Last Day at Summer Camp

A family portrait of the nomadic people we stayed with in the Baga Turgen Valley.

May 26, 2010

Last night we were invited by the family elders to join them for what was our third dinner.  This was true bishbarmak; flat noodles and fatty mutton.  We had already been stuffed from our meat tea and baursak.  While we were drinking tea, Nurbol turned to me and asked, “May I put some meat in your tea?” to which I responded “Sure, why not”.   The meat tea was certainly the most interesting tea I’ve ever had.  I think the idea was for the hot tea to soften the salty dried meat.  Following our big cup of meat, we were then served a big bowl of meat soup.  So were weren’t that excited for the third meal of more meat.

When we entered the elder’s ger, we first had some water poured over our hands to clean then and then sat by the table for a prayer, led by Bogy since he is the oldest guest.  They then brought a huge plate that was literally the size of the table filled with boiled noodles and meat.  The eldest guest is then responsible for making the first cuts of meat.  Of course the fat is the most desired piece so everyone made sure we got plenty of it since we are guests.  I made sure to take big chunks of noodle with my fat to dilute the taste and texture.  The meal was accompanied by endless cups of milk tea which is nearly a meal in itself.  We had to keep eating until there was no food left.

The men then came back to our ger with us for a round of Chinggis Khan vodka.  Each person makes a small speech before taking a drink.  I tried to get out of drinking but that wasn’t possible.  I made a speech thanking our guests for their hospitality and that it is something I will tell my children and grandchildren about.  I tipped the cup to my mouth pretending to drink and they seemed happy enough about that.  Fortunately there is no electricity in gers so they couldn’t see that I didn’t drink anything.

In the morning we took the family portraits and ended up buying a felt sarmak rug.  Nurbol explained that things like this are normally given as wedding gifts from family members for their household.  Kazakhs have such a rich tradition of handicrafts.  They have finely embroidered wall hangings they hang behind the beds and the rugs can also double as sleeping mats.  The family was happy to have the cash because now have a greater need for money to purchase fuel and household items.

On our way back to Olgii we bought a fish from some fishermen and had a nice picnic by a stream.  Rema and Bogy began cleaning the fish and Nurbol set off collecting dung to build a cooking fire.  Dried up cow pies are as plentiful as rocks are so it really is a perfect solution for the areas where there are few trees.  Considering the herds sometimes can have over a thousand animals, there is plenty of poo to collect.  It was a magical setting, the birds were diving into the water to eat the fish entrails and an ancient looking man in traditional dress rode up on horseback.  It felt like we were transported back in time.  I can’t wait for our next stop with the eagle hunter!