Mankind is accustomed to assessing the level of development of the civilization of the peoples inhabiting our planet by the grandeur of their palaces and buildings. However, peoples leading a nomadic lifestyle are no less skillful architects with a highly developed culture.
Their dwellings: yurts, yarangas, wigwams, tents, igloos, chumy - even a modern person spoiled by the comforts of life fascinate with their beauty, simplicity, functionality and harmony. Maybe that's why the art of building nomads' housing - yurts - has recently begun to revive.
What a yurt is made of
The building materials for her were mainly leather, felt and wood.
The walls of the ancient dwellings of nomads were wooden poles assembled in the form of lattice sections. From the poles connected to the smoke hole, the roof was also made. Outside, the “walls” and “roof” of the yurt were covered with a layer of felt.
In the center of each yurt was a stone hearth. stones for himwandered along with people, and when assembling a yurt in a new place, first of all, a hearth was laid out. For the winter, the dwelling was insulated, wrapped with an additional layer of felt and a moisture-resistant cloth.
Even knowing what a yurt is made of, one never ceases to be amazed at the ingenuity and skill of people who managed to build a dwelling from improvised materials without a single nail or screw.
Mongols' yurts
Mongolian yurts are mobile, light, collapsible, they are the ideal dwelling for nomads. At the heart of the yurt is a wooden frame, on top of which a felt felt mat is applied in one or several layers. To protect against snow or rain, the felt mat is additionally wrapped in fabric.
The doors of the Mongolian yurt always face south - this feature of the installation allowed the nomadic Mongols to navigate the time of day.
Inside the yurt is divided into several parts:
- female - to the right of the door;
- male - from the door on the left;
- guest room - on the north side, opposite the entrance, an altar was always located in the guest part.
All parts of the yurt were connected by a hearth, which served for heating and cooking.
The Mongols themselves call their housing not a yurt, but the word "ger".
Unwritten rules when visiting a Mongolian yurt
From the time of Genghis Khan to the present time, the Mongols adhere to a number of traditions and generally accepted rules when visiting yurts. Europeans should also know them:
- Entering the yurt, you can not step on, and even more sosit on the threshold. A person who deliberately stepped on the threshold, thus informed the owner of his evil intentions, and touching the lintels of the door with his right hand brought peace and grace into the house.
- Weapons or luggage cannot be brought into the yurt. They are left at the entrance outside - this serves as a confirmation of the pure intentions of the guest.
- When entering the northern, guest half of the yurt, it is customary to wait for an invitation from the owner to sit down. It is considered impolite to sit down without permission.
- It is not customary to whistle in a yurt. It is believed that by doing so, evil spirits are called into the dwelling. Also, the fire from the hearth should not leave the limits of the yurt, because happiness leaves the owner with it.
Kazakh yurts
Kazakh yurts are structurally not much different from Mongolian ones. Compared to the Mongolian ones, they are lower, which is due to strong winds in this area. And their dome is crowned with a shanyrak (a wooden circle crowning the top of the yurt) made of black willow or birch. The Mongols preferred to make shanyrak from pine.
Shanyrak for the Kazakhs is not only a cross that holds the dome and is designed to pass the sun's rays into the yurt and remove smoke from the hearth. This is a relic, passed down from generation to generation, a symbol of procreation and the father's home. Many rituals and beliefs in the life of the Kazakh people are associated with it. The importance of the shanyrak is evidenced by the fact that its image is used in the heraldry of Kazakhstan.
The difference between the dwellings of both peoples is also what the yurt is made of: the Kazakhs covered it with a felt cover consisting of 4rectangular parts, in accordance with the parts of the frame. The upper part of the yurt, except for the shanyrak, was covered with 2 pieces of trapezoidal felt. A folding rectangular piece of felt was attached to the shanyrak, which, with the help of a pole and a rope sewn to one of the edges, could be folded back or closed in case of rain. The doors of the Kazakh yurt were also sewn together from a felt mat attached to a mat.
More prosperous Kazakhs also had yurts. The construction of the dwellings of the rich was decorated with patterned mats and fastened with ornamented ribbons woven from wool. The yurt of we althy people was wrapped in white felt and was popularly called the "white house".
Yurt interior
Yurt is a symbol of the sun and space, the unity of man and the environment. Almost all items of its interior are located along the walls, in a circle. It is clear that in such a limited volume, each item must have its own purpose and occupy a strictly defined place in order to clutter up an already cramped space as little as possible. Nevertheless, the decoration of the yurt is striking precisely because it evokes a feeling of harmony and spaciousness, comfort and coziness.
In the interior, in addition to wooden shelves, there are also pieces of wooden furniture inlaid with animal bones: chests, whatnots, chests for food.
But carpet paths give a special flavor to the dwelling of nomads. They bring zest to the interior and amaze with a variety of colors and ornamental patterns. From the carpets one could immediately judge the we alth of the owner.
Modern yurt
What a yurt is made ofpresent century? Of course, from modern materials. The felt was replaced with holofiber, the wooden frame was made of glued laminated timber, the fabric of the outer canopy was impregnated with silicone, and a gas-generating furnace serves as a hearth.
The yurt has become much more comfortable, although it is somewhat a pity that you will no longer meet that one, soaked in haze and antiquity, real nomad housing.
