The Kazakh Yurt

Illustration: Kazakh man on a horse with golden eagle, 1910s.

The word yurt is said to have a number of definitions and meanings in the Kazakh language and culture, as it does across most of Central Asia. Living area, household, immediate family or even extended family as in kin are all importantly associated with the word yurt and it can be seen that this form of habitation was central to the culture and everyday life of nomadic Kazakhs for generations.

Perhaps a more correct or direct spelling or pronunciation of the word would be zhurt, gher or uy though there are others. However, the most popular, widespread and internationally recognised name is yurt and so I will use that throughout the article, even though it may not be strictly correct.

Illustration: Satellite map of Kazakhstan.

The Kazakh yurt or kiiz uy, which literally translates as felt house, is exactly what a yurt is. It encapsulates perfectly the traditional nomadic lifestyle that endured for countless generations across much of the central belt of both Europe and Asia. Although not all of the traditional Kazakh yurt is necessarily produced self-sufficiently, the wooden framework in particular often had to be traded with communities in wooded areas, the nomadic steppes being largely devoid of wood, the yurt still remains a product of a particular lifestyle.

Illustration: Kazakh yurts near Katun River, 1910s.

The felt itself originated from the flocks of sheep raised by nomadic communities. Like many mobile cultures, the textile crafts were particularly important. They were easily transportable and could often be used over a long period, particularly when using felting techniques. These crafts often lent themselves to both a vibrant and individual creative element. Applique techniques were an important aspect of felting with many colours being cut out into complex patterns and then added to contrasting backgrounds.

Illustration: Kazakh woman on a horse, 1910s.

The ideal of the yurt is both simple and practical. The physical necessity of nomadic existence does not allow for the excessive accumulation of objects. All have to serve a practical and useful purpose. If a home is dismantled, carried across a distance and then re-installed, the mind becomes quickly focused on what can realistically be carried and therefore what is strictly necessary for both survival and everyday practicality, with all excess paraphernalia being cast aside. A lesson perhaps in focused need that we would all find useful.

Illustration: Inside a Kazakh yurt, 1910s.

Although the yurt is limited geographically to its original home in Central Asia, many nomadic cultures had different versions of movable shelters that could be easily and regularly raised and dismantled many times and over long periods. Yurts themselves can remain within family groups for generations, with materials being replaced over time when worn out or broken, but with the yurt itself always remaining as a constant and as a focus for the continuation of the family group.

Yurts are indeed now popular in a number of countries across the planet, mainly being used as temporary summer accommodation for holidays. A UK based company even supplies yurts that are specifically tailored for the British climate.

Although this can only ever be a small introduction to the yurt and the skills base of nomadic felt making, the illustrations, links and YouTube video of the construction of a yurt by Kazakhs living in China, will hopefully go someway towards an appreciation of this perfectly tailored and ingenious mobile home and family community.

Further reading links:
Woodland Yurts
Inside Kazakhs Yurt, Tianchi (Heaven Lake), Tien Shan, Xinjiang Province, China Photographic Poster Print by Anthony Waltham, 24x32
Yurts: Living in the Round
The Complete Yurt Handbook
Simple Shelters: Tents, Tipis, Yurts, Domes and Other Ancient Homes (Wooden Books)
For Love of Yurts Building an Ultra Simple Yurt Home for Under $1,000
Circle Houses: Yurts, Tipis and Benders (House That Jack Built)
Tipis & Yurts: Authentic Designs for Circular Shelters
The Oral Art And Literature Of the Kazakhs Of Russian Central Asia
Kazakh Visual and Applied Arts
The Art of Kazakh CCCP / Art from Kazakhstan / Full color Large Book, the most Beautiful Paintings and Handicraft from the SOVIET times from Central Asia
Kazakh Visual and Applied Arts: Ancient Art, Folk Arts and Handicrafts, Painting, Graphic Art, Sculpture, Monumental Decorative Art
(Kazakh Folk Ornamental Art) Tom 2
Felt (Textiles That Changed the World)
Of Gold and Grass: Nomads of Kazakhstan, Treasures of the Kazakh Steppes
Lonely Planet Central Asia (Multi Country Travel Guide)
Kazakh Jewellery
KAZAKH DECORATIVE AND APPLIED ART.
Culture and Customs of the Central Asian Republics (Culture and Customs of Asia)
Rugs and Carpets from Central Asia: the Turkomans, the Uzbeks, the Karakalpaks, the Kirghiz, the Kazakhs, the Baluch

Tatar Leatherwork

Illustration: Examples Of Tatar leatherwork, 1925.

In 1925 the then Soviet Union held, amongst its various exhibitions at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris, a large display that highlighted the ethnic diversity of the Union as seen through various traditional craft skills. Amongst these displays was some Tatar leatherwork. The catalogue produced for the exhibition highlighted one page dedicated to the Tatar craft skill of leatherwork. The example shown here was merely named Tartar, but we can probably be certain enough to say that the items originated with the Volga Tatars of Kazan.

As well as there being Siberian, Crimean and Volga Tatars, there are also sizeable minorities of Tatars within Central Asia, the Baltic States, the Caucasus, Eastern Europe and across the Russian Federation. The total Tatar world population is presently thought to be about ten million. This broad and extensive Tatar homeland says much about the history of the Tatar people and particularly their links with their early nomadic lifestyle.

Illustration: Satellite map of the Volga River.

Leatherwork was often an important component of nomadic or semi-nomadic peoples and Volga Tatars were no different. They were extremely proficient at all levels of the craft from processing the hides to detailed cutting, dying and applique work. Whether the Tatar penchant for leatherwork really has anything to do with their nomadic past is uncertain. However, what is certain is that Volga Tatars were well known across Russia for their craft skills including ceramics, metalwork, jewellery and leatherwork. Tatars of the region were also great traders with the Volga being a great natural trade route. This helped to spread their leatherwork goods and reputation well beyond their own communities.

The decorative design on the leatherwork shown in this illustration has definite links with other Tatar groups in Europe and Asia and shows significant similarities to decorative pattern work that stretches back into Asia as far as Mongolia. Therefore, although the work shown may well have derived from Kazan, the larger Tartar community that stretches across two continents should also be considered as the greater origin of the decorative leatherwork that was shown by the Soviets at the 1925 Paris exhibition.

Illustration: Official flag of the Republic of Tatarstan.

Although Tatars are still scattered across a large geographical area and many find themselves ethnic minorities within various states and nations, the Republic of Tartarstan now within the boundaries of the Russian Federation, with its capital at Kazan, is a central focus of the Tatar culture, crafts and lifestyle. 

There are a number of online sites dealing with different aspects of Tatar culture and crafts, some of which are listed below in the Further reading links section, along with a list of relevant book titles.

Further reading links:
Official website of the Republic of Tatarstan
About Kazan
Go To Kazan
The Peremech Lounge blog
Volga Tatars: Ural Mountains, Tatars, Tatarstan, Kerä?en Tatars, Na?aybäk, Tatar Language
Kazan: Russian language, Tatar language, Types of inhabited localities in Russia, Tatarstan, Russia, Tatars, Confluence, Volga River, Kazanka, Kazan Kremlin, World Heritage Site
The Volga Tatars in Central Asia, 18th-20th centuries: From diaspora to hegemony?
Tatar Cuisine
Tatar manual: Descriptive grammar and texts with a Tatar-English glossary (Indiana University Publications. Uralic and Altaic series)

Uzbek Embroidery

Illustration: Large embroidered hanging from Bukhoro, Uzbekistan.

The embroidery skills and decorative pattern work of Uzbekistan are some of the most iconic of Central Asia. Although embroidery was used extensively in costume, apart from the ubiquitous cap or hat, many outside of Uzbek culture are more familiar with domestic embroidery.

Many of the best examples of Uzbek embroidery are in the form of internal hangings, bedspreads and covers. The design work is often bold both in decoration and colour choice. The origin of the various pattern designs has much to do with the geographical location of not only Uzbekistan, but of Central Asia as a whole.

Illustration: Satellite map of Uzbekistan.

The area that now comprises the 'Stans' as they are often called; previously part of Soviet Central Asia has always been a crossroads of both culture and trade. Many of the Uzbek examples of embroidery show heavy influences from as far a field as India, China, Iran and the nomadic peoples of Eurasia. The melting pot of ideas, cultures and religions, has given us the decorative printed and embroidery work that today we call Uzbek. However, perhaps even more importantly, the Central Asian region has a unique blend of countless generations of peoples and cultures that make the skills base of the region a library of historical decoration, ornament and skill that can be found nowhere else.

Illustration: Embroidery from Bukhoro, Uzbekistan, c1800.

Embroidery is often thought of as largely a skill that is urban based or at least that of settled people. Many of the numerous styles connected with Uzbekistan do tend to be associated with the major trading towns of the country. Bukhoro (Bukhara), Samarqand (Samarkand), Toshkent (Tashkent) and Farghona (Fergana) are all towns that have major embroidery styles associated with them and were indeed age old centres of schools of embroidery that were unique in many ways to their original geographical locations.

Illustration: Uzbek embroidery.

However, the influence of nomadic cultures that have always passed through and around the urban centres of Central Asia should not be marginalised. These people have always had an appreciation of and a penchant for the dynamic and energetic qualities of pattern and colour. It may well be true that the sophisticated cultures of India, China and Iran have added immeasurably to the embroidered pattern work of Uzbek culture as well as many other aspects of Uzbek craft work. However, without the dimension of the energetic liveliness of unbridled compositional pattern work and bold use of colour, Uzbek embroidery, while still exceptional, would not have been truly unforgettable.

Illustration: Embroidery of Lakai people, Uzbekistan, mid 19th century.

Sophistication has its merits, but sometimes the addition, even if only a small element of the whole can make all the difference to the dynamism of decorative pattern work. Although in many respects nomadic life has been relegated to the edges of our largely urban existence, the dynamics of nomadic culture threads its way often inextricably through many aspects of human decorative history.

There are a number of online sites selling a large variety of Uzbek printed and embroidered textiles, some of which are listed below. Also listed are a number of books dealing with Uzbek embroidery. All are within the Further reading links section below.

Further reading links:
Marla Mallet Collection
Thomas Cole Antique Rugs & Textiles
Uzbekistan Tourist info
Uztextile.com
Uzbek Craft
Uzbek Alive
Uzbek Embroidery in the Nomadic Tradition: The Jack and Aviva Robinson Collection at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Uzbek Silk Embroidery, 19th Century Giclee Poster Print, 18x24
A Journey Through Embroidery: Central Asian Embroideries - Ref. 12001-2
Embroidery: Traditional Designs, Techniques, and Patterns from All over the World
Embroidered Textiles: A World Guide to Traditional Patterns
Uzbek Embroidery in the Nomadic Tradition: The Jack and Aviva Robinson Collection at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Uzbekistan: Heir to the Silk Road

Pazyryk Horsemen and Elks

Illustration: Pazyryk saddlecloth depicting an elk.

It is now assumed by many archaeologists that the people, who were initially entitled as Pazyryk, are in fact either Scythian or at least a branch of that culture and people. The Scythians were a nomadic people who used the great plains of central Asia and southern Russia as their extensive homeland. Many different cultures have used the vast steppes of Europe and Asia for past millennia, but they have all shared a particularly common bond, seeing textiles as an important element of their lifestyles, even being seen as one of the main domestic ingredients of their mobile cultures.

Illustration: Pazyryk felt carpet.

Although the artistic and creative element could be somewhat limiting within a constantly mobile culture, this did not stop nomadic people like the Scythians, perfecting an indigenous decorative style that reflected their own interests and that of their culture. Much of the art and design work produced was animal based, with those commonly found on the plains being particularly represented. Horses were the lifeblood and mainstay of the culture and played a vast role in the mobility of various communities. They were represented with and without riders, in ceremonial stances and in the ever-popular hunting scenes. Hunted animals, such as the elk, were also very popular, though the hunted animal itself was never portrayed as an insignificant member of the composition or even as a victim, but as a vital part of the story. These animals had a dignity of their own and were portrayed as a vital and integral part of the Scythian culture, one that was needed as part of the finely tuned structure that allowed that culture to survive. Although the animals are recognisable, there is a relatively free and independent stylised interpretation and appearance. Long gracious curves, movement and detailed borders are particularly popular motifs, which give the animals a decidedly individual appearance rather than that of a standardised motif.

Much of the work was felt-based with a certain amount of embroidery embellishment. Felt was an invaluable textile base that was used throughout the region. It was both insulating and largely waterproof and could be used in a number of colour and texture ranges for anything from heavy domestic use such as tents, flooring and bedding, to various items of clothing, footwear and baby carriers. It was also used for various horse riding equipment such as saddle cloths and bags.

Illustration: Pazyryk carpet detail showing a horseman.

We are extremely lucky to have any felt and other textile pieces remaining from Pazyryk and other areas of the plains of central Asia. They give us an insight into the daily lives, interests and creative ability of a culture that naturally, within their mobile lifestyle, have left little behind them. These images allow us to see these nomadic people as the highly sophisticated cultures that they were, but perhaps more importantly it allows them to show us how comfortable and balanced they were with both their immediate landscape and their place within that landscape.

Further reading links: 
Frozen Tombs of Siberia: The Pazyryk Burials of Iron-Age Horsemen
Pazyryk Burials
The Pazyryk: A 2500 Years Old Knotted Rug Found in an Icegrave in the Altai. Its Use and Origin
In Search of the Immortals: Mummies, Death and the Afterlife
Ancient Horsemen Of Siberia (Time Travelers)
Kurgans: Pazyryk Burials, Kurgan, Noin-Ula Kurgans, Mamayev Kurgan, Merheleva Ridge, Kul-Oba, Thracian Tomb of Aleksandrovo Kurgan, Black Grave
Archaeology of Kazakhstan: Archaeological Sites in Kazakhstan, Kurgans, Pazyryk Burials, Noin-Ula Kurgans, Otrar, Turkestan, Mamayev Kurgan
Costume and Textiles Pazyryks Altai. / Kostyum i textil pazyryktsev Altaya.
The Pazyryk Felt Screen and the Barbarian Captivity of Ts'ai Wen Chi
Warrior Women: An Archaeologist's Search for History's Hidden Heroines
Felt (Textiles That Changed the World)
Spiritual Tattoo: A Cultural History of Tattooing, Piercing, Scarification, Branding, and Implants
The Golden Deer of Eurasia
The Mummies of Urumchi