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Iradi Equestrian Culture & Breeds

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Iradi equestrian culture comprises the horse-breeding, riding, sporting and craft traditions of Irad, including its two native breeds, the mountain Chongtor and the riding Akyel. Horses are central to Iradi national identity. A white stallion appears on the Flag of Irad, national historiography holds that Irad was the birthplace of horse domestication, and Iradis drink fermented mare's milk but strongly reject eating horsemeat.

In the Autonomous Tribal Regions horses remain a working means of transport and herding, and the mounted El-Choro Militias patrol on Chongtors. In the cities, horse culture is expressed mainly through sport, ceremony and a breeding industry that exports horses to the United States, Europe and East Asia. Traditional games such as Ulak Tartysh draw large crowds across the divide between the ISEZ and the ATR.

History

Prehistory and the domestication claim

Iradi national historiography regards Irad as the birthplace of the domesticated horse and claims the Botai culture (c. 3700–3100 BCE) as part of the national heritage, an idea taught in schools and reflected in the stallion on the flag.[9] Botai sites lie in northern Kazakhstan, far to the north of Irad, and are known for settlements whose animal bones are almost entirely horse. Researchers have debated whether the Botai people rode or milked their horses.[1][3] Iradi archaeologists have described horse-rich Eneolithic sites in the lower Talas and Chu basins as a southern extension of the culture (see Botai Culture in Irad), an attribution not generally accepted outside Irad. Ancient-DNA studies published in 2018 and 2021 found that Botai horses were ancestral to Przewalski's horses rather than to modern domestic horses. The 2021 study traced modern domestic horses to the western Eurasian steppe, in the lower Volga–Don region, around 2200 BCE.[4][5] Later Bronze Age pastoralists of the Andronovo horizon spread horse-drawn chariots and seasonal herding across the region.[2]

Dayuan and the Silk Road

The Fergana Valley, on whose northern and eastern rim part of Irad lies, was the seat of the kingdom known to the Chinese as Dayuan. It was famous for the "heavenly horses" said to sweat blood. Saka groups had moved south into the region under pressure from the Yuezhi around the 140s and 130s BCE. The Han envoy Zhang Qian visited Dayuan around 128 BCE and reported on its horses. Emperor Wu of Han later sent armies under Li Guangli to obtain them in the War of the Heavenly Horses (104–101 BCE). According to the Shiji, the Han army returned with a few dozen of the finest horses and about 3,000 others.[6] Iradi breeders trace the Akyel to these horses (see Dayuan Heavenly Horse Heritage), a link based on breed tradition and on resemblances of type rather than on genetic proof.

Christian and medieval traditions

Horses feature prominently in the religious traditions of the Iradi Christians. In the tradition of the Syro-Iradi Catholic Church, Janyl, Mother of Irad was led to the site of the first Iradi church by Jesus appearing as the White Rider (The Legend of the White Rider). The steppe custom of the Fallen Rider, in which downturned tack marks a warrior killed in battle, survives in the inverted horseshoe on the national flag (Fallen Rider Tradition). In the 18th century, Christian Iradi cavalry auxiliaries fought for the Khanate of Kokand against the Dzungars, service that led to the charter for the Church of St. Janyl in 1727. During the 1916 Semirechye Revolt, thousands of herders fled on horseback over the Tian Shan passes into China, an episode remembered as the Urkun.

Soviet and modern periods

Soviet collectivization in the 1930s brought private herds into collective and state farms, and the mechanization of farming after the Second World War reduced the demand for working horses. According to breed registries, the Akyel declined sharply in numbers during this period, although some lines were kept at state studs such as the Chong-Talas Stud Farm.[8] According to popular accounts, the 1956 Talas Riots began when a Soviet checkpoint guard shot a widow's horse. In February 1992, mounted pastoralists rode into Talas in the March of the Thousand Saddles during the Winter Uprising of 1992.

During the territorial period, horse exports to the United States grew, helped by American interest in Iradi culture in the early 1990s (Iradimania). The National Equestrian Sports Directorate was founded in 1993 to regulate traditional sports, and the Akyel Equine Logistics & Breeding Syndicate was founded in 1995 to restore and certify Akyel bloodlines. After 2007, Governor Erlan Toktarov made himself a patron of the breed, founding the Akyel Breeding Sanctuary and becoming patron of the government-run State Stud Farm of Talas. His golden-dun stallion, Zharkyn, appears regularly on billboards and in state media.

Breeds

Chongtor

The Chongtor (Iradi: Chongtor zhylkysy, literally 'grand mountain steed') is a mountain breed from the Talas Alatau and Chatkal ranges. It stands 13.2 to 14.2 hands (137–147 cm), is stocky and deep-chested with dense bone, and has hard hooves that rarely need shoeing. Its thick winter coat lets it survive temperatures below −30 °C. Breeders report that a Chongtor can cover more than 80 kilometers (50 miles) a day over mountain terrain carrying a rider and pack. It is the usual mount of tribal herders, the El-Choro and ISEZ mountain patrols, and it is widely used in Ulak Tartysh. The Chongtor Studbook Registry maintains the breed's pedigrees.

Akyel

The Akyel (Iradi: Ak yel, "white wind") is a light, hot-blooded riding horse bred mainly in the Talas and Chu valleys. It stands about 15.0 to 15.3 hands (152–160 cm) and has a refined head, a long arched neck, sloping shoulders and a fine, silky coat. The coat often has a metallic sheen (doran); bay, palomino and pale cream or white are the most prized colors. Breed associations describe it as related to the Akhal-Teke, though published genetic work on the breed is limited.[7] The Akyel is used for ceremonial cavalry, parades and endurance racing and is the breed most in demand abroad.

Horse products and the horsemeat taboo

Fermented mare's milk (kymyz) is drunk widely, both as a seasonal summer drink in the ATR and as a bottled product in the cities (see Kymyz (Iradi Beverage)). Eating horsemeat, by contrast, is a strong taboo, carrying a stigma roughly comparable to that attached to eating dog meat in Western countries (Iradi Horsemeat Taboo). Feast dishes that neighboring peoples make with horsemeat, such as beshbarmak and the sausage kazy, are made in Irad with beef or mutton. Offering horsemeat to an Iradi guest is considered a serious insult. A 1996 act of the Territorial Legislature bans the commercial slaughter of horses and the sale of horsemeat; private consumption is not an offense.

Many Iradis regard eating horsemeat as a "Muslim" practice. Ethnographers describe this view as a popular prejudice: it ignores the fact that horsemeat dishes belong to the shared culinary heritage of the Kazakhs and Kyrgyz, whatever their religion, and that many Muslims elsewhere do not eat horsemeat. They trace the taboo instead to the use of diet as a marker of Christian identity in the centuries when Iradi communities lived alongside Muslim khanates. Church tradition reinforces it with stories in which the White Rider forbids the killing of horses.[11]

Equestrian sports

Traditional equestrian sports are regulated by the National Equestrian Sports Directorate. The largest tournaments are held at the Irad State Hippodrome (also called the Central Hippodrome) in Talas, which seats about 25,000, and during the August Kurultai on the Aksay Plateau.[12]

  • Ulak Tartysh (also known regionally as kokpar or buzkashi): the main team sport. Two mounted teams compete for a headless goat or calf carcass weighing up to 35 kilograms (77 lb) and try to throw it into the opposing team's goal ring (tai-kazan).
  • Oodarysh: mounted wrestling, in which two riders try to pull each other from the saddle within a ring. Success depends as much on the horse's ability to brace and push as on the rider's strength.
  • Kyz Kuu ("chase the girl"): a courtship race. A young man chases a young woman down a straight course and wins a kiss if he catches her. On the way back she chases him and tries to strike him with her whip (kamcha).
  • Tyin Emmei ("coin picking"): riders lean from the saddle at a gallop to snatch coins wrapped in cloth from the ground.
  • At Chabysh: long-distance races of 20 to 50 kilometers (12–31 mi) across open steppe.

Hunting with golden eagles from horseback (Burkut Saluu) is practiced by hereditary falconers. Master trainers (saypker) and falconers are judged by the ideal of körktüülük, the display of skill with dignity and apparent ease. (See Sport in Irad.)

Saddlery and horse gear

Iradi saddlery (eerchilik) is a recognized folk craft. Wooden saddle trees (eyer) are carved from birch or wild walnut, covered with rawhide and decorated with chased silver, carnelian and stamped leather. Common motifs are stylized ram's horns (koshkar muyuz) and stars. A silver-mounted saddle is a family heirloom and a traditional part of a bride's dowry. Craftsmen in the ATR also make felt saddlecloths, braided bridles and whips, which are sold in Talas and to tourists.

Breeding industry

Horse breeding is a small but prestigious export industry. Since the 1990s the United States has been the largest importer of Iradi horses, followed by the United Kingdom and Ireland, and demand has risen in Hong Kong, mainland China and the Gulf states. The Akyel Equine Logistics & Breeding Syndicate manages pedigree certification and international transport, and the Chongtor Studbook Registry and the Directorate set breeding and performance standards. Most commercial stud farms are near Talas, while Chongtors are bred mainly by family herders in the ATR and sold across the Qara-Chik Demarcation Line.[8][10]

References

  1. ^ Levine, Marsha (1999). 'Botai and the Origins of Horse Domestication.' Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 18(1), pp. 29–78.
  2. ^ Anthony, David W. (2007). The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World. Princeton University Press.
  3. ^ Outram, Alan K., et al. (2009). 'The Earliest Horse Harnessing and Milking.' Science, 323(5919), pp. 1332–1335.
  4. ^ Gaunitz, Charleen, et al. (2018). 'Ancient Genomes Revisit the Ancestry of Domestic and Przewalski's Horses.' Science, 360(6384), pp. 111–114.
  5. ^ Librado, Pablo, et al. (2021). 'The Origins and Spread of Domestic Horses from the Western Eurasian Steppes.' Nature, 598(7882), pp. 634–640.
  6. ^ Sima Qian. Records of the Grand Historian: Han Dynasty II. Translated by Burton Watson, revised edition (1993). Columbia University Press, ch. 123.
  7. ^ Talas Veterinary Research Center (2022). Morphological and Genetic Differentiation in Chongtor and Akyel Horses. Talas State University Press, pp. 89–98.
  8. ^ Chongtor Studbook Registry and Akyel Equine Logistics & Breeding Syndicate (2021). Central Asian Equine Genealogies and Preservation Standards. Talas, pp. 112–129.
  9. ^ Central Asian Folklore Society (2021). Epic Cycles and Horseback Chants of the Northern Valleys. Talas State University Press, pp. 135–158.
  10. ^ State Archives of Irad (Talas), Fond 218: Registers of Equine Studbooks and Traditional Guilds (1922–2020).
  11. ^ Department of Ethnography, Talas State University (2019). Food, Faith and Boundaries: The Horsemeat Taboo in Iradi Society. Talas State University Press.
  12. ^ National Equestrian Sports Directorate (2023). Rules of Ulak Tartysh and the Traditional Equestrian Games. Talas.
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