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Travel notes. The first winter day in Tuva.

February 25, 2018by airamoNo Comments

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This article continues our series of “Travel Notes” by the folk musician and journalist Maria Kirilova. Maria kindly suggested writing travel notes for tyva.me during a trip to Tuva this year for the celebration of Shagaa – the Tuvan New Year. Maria will share her insights about the sternly beautiful winter of Tuva, how the Tuvinians survive in the -40 degree frosts, how the Shagaa is celebrated, and what is sung in the winter folk songs.

Author: Maria Kirilova

It was still dark, when we got off a train Novosibirsk-Abakan in the freezing morning. A driver met us to take to a maral farm, and then finally to Kyzyl. It became my tradition to enter Kyzyl at dawn and leave at sunset. So it happened again. As soon as the sun lit up our path, my eyes saw what I wanted to see: snowy steppes and fluffy mountains. In the summer, the steppes looked comfortable and soft, like trampolines , and I could not imagine how they would look during winter. Their image was now stern! The northern landscape of cold whites, blues and greys was by no means unfriendly, but commanded respect for sure.

The weather was sunny when we arrived in Turan . Animals were kept in large pens of land, females separated from males. An iron grid separated them from the visitors. However, as the driver said, he is not often asked to come here, and today we were, it seems, the only guests. Most of the marals (local red deer) had small horns. When they grow up, they are cut and used as components for various medicines. Female marals showed more curiosity about the passing car, but people with cameras still preferred to move away. Some males engaged in power displays despite the modest size of the horns.

I visited the Centre of Asia in Kyzyl earlier, but I inspected it more thoroughly during my second visit. I won’t describe the monument again, instead share the memory of the huge and impressive sheets of ice across the frozen Yenesei river. Its huge width brought the message home that Kyzyl is “on the Yenisei”, and not just next to it. Vivaldi, reproduced on the embankment, brought a funny dissonance with it. To be accurate, when we just came up, it sounded “Summer” from the “Seasons” cycle. Selection of European classical music in the Centre of Asia sounded unforgettable.

After walking around the city a little more, we met an interesting person who finally explained to me why the Tuvans often say that they had once been blond and blue-eyed. As it turned out, these were still not exactly Tuvans, but other peoples who came to Tuva to avoid flooding in their lands. I hoped to learn more about it the day tomorrow at the National Museum.

Soon we had already settled in a rented apartment, and next day we had a meeting with a shaman and a visit to the museum. Further to my list of culinary impressions, I added a hodgepodge and lamb in the cafe “Choduraa”. Food is pleasantly cheap out here. I was looking forward to the next day.

Always here,

Maria.

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Khoomei, Shagaa, Travel, Culture, Music, People, Places, Tours to Tuva, Transportation, Where to stay in Tuva

Travel notes. Preps. Part 2. About shoors and kind people

January 26, 2018by airamoNo Comments

With this article we continue our series of “Travel Notes” by the folk musician and journalist Maria Kirilova. Maria kindly suggested writing travel notes for tyva.me during a trip to Tuva this year for the celebration of Shagaa, which is the festival of Tuvan New Year. Maria will share her insights about the sternly beautiful winter of Tuva, how the Tuvinians survive in the -40 degree frosts, how the Shagaa is celebrated, and what is sung in the winter folk songs.

Author: Maria Kirilova

Hello to everyone who loves Tuva! Thus I continue my “Travel Notes”. Today we cover a few notable episodes on my way to Shagaa. I had finished packing all the warm clothes and embarked on my trip.

Acquiring and mastering a Tuvan flute of some sort was one of my dreams for a while. I fell for the shoor because of its unusual iridescent sound, and the peculiar way with which you play the instrument. A good while on google and requests to music shops didn’t give me anything useful so I turned to the Centre of Tuvan Culture. The experts there told me that this instrument is… disposable! I read on the internet that it was made from a plant called baltyrgan, which was harvested in Autumn, when its stalks were on the right side of withered. And hence it was missing in mid-January!

But let me go astray and tell you about Tuvan hospitality. Shagaa itself, as far as I can judge from the small amount of information on the internet, is a very hospitable holiday, when everyone calls each other to visit, the rich treat the poor, etc. It goes as far as having competitions to see who the best host is! My “Travel Notes” received a lot of attention. Responses have been varied, from invitations to calling me derogatory terms for immigrants. Well, finally I had the opportunity to feel as an immigrant! Tuvan hospitality was not surprising but amazed me nonetheless. Complete strangers expressed such support and interest in my journey that I felt obliged to somehow give back, at least with eager answers. Special thanks go out to everyone who helped me with transport. Without them the trip would have been impossible, I hope we stay in touch! I also want to thank the Centre for their advise with the flute, and everyone else who reads my notes.

By the way, just the other day I was given a wonderful gift. It was a small collection of Tuvan myths in three languages: Tuvan, Russian and English. Stay tuned for more, not long left to wait!

With love, Maria

vk.com/marislava_bermann
vk.com/voronproject

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