Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Eagle Festival
TRADITIONAL CULTURE
(admission US$30; 1st weekend Oct)
There are 360 eagle hunters in Bayan-Ölgii and
every year around 70 of them converge at Sayat Tube (Hunter's Hill), 8km east of Ölgii,
for the annual Eagle Festival.
Although the tradition dates back about 2000 years (Marco Polo mentions it in his
Travels
), the inaugural festival was only held in 1999. The program differs from year to
year but the opening ceremony usually kicks off around 10am, followed by the judging
of how well the competitors are attired in traditional dress. This is followed by various
competitions, including one called
shakhyru
during which the eagle must catch a piece of
fox fur pulled behind a galloping horse. The festival culminates on Sunday, when a live
fox (and sometimes a wolf pup) is released as bait for the top three eagles to hunt (animal
lovers may find this distressing as the fox is killed).
The traditional horse games and camel races that are staggered over the two-day event
are probably more thrilling than the actual eagle-hunting competitions. The most exciting
are
kokbar
(a tug-of-war with an animal skin between two riders) and
tenge ilu
(a com-
petition in which riders must swoop down to pick up a scrap of material from the ground
at full gallop).
Be sure to hang onto your admission ticket as it will get you into the Saturday-night
traditional music concert
held in the Kazakh National Theatre.
The easiest way to get to the festival grounds is on the bus operated by Kazakh Tour
(T5000 per person return, tickets available from its office) or by taxi (T10,000 one way).
Smaller eagle festivals are also held in Sagsai (
Click here
)
and Tolbo (
Click here
)
.
Navrus
SPRING FEAST
( 22 Mar)
The spring festival of Navrus is celebrated with family visits and feasting.
You may see traditional games and contests at this time, including one in which men at-
tempt to lift an ox off the ground.
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
BAYTOLDA: EAGLE HUNTER
Eagle hunter Baytolda told us a little about the ancient practice.
Finding an Eagle
Eagles are like people; some are calm, some are lazy and some, like my eagle Sari
Köz (Yellow Eye), become cantankerous in their old age.
