Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Traditional Culture
In Islam, a guest - Muslim or not - has a position of honour not very
well understood in the West. If someone visits you and you don't have
much to offer, as a Christian you'd be urged to share what you have; as
a Muslim you're urged to give it all away. Guests are to be treated with
absolute selflessness.
For a visitor to a Muslim country, even one as casual about Islam
as Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan, this is a constant source of pleasure,
temptation and sometimes embarrassment. The majority of Central
Asians, especially rural ones, have little to offer but their hospitality,
and a casual guest could drain a host's resources and never know it.
And yet to refuse such an invitation (or to offer to bring food or to help
with the cost) would almost certainly be an insult.
All you can do is enjoy it, honour their customs as best you can,
and take yourself courteously out of the picture before you become a
burden. If for some reason you do want to decline, couch your refusal
in gracious and diplomatic terms, allowing the would-be host to save
face. As an example, if you are offered bread, you should at least taste
a little piece before taking your leave.
If you are really lucky you might be invited to a
toi
(celebration)
such as a
kelin toi
(wedding celebration), a
beshik toi
(nine days after
the birth of a child), or a
sunnat toi
(circumcision party). Other cel-
ebrations are held to mark the birth, name giving and first haircut of
a child.
Out of Steppe:
The Lost Peoples
of Central Asia
follows British
author daniel
Metcalfe through
five of the 'stans
searching for
lost communities
of karakalpaks,
Bukharan Jews,
Germans and
sogdians.
