Posts Tagged Jaramazan

Jaramazan and the Festival of Ait

Posted by KyrgyCarl in Letters on September 24, 2009

So here in the Sunny capital of Naryn Oblast, we’ve just wrapped up the Muslim holiday of Ramadan. As many of you surely know, this is about as much of a ‘holiday’ as is the Christian Lent. However, just like Lent, the 40 days of fasting during Ramadan are capped with a big Christmasy celebration at the end.

During Ramadan, folks don’t traditionally put anything in their mouths from sunrise to sunset. Kyrgyzstan, however, is a notoriously lax Muslim country, and I have seen only a small percentage of people following these strictures.

What I have luckily been able to witness more of is the Kyrgyz tradition of Jaramazan. A couple of times per week this last month, neighborhood boys have come around to our house and others singing the folk song of the same name, on the subject of down from the mountains, on horseback in the first verse, and on an ox in the second. After hearing the song, residents are suppose to give out some of their dinner, or candy, or money to the boys, much like our Halloween. However, true to their relaxed nature on these traditions, I seldom heard the song sung to completion, nor did we always answer the bell.

Now the finale celebration of Ait, or Eid, here in Kyrgyzstan is defined not by gift giving, but by boatloads of guesting.

Traditionally, one goes to an odd number of houses. The reigning champion volunteer went to thirteen in one day. I clocked in at a paltry 3, but I still slept well on a full belly of Plov, Kymyz and Dim-da-ma (my personal favorite Kyrgyz dish, effectively a thick, down home stew without the broth.)

Most of my time this year was spent on a narrow, neighboring street where a previous volunteer lived, and made such an impression that the folks have taken me in with loving arms. So much so, in fact, that I have just about completed the delicate balancing act of moving from one house to another, namely, my current house, to one of these neighbors.

See, the family that I am living with is absolutely delightful, but the traveler in me is getting restless again. “Its not that I don’t like you, quite the opposite in fact,” I told my current family. “The fact is, if I am to learn about all of Kyrgyzstan, the troubles and successes, the good jobs and the bad, if I am to truly get to know this community, I can’t just live in one place, with just one family.”

“Okay, we understand. But, will you come and visit often?” They asked.

“You had better believe it.” I said.

That means, at the beginning of October, the auspicious calendrical lunacular of my birth, yours truly, Kyrgy Carl, will be moving from my little room among this big Kyrgyz family to a littler room among an even bigger Kyrgyz family. That means no more carcasses when I come home. But rest assured, the more people I have to visit, the better my letters will become.

Originally Written September 22nd, 2009

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Who Wants Ribs?

Posted by KyrgyCarl in Letters on August 22, 2009

Who Wants Ribs?

The significance of eating the eye was first explained to me with this question, “Who would want the ribs? There are lots of ribs. There are only two eyes.” But I’ll get to that later.

So, here in Ivanovka, we have been spending the last week or so preparing for “Culture Day.” This is a Peace Corps tradition where trainees put on a show of different elements of Kyrgyz culture for the viewing pleasure of each other and our homestay families.

I couldn’t be luckier than to come to Kyrgyzstan. Remember how I said that I site placement day the atmosphere was like a fair, missing only jugglers and tents? Well, today was the complete Renaissance show! We constructed a yurt on premises; musical instruments abounded, and best of all, folks were all dressed up in traditional Kyrgyz dress. Women wore long embroidered robes, men robes and tall white hats called Kolpacks. Our families decked us all out to the nines, and some villages even rented more extravagant fairy-tail costumes from Bishkek.

Students of each training village spent the weeks before this event rehearsing performances. Some presented cultural minorities of Kyrgyzstan, one cluster performing a Turkish wedding. Others did ethnically Kyrgyz events. As the singing sensation “The Алты Балa” (Alti Bala,) the five guys in my village and I hammed up Жарамазан (Jaramazan,) a carol about men on horseback coming down from the mountains to bring blessings on the houses they visit.

Not only did the event have these cultural performances, there was also food, in this case plouf, a fried rice kind of dish, prepared in two giant cauldrons over an open fire. We ate in picnic like settings, with traditional felt blankets spread out on the grass. Afterwards we had a talent show and the whole gala wrapped up with games: tug-of-war, red-rover, and a local game where you throw the anklebone of a sheep at a line of other anklebones.

Now, on the way home, the families from my village decided the party simply hadn’t gone on long enough. So we pulled over to a green spot on the side of the road, spread out our blankets, brewed some more tea, and opened up our leftovers. Our addition to the feast had been Besh Barmak, or 5 Thumbs, a dish of lamb and noodles traditionally eaten with your hands.

While much of the meat had already been consumed, my wily family had saved the best for last. Along with the remaining noodles, we tore the meat from the sheep’s head and went to town. I can hardly describe my happiness, when, sitting in my Kolpack and robe, on the side of the highway, watching a rainstorm coming in quickly from the mountains, my host father passed me the eye!

Not ten minutes later the rain came, like the 2 AM lights at a bar. We were all having a great time, and plenty happy someone else took the initiative to call it quits for us, otherwise we might still be out there.

I’ll spend the next week or so folks visiting my permanent site in Naryn City. These past months have been the calm before the storm, and I’m about to get a taste for what the real party will be like. Wish me luck!

Love,

Carl

Originally Written May 16th, 2009

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