The intangible cultural heritage passed down by word of mouth is the precipitation of vast history, the imprint carved by time, and the precious wealth left by mankind, which, together with the tangible cultural heritage, constitutes a splendid and colorful human world. Today, let's talk about the national intangible cultural heritage project - the Kyrgyz eagle training custom.
In 2011, the "Kyrgyz Eagle Taming Custom" declared by Aheqi County of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region was approved by the State Council to be included in the third batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.
A thousand years of oral tradition
The brave and romantic custom of falconry
Falcons originated in the East and have a history of thousands of years. The custom of falconry is handed down orally, without any written record, because it is mysterious and fragile, and it is easy to lose.
The Kyrgyz people have retained thousands of years of eagle taming. Whenever the winter hunts, the Kyrgyz falconry will be rewarded by riding a quadrant horse with a ferocious falcon in hand and a ferocious falcon running between the mountains and grasslands. This is another kind of "iron horse glacier into the dream" of the bravery and romance.
The historical origins of the Kyrgyz eagle training
The Kyrgyz custom of taming eagles has a long history, and the epic "Manas" and the narrative poem "Budayik" vividly express the Kyrgyz people's reverence for eagles. But for the Kyrgyz, reverence does not mean respectful distancing, but standing shoulder to shoulder, pride and bravery.
The two epic poems, Kao gash and Budayik, reproduce the life, customs, beliefs and ways of thinking of the Kirgiz ancestors during the hunting era. Both Khao Kho Gash and Budayik are mythological epics and were born very early. The discovery of distant ancient eagle carvings from archaeological relics shows that the worship and mythology of the eagle god of the northern peoples have a historical and cultural basis. According to archaeological documents, it is estimated that the time when the Kyrgyz people began to tame eagles should be about 6,000 years ago.
Between the first and third centuries BC, animal husbandry in the ancient Kyrgyz region was well developed, and in the petroglyphs found in the upper Yenisei River, scenes of horseback riding eagles, horse archery, horse chases, and several hunters riding horses to surround their prey can be seen everywhere.
A philosophical falconry process
The process of falconry includes four links: falcon hunting, boiling eagles, taming eagles, and releasing eagles.
#捕鹰
Falconry begins with hitting eagles (eagle hunting). Eagles are ferocious birds that nest high in trees or on steep rock walls, and it is difficult to catch them. When a falcon man goes to the eagle's nest to pick up a young eagle, once found by the goshawk, he will be attacked with the most ferocious attack, slightly injuring the skin and flesh, and the heavy eyes are caught, or even killed.
#熬鹰
In order to eliminate the wild nature of eagles after eagle hunting, herders generally use the method of "boiling eagles", and generally eagles are very proud and will not eat meat given by people. The falconer placed it on a wooden stick hanging horizontally in the air and swung it back and forth for dozens of days, preventing it from sleeping until it fell to the ground exhausted. After that, the eagle is also hungry, generally the eagle is hungry for 10 to 12 days, only give it some salt water or tea, but do not feed food, the fat of the eagle is almost boiled, and the hands can be agile. After this polishing, most of the eagle's wild nature can be removed in order to be tamed to its owner.
#训鹰
Before the outdoor falconry, the feathers of the eagle's tail are sewn up so that it cannot fly high; and the live rabbit with a rope is used as prey, so that the eagle can swoop down from the air to eat. After some time, the eagle's tail line is removed, a long rope is tied to the eagle's leg, and the prey is caught like a kite under the control of the falconer. After a period of training, the eagle becomes a falcon.
#放鹰
But the proud goshawk ultimately belongs to the blue sky, and after a lot of love and killing, they finally have to let it go. After serving their masters for one to five years, the falcon will return to the sky and be freed—another pact between the Kyrgyz and the eagle.
This ferocious, noble creature may not have imagined a story with some human being on the ground; or perhaps it has long known that the intimate feelings with the Kyrgyz people that roll in its blood for thousands of years will eventually make them meet again.
The custom of falconry that is gradually disappearing
Falconry, as a living custom of the Kyrgyz people, has played an important role in predation in the past nomadic life, and now the government vigorously promotes the settlement of herders, which will certainly have an impact on the nomadic life of the Kyrgyz people. In addition, eagles are national second-level protected animals, and they are not allowed to be caught at will, and modern hunting methods have also undergone great changes, which conflict with the traditional national custom of falconry, resulting in the imminent loss of this traditional living custom.
△ Such eagle training scenes are rare
There was a time when the state banned the taming of eagles for the protection of wildlife. Two years later, the ban was lifted after learning that falconry was a unique folklore of the Kyrgyz people for thousands of years and needed to be protected and passed on.
Fortunately, the Kyrgyz and the eagles kept a pact: they never tied this precious bird of prey to the nest, and always quietly took the most beloved young eagle home to domesticate. With the power of all things, but maintaining awe, this may be the secret of the art of falconry that can be passed on for thousands of years!