Secrets of komuz manufacturing are passed on from generation to generation, and the technology has remained almost unchanged for hundreds of years. Folk artisans are engaged in komuz manufacturing, but not every carpenter can create a komuz. The artisan must feel and understand the instrument and be able to play it. It is necessary to instill his inner vitality and soul into the komuz. Only then will it sound resonantly and fervently. In the photo, the master is surrounded by his apprentices.

Kymyz is a traditional Kyrgyz beverage made from whipped mare’s milk and served in a goat or mutton leather container (chanach). The container materials are pre-oiled with pine or other coniferous branches. The photo shows a kymyz in a goatskin container.

Burkut saluu (eagle hunting) is an ancient Kyrgyz tradition of group hunting (salbuurun). A specially trained horse is used during the hunt. For a rider to hold the eagle, special equipment (baldak) is mounted on the saddle to support the hunter’s hand. Usually they hunt young deer, foxes, and other small animals.

Ak chachuu is an ancient ritual of using milk, flour, kefir, butter or other white products for sprinkling or watering places in a holy place, adding to a sacred fire during a fire ritual. In other words, this ritual is performed as a sign of respect and reverence for earth, water, fire and air. Traditionally, this ritual is done to remove snakes from the house, garden by paving a path-direction with white.

Tush kiyiz is a wall hanging carpet and a fine example of Kyrgyz decorative and applied art. It is an embroidered panel made of satin, silk, or other fabric and framed with a wide strip of black velvet onto which one, two, or three triangles with fringe are usually sewn.

The most popular type of felt carpet in Kyrgyzstan is shyrdak. It is made with the help of mosaic technique, which is one of the most complex, and one of the most important qualities of a shyrdak is durability. The average service life of a shyrdak is about 100 years, sometimes even more.

Preserving and passing on craftsmanship from century to century, the yurt is not only housing, but also a creative workshop for folk art. The yurt has largely embodied all types of arts and crafts. Meeting all the requirements of everyday life, she carried both aesthetic and ritual principles.

Since ancient times, on the occasion of the birth of a baby, the Kyrgyz have had a number of actions filled with joy. Particular importance was attached to the naming of the name - "at koyuu". It was believed that the name of the child should be given either by the most respected person or the first one who saw the child, since the name has strong magical properties and can influence the fate of a person. When giving the name of the newborn, they carefully examined, paid attention to the characteristic features and then gave a name that should correspond to the child.

In the past, weddings were similar to a game. On horseback, the bridegroom and bride played a game of catch up wherein the bride is given the best horse and given a head start. The groom followed the bride to catch her and then kissed not only to prove his love for the bride but also to strengthen his authority in the marriage.

The Nooruz holiday symbolizes the celebration of the New Year according to the solar calendar, on the vernal equinox (March 21). It marks the arrival of something new in people's lives, their hope for a happy and prosperous year. This is one of the most important holidays in Kyrgyzstan, bringing together everyone, regardless of age and ethnicity.

Since ancient times, at-chabysh has the most widely held horse riding competition in Kyrgyz. Previously, this competition was held to celebrate holidays and for memorial services. The winner of the competition was awarded with precious gems and livestock. For the game, a fast and robust horse suitable for long-distance racing was chosen.

Products of artisans of metalworking, passed down from generation to generation, testify to the fact that the Kyrgyz have long been engaged in this kind of art. The Kyrgyz call the metalworkers “usta” or “zerger”. In the products of Kyrgyz craftsmen, a variety of metal processing techniques can be seen, such as forging, casting, applique, silver notching on iron, engraving, chasing, overlaying patterns, graining, openwork carving and blackening. The most common metal used by the Kyrgyz was and remains silver.

The traditional clothes of the Kyrgyz people have peculiar features typical for the clothes of nomads. The predominance of the warm type of clothing was associated with the natural and climatic conditions of residence and nomadic life, therefore, wool or felt, leather are often used in their details. Today, many types of traditional Kyrgyz clothing are very popular and some of them are used in the Kyrgyz national festive costume. Elements of national clothing are often present in modern clothing, used by both the young and older generations of Kyrgyz.

Ala-kiyiz (stained felt) exemplifies Kyrgyz people's dexterity with a felt carpet. Alaquaise is a felt carpet with a certain decorative patterns. It is used not only for decoration but also for everyday life.

Kok-boru is a fight for a goat carcass between two teams of riders. There is evidence that this game originally originated in antiquity, when herds of cattle grazing in the mountains were attacked by wolves. Without firearms, the shepherds chased the wolves until they fell, after which they began to beat them with sticks. Nowadays the game kok-boru is widespread and has a lot of followers. Games are held not only at the central hippodromes, but also in villages during important festivities.

This is a game with the use of bones (alchik). Participants draw a circle with a diameter of 3-5 meters. Bones (alchiks) are placed in the middle. Throwing “saka” determines the order of the game. One meter from the circle, a line of impact is drawn on both sides. After the first successful blow, if the alchik is knocked out of the line, the rest of the blows are made from the circle line. In case of an unsuccessful hit, the move goes to the other player. The winner is the one who knocked out the most alchiks.

Wood processing and sculpture are traditional Kyrgyz craft techniques. Modern travelers can see the craft form in the intricate lattice work in the traditional housing, yurt. The Kyrgyz yurt structures are usually made from birch, willow, and poplar. Willow is flexible and durable, making it suitable for making the lattice-shaped earle kerege to support the yurt.

Aytysh is a musical and poetic competition of two akyns in the art of improvisation or verbiage. Aytysh is performed to the accompaniment of komuz. In aytysh, the intonation and improvisational tradition of performing arts is especially manifested. The competition takes place in the form of a dialogue with sparkling versification, composed and improvised during the competition on various topical topics. The themes of aytysh are multifaceted, deep reflections are expressed in them, in which sparkling humor is interspersed with philosophical generalizations.

Zamirbek Bayaliev is a famous Kyrgyz manaschy,- a master narrator of the largest Kyrgyz epic, Manas. Manas is an epic trilogy made of three works, “Manas,” “Semetey,” and “Seytek,” which represent three interconnected parts of epos created more than millennium ago. Manas is the epic hero who united scattered tribes into one Kyrgyz nation. Manas’ deeds were continued by his son, Semetey, and his grandson, Seytek. The trilogy became the immortal spirit and basic identity of the Kyrgyz people. The Kyrgyz people did not preserve their written language; therefore, they attach great importance to the oral trilogy, which has preserved their historical memory. In 2013, the Manas trilogy was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The Epic was also included to the Guinness Book of Records as the most voluminous epic in the world

This film is about traditional Kyrgyz saddles. A saddle-making expert shows the technology behind saddle manufacturing and how to cover the saddle with leather and make ornaments. Specialists also talk about the history of the associated Kyrgyz saddle traditions.

The film is about a traditional Kyrgyz form of folklore—lamentation (koshok). Experts talk about the contents of Kyrgyz lamentation, the situations in which koshok is performed (lamenting the deceased or the bride, when she is sent to the groom’s family) and about how to perform traditional lamentation.

Kymyz, a traditional Kyrgyz beverage, is made of fermented mare’s milk. It was first prepared and used by the nomadic tribes of Central Asia and Mongolia. The earliest found traces of kymyz are from Neolithic period (some 5,500 years ago). Found in the valley of Suusamyr other relics were goatskin leather bags with traces of mare’s milk, indicating the presence of kymyz. Kymyz preparation was kept secret by nomads for centuries. The mare’s milk is stored in animal skins called chanach that were firstly cleaned and smoked over a fire with pine or other coniferous branches to give the drink its unique smell and taste.

List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, 2012 Ala-kiyiz is the most vivid example of Kyrgyz handicrafts. Translated as “motley felt,” ala-kiyiz represents a felt carpet with ornaments heaved onto its upper surface. It is mostly a carpet for everyday use rather than as element of decoration. Shyrdak is made with a mosaic technique and is one of the most complex techniques in felt carpet making. One of the most important qualities of shyrdak is its durability. The average lifecycle of a shyrdak is approximately a hundred years, sometimes even longer.

The film is dedicated to the Kyrgyz folk instrument komuz. An expert on making and playing komuz shares an komuz origin story. The film shows the interconnectedness between the models and melodies of komuz. Outstanding komuz makers and players as well as komuz beginners present some classical komuz melodies in the film.

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, 2009 This film is about sacred places of Kyrgyzstan. Mazars served as places of the worship for the nomads of Central Asia, places for praying to the gods. Ethnographers divide mazars into two types, man-made (these are often tombs of the saints) and natural (caves, springs, lakes, boulders). The obo ceremony is for worshiping sacred places such as water wells and springs. Water has been an object of worship since ancient times. The sacred Kyrgyz sites connected to water are called bulak mazary. Zikir chaluu represents an emotional prayer is recited with pragmatic purposes, such as asking for prosperity, recovery, peace, or fertility. The film also includes Sulaiman-Too Sacred Mountain in Osh, which was the first Kyrgyz site inscribed on the World Heritage list, in 2009.

This film is dedicated to kalpak—a traditional male felt hat. Knowledgeable people (a teacher, a journalist, an activist, and craftswomen) talk about the social functions and spiritual meanings behind kalpak. The film shows traditional and modern methods of making kalpak.

The centuries-old nomadic way of life of the Kyrgyz people contributed to the high skill level of women in crafts development. Tush-kiyiz, an embroidered wall carpet, is a fine example of Kyrgyz decorative and applied art. Tush-kiyiz was given a special place in the interior of the yurt. Embroidered panels of cloth—satin, silk, or another fabric—tush-kiyiz is framed with a broad band of black velvet, on which is usually sew one, two, or three fringed triangles. Tush-kiyiz have always been created as a personal family heirloom, symbolizing a newly married couple’s union with family.

This film is about rituals related to children. Included are kyrkyn chygaruu, a ritual celebrating the fortieth day after a child’s birth; beshike saluu, a ritual of placing baby in the cradle; tushoo kesuu, a ritual of cutting rope tied around a baby’s ankles; and bata, a blessing ritual. Knowledge holders talk about the significance of each ritual in a child’s life cycle. The film shows how these rituals are conducted now and how they have evolved over time.

Preserving and transmitting craftsmanship for centuries, a yurt is not a mere dwelling, but also a creative workshop for folk art. Yurt embodied all kinds of decorative and applied arts. Meeting all the demands of everyday life, it carries both aesthetic and ritual functions.