Kyrgyz geography and culture

Geography
Kyrgyzstan is a landlocked nation in Central Asia, west of China. The smallest of the newly independent Central Asian states, it covers about 77,500 square miles (198,500 sq. km). Kyrgyzstan is bordered on the southeast by China, on the north and west by Kazakhstan, and on the south and west by Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The terrain of Kyrgyzstan is dominated by the Tian Shan and Pamir mountain systems, which together occupy about 65% of the national territory.

Culture
The nation's largest ethnic group are the Kyrgyz, a Turkic people. The Kyrgyz comprise 69.5% of the population and have historically been semi-nomadic herders, living in yurts and tending sheep, horses and yaks. This nomadic tradition continues to function seasonally as herding families return to high mountain pastures or jailoos in the summer. The retention of this nomadic heritage and the freedoms that it assumes continue to have an impact on the political atmosphere in the country. The name Kyrgyz, both for the people and for the nation itself, is said to mean "forty girls", a reference to the Manas of folklore unifying forty tribes against the Mongols.

Early European accounts of the Kyrgyz continually refer to the local habit of extempore singing for all occasions. When two Kyrgyz meet, they exchange formalized greeting-songs to place each other in terms of clan or family affiliation. While working, or to pass the time while walking, the Kyrgyz improvise song texts to stereotyped melodic motifs.


The woman in the picture here is collecting yak dung to fuel her fire.