Skip to main content

Eurasianet

Main Menu

  • Regions
  • Topics
  • Media
  • About
  • Search
  • Newsletter
  • русский
  • Support us
X

Caucasus

Armenia
Azerbaijan
Georgia

Central Asia

Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Tajikistan
Turkmenistan
Uzbekistan

Conflict Zones

Abkhazia
Nagorno Karabakh
South Ossetia

Eastern Europe

Belarus
Moldova
Russia
The Baltics
Ukraine

Eurasian Fringe

Afghanistan
China
EU
Iran
Mongolia
Turkey
United Kingdom
United States
X

Environment

Economy

Politics

Kazakhstan's Bloody January 2022
Kyrgyzstan 2020 unrest

Security

Society

American diplomats in Central Asia
Arts and Culture
Coronavirus
Student spotlight
X

Visual Stories

Podcast
Video

Blogs

Tamada Tales
The Bug Pit

Podcasts

EurasiaChat
Expert Opinions
The Central Asianist
X
You can search using keywords to narrow down the list.
Kyrgyzstan

Sumalak, Kyrgyzstan's Nowruz treat for the pure of heart

The treat is more than a food. It's an institution.

Danil Usmanov Mar 22, 2018
woman prepares sumalak A woman prepares sumalak in the ethnographic park on the eve of the Nowruz holiday.
A young man recites the Manas epic. A young man recites the Manas epic.
folk group Sary-Ozon prepares the dish A team from the folk group Sary-Ozon prepares the dish.
people sleeping in yurts Participants come from across Kyrgyzstan. They sleep in yurts.
An elder sets twigs alight An elder sets juniper twigs alight, a tradition to rid the yurt of evil spirits.
Dancing during a performance of folk song Dancing during a performance of folk songs to mark the occasion.
young man watches a theatrical performance of Manas A young man watches a theatrical performance of Manas.
Women say a prayer Women say a prayer before dipping into the sumalak.
The oldest woman in attendance reads patterns on the sumalak The oldest woman in attendance reads patterns on the sumalak. Some believe that the future can be predicted by reading the surface of the finished dish.
Women try the finished sumalak Women try the finished sumalak. Tradition dictates it be sampled by finger and a wish be made.
prev
next

Sumalak, the gooey germinated wheat-based treat made to mark the spring equinox festival of Nowruz across Central Asia, is more than food. It is an institution whose preparation is freighted with ceremony.

This year, people were invited from around Kyrgyzstan to attend a sumalak-cooking marathon in the Lenin district of Bishkek. Groups arrived on March 20 at the venue, set in an crumbling ethnographic park intended to serve as a center dedicated to the study of the national Manas epic poem.

Yurts were erected and holes dug up for the placement of kazan, the cauldrons in which the sumalak is prepared. The only basic ingredients are water and germinated wheat, which is grown to a few inches in height in the days and weeks before the festival. Tradition states that only those pure of heart are able to grow the plant properly.

Cooking proceeded through the night, as passages of the Manas were read out aloud and musicians sang folk songs to the accompaniment of accordions and komuz, the national string instrument.

In the morning, when the sumalak was done, elderly women divined fortunes on the surface of the sticky brew. People lined up with bottles to claim their share of the sweet grain treat.

The rest of the day was reserved for musical performances.

Danil Usmanov is a Bishkek-based photographer. 

Danil Usmanov is a photo and video journalist based in Bishkek.

Sign up for Eurasianet's free weekly newsletter. Support Eurasianet: Help keep our journalism open to all, and influenced by none.

Related

Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan complete border delimitation process
Kyrgyzstan: Life under the smog dome
Kyrgyzstan: Authorities file lawsuit to close RFE/RL’s local service

Popular

Azerbaijani embassy in Iran comes under deadly attack
Heydar Isayev
Aeroflot poised to return to Kazakhstan despite legal risks
Fight or flight: Tbilisi and Kyiv caught in another round of tensions
Nini Gabritchidze

Eurasianet

  • About
  • Team
  • Contribute
  • Republishing
  • Privacy Policy
  • Corrections
  • Contact
Eurasianet © 2023