Moderator to Participants: Thank you very much for your thoughtful presentations. Now, I’d like to open the discussion session with the panelists. I would like to ask you three important questions. How can we re-enforce the role of intangible cultural heritage in the framework of the Silk Roads? What kind of lessons have learned thus far? What what is the most important movement of intangible cultural heritage in the frame work of the Silk Roads? So gentlemen you have the floor.

According to newa, a Buddhist belief system, death is one of the ten major events in one’s lifetime. While death is the end of a life, it is also taken as a beginning of another life, a cycle that continues until the state of Nirvana is achieved. Hence, death rituals, apart from funerals and lamentations, include rituals carried out to prepare the deceased for the journey after death.

As in other societies, the family may be the smallest social unit but holds the highest priority in Kyrgyz culture, so the making of a family is very important in Kyrgyzstan. This is why in Kyrgyz society wedding ceremony is an important event. The Kyrgyz traditional wedding requires an understanding of soiko saluu, kyz uzatuu, kalym, sep beruu, and nikahh kyiuu among others.\n\nThe traditional Kyrgyz engagement ceremonies include the following. The kuda tushuu tradition is the compulsory visit of the groom’s family to the bride’s house where the bride receives a pair of golden earrings (soiko saluu) from the groom’s family for the official engagement. In addition, the groom’s family needs to pay kalym (bride price); it can be in the form of either money or livestock. Moreover, there is kiyit kiygizuu (a gift exchange) of mostly clothes, between the bride’s and groom’s family. These are all the of the Kyrgyz people.\n\nAfter, there is the kyz uzatuu tradition, a custom to say goodbye to the bride by holding a feast and preparing sep (dowry). Accordingly, the bride is taken to groom’s house through a special rite and respect. However, the practice of ala kachuu (bride kidnaping without the bride’s consent) is not part of Kyrgyz traditions. Traditionally, bride kidnapping meant an arranged marriage when a loving couple agreed to marry but the bride’s parents were against the marriage. In today’s Kyrgyz traditions, however, the understanding of bride kidnapping is very much distorted. Therefore, the practice is illegal, which leads to criminal liabilities. A legal and socially acceptable Kyrgyz traditional wedding incorporates rituals in which the bride and groom marry with respect and honor.\n\nOther wedding customs and rituals are performed in the groom’s house, where the official celebration takes place, such as welcoming the bride and displaying her dowry. The groom’s family present a white scarf to the bride as a symbol of blessing. The bride usually spends several days behind koshogo (curtain) while the visitors come and present different scarfs to see the new bride. Lastly, in the nike kiyuu tradition, a Muslim ceremony, the mullah reads a prayer and asks the couple of their consent to marry.\n\nNowadays, a mix of traditional and western styles of wedding is common in Kyrgyz society, incorporating decorated cars, visits in famous sites, and a feast in restaurants.\n\nPhoto : Kyrgyz Wedding Rites. Inspection by the Groom. Circa 1860s. by Aleksandr L. Kun, 1840-1888