We attended the Salburun festival to see world chempenions to show off their skills of hunting, horse riding, berkut falconry, archery, and racing of Kyrgyz Taigan hounds. The word ‘Salburun’ refers to the group hunting tradition of salburyn, where a party of berkutchi was historically accompanied by storytellers, musicians, and beaters. The falconers travelled on horseback, equipped with bow and arrow, an eagle or a falcon on their gloved hand, and hunting dogs running alongside.
Kyrgyzstan is home to the famous eagle hunters, called berkutchi, who fly golden eagles – berkut. And every September, Cholpon-Ata hosts Salburun, a festival of traditional nomadic hunting games organised by the Salburun Federation, Kyrgyzstan’s largest falconry organization.
The gathering is an important celebration for the whole community, including displays of traditional Kyrgyz art and craft, music and dance, food, costume contests, etc. I was impressed by the yurt building in 13 minutes, ulak tartysh, ‘dead goat polo’, and best of all, aerobic archery by a gymnast who can bow with her feet. It was an exciting day. Thanks to Vicki who provided the information of the event and we were happy to see her again there.
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