The Kyrgyz and the Land

There is a legend that tells how, after the creation, God was apportioning plots of land to the various peoples of the world.  The Kyrgyz, whilst waiting in line with all the others, decided to go and look after his sheep.  (There are other, less flattering versions).  When he returned, he discovered that God had finished his task – and he asked God: “What plot of land shall I have to call my own?”.  God replied that all the land had been apportioned – there was none left.  The Kyrgyz said that he did not need a lot of land, it did not have to have lots of riches, etc. - it just had to be sufficient for him to pasture his flocks.  God, apparently took pity on him and said that there was a little plot of land left.  He had been intending to keep it for himself as a garden for his own rest and relaxation, but the Kyrgyz could use it for pasturing his flocks.

This story underlines the traditional Kyrgyz view that they have the right to use the land – to move with their flocks over it.  Family (tribal) groups would use one particular section of land – but there were not specific boundaries.  As nomads, they moved when and where necessary within a traditional area used by their forefathers.

Sometimes, however, it was necessary to move out of their “allotted” space.  Indeed, they seem to have migrated here from the Yenesi region in Siberia – when faced with hostile, marauding, warriors.  This was not all that unusual ... When Chang Chi’en was sent by the Emperor Wu to look for allies to join the Chinese to oppose the Xiondu – he discovered that they too had been forced from their traditional homelands in the face of a stronger enemy.  Also, in the 18^th Century, the father of Atake Baatir had to cross from the Chui region to the South in the face of invaders from the North.

In fact the Kyrgyz had once had an empire - but that disappeared in 1293, and for a long time the Kyrgyz lived without their own state.  There were attempts to reunite the various tribe and create a separate state - for example: by Mohamed Kyrgyz at the beginning of the 16th century, Kubat Bai and Azhi Bai in the 18th century and by Orman Khan and Alymbek Datka in the 19th Century.

The Kyrgyz had once had an empire - but that disappeared in 1293, and for a long time the Kyrgyz lived without their own state.  There were attempts to reunite the various tribe and create a separate state - for example: by Mohamed Kyrgyz at the beginning of the 16th century, Kubat Bai and Azhi Bai in the 18th century and by Orman Khan and Alymbek Datka in the 19th Century.

The Kyrgyz nomads had no real concept of land ownership - everything was held in communal trust, by the clan, by the tribe.  Land did not pass as a legacy from father to son - though each family had their own place, where it would settle after each nomadic trip. 

During the time of the expansion of the Russian empire, settlers were encouraged to move to the new lands - thus displacing the Kyrgyz of much of their traditional lands.   The arrival of the Russians also brought the concept of the private ownership of land to the Kyrgyz who were encouraged to move to a settled existence.  As a result, some Kyrgyz started to set up permanent winter dwellings ... which could be owned, passed on as an inheritance, or sold.  This also led to the practice of storing fodder for winter feeding – instead of leaving the animals to fend for themselves as best that they could.  The tendency was further strengthened by the introduction of collectivization in the early Soviet period - and the requirement that nomads settle into villages.  In some ways – the collective farms may well have been a reversal to the old ideas – that the land belonged to the whole community. 

The Kyrgyz were required to abandon their nomadic lifestyle and settle into villages although they continued to move into the jailoos in the summer season to pasture their flocks.  The livestock, however, were the property of the collective farm and the shepherds were merely employees rather than masters of their own animals.  Because the villages and farms were primarily based upon trbal communities, however, the traditional ties with the land were maintained. 

With Independence there was much discussion of the “land issue”.  The land was to be privatized.  Individual communities, and families, were able to claim the land which was traditionally used by their forefathers - although rather than granted the ownership outright they were, instead, allowed to rent it.

One view which was voiced in the newly independent Kyrgyz Republic was that land should be allocated only to the Kyrgyz nation.  This apparently led to a lot of anguish and the law was rewritten.  As it is, there are restrictions on the land that foreigners are allowed to own – and usually there is time limit of 50 years to their title.