: the milker kneels on one knee, with a pail propped on the other, steadied by a string tied to an arm. One arm is wrapped behind the mare's rear leg and the other in front. A foal starts the milk flow and is pulled away by another person, but left touching the mare's side during the entire process. Amazing!
Alas, we have always been at the baby house in Schuchinsk at noon, thus missing this daily Kazakh tradition. Until, that is, we met two sisters recently, Assel and Gulzhan, also staying at the hotel.
Assel speaks fluent English, and had been waiting for an opportunity to meet us. Finally, our paths crossed, and a wonderful time was had exchanging stories with these two special young women. Then the conversation turned to horse milk. “Have you been enjoying the kymyz - horse milk - each day?” Assel asked. “Umm, unfortunately not,” we replied, explaining our schedule. “Oh, you must try it! It is very good for you and is a very special drink in Kazakhstan.” “We’ll plan on doing that soon,” we promised.
At lunch the next day, two glasses of what we thought were Kefir (a buttermilk-meets-yogurt drink) were next to our plates – certainly different, but a taste we have become used to. Steve (of course), grabbed a glass and took a big swig, his eyes suddenly expanding to the size of silver dollars. “That’s NOT Kefir!” he managed to gasp after he caught his breath. Yes, you guessed it, our two dear new friends had asked the hotel staff to bring us tall glasses of kymyz as part of our lunch.
Since we doubt most of you will ever have the experience of drinking kymyz, we offer our formal review:
Kymyz’ appearance resembles traditional cow’s milk before it has been homogenized, but with a thinner consistency.
The kymyz first encounters the tongue with strong, tangy notes of 7-Up and grapefruit, and then transforms on the palette into a pungent essence of smoked gouda and parmesan cheeses with an alcohol-vapor finish. The effect lingers … and is then revisited.
A drink like no other!
As an added bonus, we have provided a video of Tonya taking her first drink of kymyz:
Kymyz is an acquired taste! However, it is definitely an experience worth having. Like so many things we have encountered here, it helps deepen our understanding of this wonderful culture and our children's heritage.
Steve and Tonya
