Agroexpedition "Agriculture of Kazakhstan". Day six. Dzhailau - high mountain pastures. Nomad games. Weighing sheep and overnight in a yurt.

On this day, we have an early rise and off-road vehicles loaded for mountain travel are waiting for us. Our path lies on the high alpine plateaus of the foothills of the Dzungarian Alatau.

Soon we notice how the engines of our cars growl strainedly and we begin to gradually gain altitude along the road, which serpentine crashed into the green slopes of the hills. In addition to the pionerprodukt.by film crew, our column also includes Baurzhan Ospanov himself with heads of areas of various levels, as well as an honorary doctor of agricultural sciences. Sciences and our old friend - Eragy Isaevich Gishlarkaev.

I would like to note that the northern slopes of the Dzhunga Alatau have a pronounced stepped structure and, by the nature of the vegetation, are more reminiscent of the Altai than the Tien Shan. Therefore, they are an ideal place for summer grazing of animals. have a very good forage base, evenly distributed on huge plateaus.
Along the way, we look at the conditions for grazing two flocks of rams and carry out a control weighing of rams. We listen to the opinion of Eragy Isaevich on how to increase the average weight gain in lambs.

After that, we descend to a large plateau surrounded by alpine hills, on the slopes of which numerous white yurts of shepherds nestled. This place has long been considered a pasture and in the summer there are always a lot of people with whole families, they come to graze cattle.
In the middle of this valley one can see a large stone mound of an ancient burial ground of the early Turkic period. In historical circles, this place is called the Uygentas Burial Ground and includes more than 150 burial mounds located on the first terrace of the river. Tentek, and occupies a limited area of ​​​​only 500x1000 m. The monument is a unique burial complex of ancient and medieval nomads of Semirechye. Also, this place is part of the Zhongar-Alatau State National Natural Park.

On this day, having learned that guests would arrive, many people gathered to chat, talk, hold competitions, and show their skills. Almost immediately we are shown how wild horses are tamed. In Kazakhstan, this is called Asau Uiretu, which literally translates as "taming the wild". In Kazakh culture, it is believed that every boy, at least once in his life, must tame a horse.
Usually, they prepare for this in advance, because a wild horse can throw off a rider. First, experienced drivers catch the horse with a lasso, when the noose around the neck is tightened, the horse calms down. At this time, two other riders must take the horse by the ear and tail, these places are pain points, and while they are holding, the horse becomes immobilized. At this time, the horse is put on a saddle and a bridle. But sometimes hot young riders neglect it. This happened in our case as well. While the future rider, with a white bandage on his head, was fiddling with the bridle, another came up and, holding the mane, jumped bareback onto the back of the unbroken stallion. Well, glory goes only to the strong and brave. The lasso weakened, and the horse, along with the rider, began to prancing around the field until it calmed down, and the rider received a well-deserved ovation.

After that, we are shown several competitions of nomads. First, everyone at full gallop must pick up a handkerchief lying on the ground. From the outside it seems not difficult, but in fact it is a rather difficult technical action that requires, in addition to strength and coordination, an excellent ability to control a horse. This action, like everything else, has its own historical meaning. It was with this technique that Kazakh warriors raised weapons that had fallen from the ground, so the technique was vital for the steppe warrior and was taught from early childhood.

Then we are shown the traditional wrestling on horseback. The one who wants to fight, takes off his clothes, remaining with a naked torso, goes into the circle and calls the opponent. Warriors join hands and, holding the bridle with one hand, must pull the opponent off the saddle. Here, in addition to strength, ammunition plays an important role, namely a comfortable combat saddle, for which you can hook on with your feet and a trained war horse that helps the rider. With these techniques, the ancient warriors could pull the enemy commander off his horse and take him prisoner, thereby introducing discord in the ranks of the enemy.

We are also shown elements of a very popular game in Kazakhstan, and in general in Central Asia - the game of kokpar (heavenly wolves). It has many names, but in Kazakhstan it is called that way. It even hosts the World Championship, awards sports titles, and its participants are very respected people in the country.
The main point of the game is to carry the carcass of a goat (without head and hooves) to your yurt. In the sports version, two teams play, always in bright sportswear and protection. It can also be played individually, when anyone who wishes to bring the carcass of a goat to the yurt. In this variant, the number of participants can reach up to several hundred riders and it can last until the very night. If one of the riders was able to drag the carcass to the yurt, then this is considered an honor for the owner of the yurt.

Carcass weight can range from 50 to 70 kilograms. Therefore, in addition to riding skills, riders still need not hefty strength. With the help of these techniques, in the old days, the evacuation of wounded soldiers from the battlefield was practiced. Those. on the move, without dismounting from the horse, drag a wounded comrade onto the saddle and take it away to a place specially designated for the wounded.

Many Kazakhs want to show their skills and stand out in front of the guests. And while dinner is being prepared, we are witnessing another competition - squats with a live ram on the shoulders. The legs are tied to the ram and thrown onto the back of the participant, who must sit down as many times as possible. In addition to the ram's own weight, the difficulty lies in the fact that the ram is alive and moving, which constantly shifts the center of gravity and unbalances the athlete. Therefore, in addition to the strength of the legs and back, a sense of balance and coordination of movements is also necessary. And sometimes patience, which we witnessed when the ram, rocked by squats, began to lick the head of the athlete for a long time and persistently.

We were surprised by the results - the winner is a 10th grade student! squatted with a ram 100 times! This is really a lot and without special training, even a weightlifter is not easy to do. Moreover, as the locals said, the winner had just eaten, and so his record is 180 times. The answer turns out to be simple, the athlete is a professional wrestler and working with weights is a common thing for him. I would like to note that martial arts are very common in Kazakhstan and are encouraged both at the highest level and in the family. Indeed, in the traditions of nomads, strength, courage and the ability to protect one's family and one's homeland are very important qualities that are relevant to this day.
The judge at all competitions is Zhumagul, a kokpar coach from the village of Zhelande, for the Kazakhs this is a very honorable profession that is highly respected. Despite his venerable age, and he is already 71 years old, he is still in the saddle, and not just in the saddle, but also participates in competitions. All city people should be so healthy!

During lunch, children and adults decide to show their ability to sing and play folk instruments, read poems of their own composition. By the way, in Kazakh families, learning music on traditional instruments is especially welcome, both for boys and girls. This was evidenced by the musical number on the dombra of the akim of the Kolbay rural district. Composing and performing a recitative about what is happening “here and now ”, About guests and hosts - caused a standing ovation after each verse.

After lunch, we move to the eastern part of the valley, watch two more flocks of sheep grazing, and also weigh young rams. Sheep and rams, in one flock - a mixture of the local merino ⁹breed with sufolk, in the second flock - with texel. During the control weighing of young rams, it turns out that the April lambing, on average, gains more weight, as it uses more favorable conditions for this.

I would like to note that the general ratio of different breeds of sheep in Baurzhan Ospanov's farm is as follows: 50 percent of all sheep are edilbay, the remaining 50 percent are divided among other meat and merino breeds. However, after the control weighing, this ratio may be adjusted and the sheep of the Edilbaev breed will be increased to 70% of the total livestock. The total number of sheep on which the experiment is being carried out to increase the yield of meat from lambs is 40,000 heads!

But the scientific work does not end there, there will be other experiments on breeding and keeping sheep. Baurzhan notes that in agriculture, business should only go hand in hand with the advanced achievements of science, both biological and economic. Only this will allow achieving new results in agriculture.

We also want to add on our own behalf that with this approach, all participants in this process benefit: scientists receive a scientific base and decent pay for their work, and an entrepreneur receives scientific methods that increase the profitability of the enterprise, and hence profit.

After such a busy day and a hearty dinner, we stay overnight in a yurt. Fresh mountain air and crystal clear water relieve fatigue and stress of the past days. And the very comfort in the yurt contributes to sound healthy sleep, which is noted by many participants of the AgroExpedition.