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.
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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. 

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