Kyrgyz Woman Singer Remakes Poem Traditionally Sung By Men

Kyrgyz performer Gulzada Ryskulova

Kyrgyz artist Gulzada Ryskulova has rocked the local music scene with a powerful take on an epic poem that serves as a foundation of the Central Asian country's culture.

Reciters of the Manas epic, or manaschi, are guardians of an oral folklore whose origins remain obscure. They are also almost always men.

Sent underground during the Soviet Union, the tradition of charismatic oral poetry, themed on the life of a mythical warrior king, received a powerful shot in the arm during the rule of Kyrgyzstan's first president Askar Akayev.

Now, with the release of a song based on the epic and sung by a woman, the tale of Manas has a new twist, now carrying an urgent message about the need to preserve the country's incredible nature and its nomadic heritage.

Ryskulova wrote on Facebook:

"Friends - The whole might of the Kyrgyz Nomadic Spirit, the intimate, magical fluids of our mountainous country. Authentic feelings can be experienced through the voice, the music and the song of "Aikol Manas".

The epic of Manas stands as the most crucial cultural legacy of Kyrgyzstan. In the span of two years we have worked tirelessly to achieve a deep [and] quality immersion into the marvellous centuries of old Kyrgyz culture".

Below is the clip starring Gulzada and produced by Sumsarbek Mamyraliyev [3:44 mins] :

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While Gulzada's release is a celebration of Kyrgyz culture, it is also a challenge to the patriarchy that presently surrounds the epic. Partly because there are many versions of the Manas legend (both written and oral) there are also different understandings as to what the warrior king should mean to the Kyrgyz people.

While Akayev used Manas as a tool to unite Kyrgyzstan's diverse ethnic groups, in more recent times the epic has been hijacked by nationalists that stress the position of ethnic Kyrgyz as the “children of Manas”.

Feminists and liberals were moreover aggrieved when a statue symbolising freedom in the form of a female angel in flight was replaced by one of Manas shortly after Kyrgyzstan endured its second and most bloody revolution in 2010.

Almost two years ago, Global Voices wrote about a Rising Voices grantee, Kyrgyzstan's school-age Devochki-Aktivisti (girl activists). One of the stories published on the blog, managed and edited by the Devochki-Aktivisti and consisting of letters sent to the Devochki-Aktivisti, concerned a young girl Manaschi.

In the story the girl wrote:

I have been a girl Manaschi (storyteller of the Epic of Manas) since I was 3 years old. When I was a child, everyone thought it was great – they considered all children equal.

But I grew up, and found that being an older girl is much harder. Beginning when I was 9 years old, everybody started telling me the stereotypes I should follow. And so my favorite pursuit – storytelling – stopped for a while. I had already resigned myself to the fact that I was a girl.

Below, the same girl can be seen performing a Manaschi-style recital to promote gender equality [1.45 mins]:

This article by Akhal-Tech collective originally appeared on Global Voices on 9 December 2016. It is reposted here with permission.

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All-Woman Brewery Brings Craft Beer to Kyrgyzstan

Aida Musulmankulova and Arzu Kurbanova, owners of Save the Ales

Tucked away in an unlikely spot, wedged between a domino club popular with Turks and a Soviet-built apartment block, is a treat for beer-lovers in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan’s capital.

Save the Ales, a microbrewery set up by a Kyrgyz-Kazakh pair, Aida Musulmankulova and Arzu Kurbanova, may be small and spartan. But what it is doing to Bishkek’s drinking culture is little short of revolutionary.

While bland imported lagers and watery local brews have long been the norm, Save the Ales is turning out its own homemade craft brews, borrowing from a trend that has established deep roots in the United States and elsewhere.

“Wherever we have traveled, we have always tried good beer,” said Musulmankulova.

Around three years ago, she and her partner, Kurbanova, decided to take the plunge.

“We decided to brew it [ourselves]. We learned everything from the Internet. It wasn’t as difficult as we thought.”

Craft beers tend to be more experimental than classic European-style lagers and pilsners, and are brewed in kegs rather than casks, as is the case with traditional British real ale. And it is not cheap either. Save the Ales charges an eye-watering $2.80 per glass, a sum way out of reach for most people outside the bar’s target market of upwardly mobile Bishkek urban types and expats.

Saves the Ales, 193a Tynystanova Street, Bishkek

Musulmankulova and Kurbanova say they are spending the profits on developing their fledgling business and reinvesting.

The bar has been a stop-and-start affair. Save the Ales first opened in May, quickly gaining a strong following, but it had to shut for almost a month in late September due to an electrical fault.

The dedicated aficionados of the pair’s high-strength India Pale Ale, stout and fruit-flavored beers finally got their bar back in October.

A noticeable emphasis is placed on providing the real deal at Save the Ales. Bishkek has no shortage of novelty theme pubs that are low on character and often focus their efforts to lure in customers on big TV screens and loud music.

In established markets, craft beer is a big business. According to the US Brewers Association, the sector’s retail dollar value in the United States was estimated at $22.3 billion for 2015, representing just over one-fifth of the country’s beer market.

Beer is increasingly popular in Kyrgyzstan, but drinkers are prone to quote the old Russian saying “beer without vodka is money [thrown] to the wind.” The market share for craft beers is statistically insignificant, but the mission of Save the Ales, where the beer is brewed on-site, for now is to slowly cultivate more refined tastes and habits. Unlike almost all Bishkek beer bars, Save the Ales served no food until recently, although it did finally relent by providing lite bites.

Kurbanova and Musulmankulova say that over half their sales are to expats, although the share of young, urban middle-class barflies is growing. And the contingent of baikes — a term denoting “elder brother” in Kyrgyz, but also synonymous with portly middle-aged men — is creeping up too.

It is a cool space inside Save the Ales

“I remember one time this guy walked into the pub,” said Sumsarbek Mamyraliev, who owns a production studio and is a friend of the owners. “He said, ‘Get me a beer. Where is the shashlik? Where is the chechel [smoked cheese]? Where are the owners? How do your husbands let you brew beer? This will never work!”

When the new client tried the beer, however, “his attitude changed completely,” Mamyraliev recalled.

“He was this patriarch with a gold chain. He said: ‘You girls have put all the men in Kyrgyzstan to shame. If you ever have any problems with anyone, just call me.’”

Musulmankulova and Kurbanova for their part have nothing against hiring a male staffer, especially since brewing can sometimes be physically taxing.

“But friends told us we should keep on as we started out,” Kurbanova told EurasiaNet.org. “So when we advertised on Facebook for a helper, we asked for a ‘pomoshnitsa’ (a female assistant), which caused a stir.”

Mamyraliev argues the success of the tiny brewery pub points to an emerging start-up culture in Kyrgyzstan, which has Central Asia’s most vibrant civil society. According to the World Bank’s Doing Business index, Kyrgyzstan remains the easiest country in the region in which to register a new business.

Hand-crafted all-grain ales at Save the Ales, Bishkek

Alan Laing, a British customer who works in international development, agrees the pub is “a hidden gem”.

“It’s unlike any other bar in Bishkek,” he said, referencing various theme pubs in the city. “[Save the Ales] could be a bar in Brooklyn or Shoreditch (in London) before they became uber-trendy. It is simple, unfussy and all about the beer.”

Kurbanova attributes their beer’s popularity to a maximalist approach to brewing. They spare no expense in bringing in ingredients from Germany and the United States, in contrast to the cost-cutting attitude typical to other breweries.

That has led to invitations to serve beer at arts festivals and music nights, which the pair have accepted, as well as offers from admiring competitors to purchase their beer or even buy out the business completely. So far, they have resisted all such overtures.

“They come to us and say, we want to see your beer in our restaurant,” Kurbanova told EurasiaNet.org. “We tell them: join the queue.”

 Saves the Ales is at Tynystanova 193а, Bishkek. It is open from 17:00 - 24:00. Telephone: 555 241 811

This article was originally published by EurasiaNet.org on 9 December 2016. and is reposted here with permission.

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Skateistan - Empowering Afghan Youth Through Skateboarding

Poster for Skateistan's new campaign featuring Afghan skateboarders

Skateistan, the non-profit organization, which uses skateboarding and education for youth empowerment, unveils a new fundraising campaign - "Give Her Five”.

The campaign highlights the positive impact Skateistan is having on the lives of girls in Afghanistan.

It launches with an inspiring animation called "Her Story" about an Afghan girl empowered by skateboarding and education.

From December 5th, Skateistan is asking the public to Give Her Five by donating $5 in a bid to raise $100,000 by December 31st. Skateistan believes girls have an equal right to be safe, play sport, go to school, have confidence and become leaders: 50% of their students are girls.

At their Skate Schools in Afghanistan, Cambodia, and South Africa, girls are skateboarding and learning together in much-needed safe spaces. Since 2009, skateboarding has proven to be a powerful tool for girls to access education, with Afghanistan being home to the highest percentage of female skateboarders in the world.

Girls riding their boards at Skateistan, Afghanistan

"This is a very important campaign because girls deserve the same chances in life that boys get. The Skateistan community cares a lot about girls empowerment and you can support this!" says Skateistan Executive Director, Australian Oliver Percovich.

About one-third of countries in developing regions still need to achieve gender parity in primary education, but Skateistan is actively working to change that and provide opportunities for girls.

Throughout “Give Her Five” Skateistan will share real-life stories of empowerment. From girls who have found their confidence through sport, to students who have gained scholarships to private school and women who have traveled overseas to skateboard with the world’s best.

Skateistan has proven that when given the right opportunities, girls can change their lives, their communities and ultimately the world.

Consider making this your Christmas/New Year gift - donate $5 today.

Watch the new and very cool 2-minute animation narrated by an Afghan girl, below. (If the video clip does not appear on your device, please go directly to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFSKO_z2ibo ).

Update: Listen to Oliver Perovich's interview on ABC radio about Skateistan.  It's 18 minutes and was recorded 5 April 2020.

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