Customs and traditions of nomads

Seeing off the bride – “Kyz Uzatuu”

Kyrgyzstan, like every country in Central Asia, still carefully preserves the “golden fund” of national traditions and continues to pass it on from generation to generation.

In our time, as in ancient times, customs come into play. When young people want to get married, before the wedding they need to perform several rituals that will mark the union of two families – the bride and groom. Before the main wedding, the side of the bride must arrange “kyz uzatuu” – a rite of passage of the bride to her new family. This is one of the most ancient traditions of the Kyrgyz people, a very touching and exciting event for a girl and her parents.

The procedure for seeing off the bride consists of three parts:

Part 1. Dressing the bride in a special outfit. Part 2. Braiding for the bride. Part 3. Elechek winding. Farewell of the girl with her mother.

It was believed that Shekulö (shokulö) and all carefully inherited things and jewelry bring happiness. In the celebration of seeing off the bride, one can notice the differences in the clothes of girls, women and respectable mothers. The celebration is invariably accompanied by traditional komuz music and ooz komuz.

Nowadays, kyz uzatu is usually held in a restaurant. The groom arrives first and waits for the bride with a bouquet of flowers. The bride enters, the groom presents her with a bouquet. The oldest and most respected one reads bata – a blessing and that begins. At the end of kyz uzatu, the guests become a semicircle or two lines, and the bride walks around the guests, as if saying goodbye to them. The groom takes her hand and they leave without looking back.

You can see this rite and many others that are held in the country of mountains by the descendants of nomads and the great baatyr Manas, traveling with us.