It's a place without electricity, without cars, without mobile phones
It is also a place without schools and hospitals
Food and women are most precious in the eyes of the locals
Children of the Pamir Plateau
For the food
They can crawl through the snow and ice for a week
Only because they had to exchange yaks for flour and rice
Here the nephew of the patriarch may not necessarily marry a wife
Nephew of the patriarch
For women they can even exchange their daughters for daughters-in-law
Because one woman is equivalent to 100 sheep
And a man may not be able to raise 100 sheep in his lifetime
This is the true story of what happened in the Pamir Plateau, which is 4300 meters above sea level
The people of the Pamir Plateau
There are 1,200 Kyrgyz people living there
They have multiplied deep in the highlands from generation to generation
Every day we live a life of sunrise and sunset
The Kyrgyz people are isolated from civilization
The only source of wealth is the stocking of livestock
Chief Roshan was worried about the future of the tribe
Chief - Roshan
Due to the harsh environment of the plateau
As a result, the population of the tribe is declining
Women are even more dangerous on the plateau
They almost never use any contraception
Even if you succeed in giving birth to a child
Only half of them can live in peace
Because there are no doctors in the Pamir Plateau
Even if the doctor is willing to come from out of town
It also took more than ten days to go up the mountain
There is no medical coverage
The Kyrgyz did not dare to get sick at all
Both of Roshan's young daughters have physical problems
But even as a chief
There is no way to get your child treated
Landforms of the Pamir Plateau
Nematura was the nephew of the chief
He's a 20-year-old guy
But the family was far from being able to marry 100 sheep
In order to reproduce the descendants to continue the tribe
It is also to let the child start a family as soon as possible
Nematura's dad, Vali
Decided to use her 18-year-old daughter to change a wife for her son
After the unanimous consent of the clan
The wedding is scheduled for next spring
At that time, the daughter Uruk Boo will marry first
Then came the wedding of her son Mathura
Daughter Uruk Bouhui
Son Mathura
But before that
They also have to go through a long and hard winter
Sub-zero temperatures make it difficult for the Kyrgyz to access food
Due to insufficient feed
Livestock are also at risk of starvation
Children of the Kyrgyz people
In order to give the entire tribe a ration for the winter
Chieftain's brother Oren White
Volunteered to lead his people to Salhad to do business
Their only cargo was cattle and horses
As long as you can exchange enough cloth and chai rice oil salt
That's how you can get through this winter
As an adult, Netumara was also invited to join the team
But no one can guarantee absolute safety along the way
After all, there are countless people who have never returned
As a male in the family
He had to get his father,Varley's approval
It's not just a matter of contributing to the tribe
It is also the rite of passage of the Netumara
Netumala is only involved in the itinerary
In order to be welcomed by the clan
Nematu asked dad for permission
On the way for more than a week
They don't just have to endure the bitter cold weather all the time
Icebergs and icy rivers must also be crossed to reach the destination
If they choose to go downhill
You run the risk of the horse falling to its death
If they walk on the ice
We also have to face the crisis of broken ice
If the snow falls too much
They could also be buried by an avalanche
The Kyrgyz people are on the run for rations every year
They have no choice but to survive
Harsh environment
It was hard to wait until spring
The production and life of this tribe have also returned to normal again
As last year's grazing area was nibbled by cattle and sheep, there was very little left
So the Netumara family moves almost every year
Although the move is not far away
But they also had to move all their belongings to the new settlements
The tribesmen are building yurts in a hurry
They will meet a new life in a new meadow
But even in the deserted highlands
They also have to be on the lookout for outsiders who steal livestock
Not all Kyrgyz people can endure such a hard life
Migration of ethnic groups
About thirty years ago
Some of the tribes left the tribe and fled to Turkey
The young chief, Roshan, also wants to fight for more possibilities for the future of the tribe
So he also decided to try his luck in Turkey
It's an unknown journey
Chief Roshan, who decided to go out and break in
meanwhile
Uruk Boo also ushered in her wedding
She had never seen her husband before the wedding
This family affair is undoubtedly absurd to people living in the civilized world
But Uruk accepted his fate without complaint
Uruk Boo accepts fate
Wedding day
The groom's family rode to the bride's yurt
The Wally family took out flour and sprinkled it on them
This is the welcome ceremony of the Kyrgyz people
Flour is precious to them
As a result, it has also become a symbol of prosperity
For this wedding
The Wally family also slaughtered four sheep to entertain the guests
Hundreds of people sat around different yurts eating meat and drinking wine
The bride waited alone for the wedding to begin
The person who picks up the kiss
The guests of the banquet ate meat and drank wine
When the guests have eaten and drunk
The men would organize horse races on the other side of the river
The winner will receive a certain prize
This is also the tribal tradition of celebrating happy events
After the meal, the guests played a horse race
When the groom and groomsmen appear
Wally presented his son-in-law with the new clothes he had been preparing for a long time
The bridegroom must be dressed in front of everyone on the spot
to stand outside the yurt and share water and bread with the bride
It is also a local tradition that the groom is not allowed to enter the yurt before marriage
Until they have completed the sharing ceremony
The two can actually meet for three days together
Wally presents his son-in-law with new clothes
Three days later
The bride is going to live in the groom's hometown
After Uruk Bu's marriage
Netumara is also about to usher in his wedding
He didn't know what life would be like after starting a family
He only knew that even if life was hard
They must also guard this sacred Pamir Plateau
This is the story that belongs to the Kyrgyz people
This is their most simple belief
It is also their most sincere wish
This article is recommended from the documentary "Prisoners of the Pamir Plateau"
For video commentary, please click to watch "The Kyrgyz people of the Pamir Plateau, how they found their way to self-help in difficult circumstances"