LYRIK-Taschenkalender 2018 Kalenderwoche 23 07.03.2021

Michael Braun und Paul-Henri Campbell haben den LYRIK-Taschenkalender 2018 herausgegeben. Dieser Kalender lädt ein zum Annotieren und Assoziieren, zum Erstellen von GegenEntwürfen. Vielleicht so auch ein wenig wie Daniel Spoerris: An Anecdoted Topography of Chance (1966 Something Else Press, New York / Cologne).


23. KW
Werner Söllner: Siebenbürgischer Heuweg

Glück
    rede nicht
Vom
Glück
Nur
Weil
Du
Während
Des
SturzRegens
In
Einer Kneipe
    VerSackt
Warst

Wenn das Gras knieHoch steht, kann die Landschaft nicht unPoetisch sein, was die Menschen aber nicht einSchließen muß.

Pi / π


23. KW
Kommentar: Paul-Henri Campbell

„... Pennsylvania, Illinois, Wisconsin, aus Argentinien oder Kasachstan ...“ -: Kirgistan in dieser AufZählung nicht verGessen. Was haben die Menschen dort verLassen müssen -: Heimat, LandWirtschaft, „gutten Boden“, Landschaft – ohne die Nähe von Industrie.

Wie kann es am HeuWeg Wunden geben? Ist der Dichter auf dem HolzWeg? Das HeuMachen hinterLäßt Wunden. Und man kennt die NarbenLiteratur.

Rot Front
    die abGe-
Trennte
Hand
Ballt
Sich
Und
Bald
Führt
Sie die
    Revolution
An

(Für das Dorf Rot Front in Kirgistan, deren mennonitische EinWohner fast alle jetzt in Deutschland leben.)

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Camps, Tents, and Camels at Hundar in Ladakh

From Leh to Hundar is a little less than 100 km, but you have to cross a pass, Khardong-la at 5240 m altitude, as I have already written about [1]. You might have been surprised about the large crowd that waited for the pass to open again, and you'll find the reason for these inland tourisn here. Hundar is an oasis/village of about 1000 people at the banks of the Shyok river, famous for the sand dunes and camels [2]. The camels have been there for a long time as Hundar once had been part of the Silk Route with caravans stopping there. 

Camels and sand dunes might have nurtured the idea of supplying tents in camps to produce a desert feeling for tourists. The tents are large and are eqipped with a bathroom. Lots of camps had already closed down late in September, when I've visited Hundar, and the nights have been cold. You remember that Khardong-la had been closed because of new snow. It was the first time I've used a hot water bag, which was supplied; no problems with the cold wind flapping the tent and entering it. 

After the Silk Road wasn't used any more, many of the domesticated camels returned to the wild just by neglect and later were on the brink of extinction [3]. The residents of the Hundar village have started camel safaris in 2003. Since then the number of camels has increased. The bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus) is found mainly in the cold deserts, like in China (Xinjiang), Iran, Kyrgyzstan, and Pakistan, where I have seen them, and in Afghanistan, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan. Tourism brings revenues, but also problems. The camels damage the land of the local farmers. The tourists damage the dunes with ATV rides. Even the camel rides have an ecological impact. The tourist season in the Nubra valley doesn't last long, it begins in late spring and ends late in September or early October. 

Let us stay with the bactrian camel for a moment. It is double humped in contrast to the single-humped dromedary and native to the steppes of Central Asia [4]. The population of two million is due mainly to the domesticated form. The name comes from the ancient historical region of Bactria, which means in modern day parts of Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The wild Bactrian camel (Camelus ferus) is a distinct species from the Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus). It was first described by Nikolay Mikhaylovich Przhevalsky (Никола́й Миха́йлович Пржева́льский), a geographer and explorer, who lived from 1839 till 1888. He died of typhus near Karakol at the Issykul Lake; the small settlement had been renamed by the Tsar to Przhevalsk and is now part of Karakol [5]. There is a museum now with lots of artefacts, script, passport and so on, which belonged to Przhevalsky. 

 

Przhevalsky Museum at Karakol

  

Wedding party at Przhevalky Memorial 

for photographs 

Tourism is risky and nobody knows how the local entrepreneurs in the Nubra valley may survive. The tents may stay stashed away, but the camels need to be feeded. 

 

Bactrian camels in Xinjiang (新疆) 

 

A caravan in Xinjiang (新疆) 

 the leaderis of the Kyrgyzs minority

Links and References:

[1] https://rheumatologe.blogspot.com/2020/07/a-retreat-on-khardong-pass.html

[2] Mattausch, Jutta: Ladakh und Zanskar (Reiseführer) (Deutsch). 2017.

[3] https://qz.com/india/1377272/ladakhs-bactrian-camels-saved-from-extinction-by-tourist-safaris/

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bactrian_camel

[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolay_Przhevalsky https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pristan%27-Przheval%27sk

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Suspension Bridges

During my travels I’ve crossed a few weird bridges. Some really interesting ones were suspension bridges, of which I’ve selected a few examples.

 

Food Bridge in Hunza

Car Bridge in Hunza

Bridge in Yünnan / Tibet

Tibet

Car Bridge in Tibet

Food Bridge in Tibet

Also Tibet

Famous Kawarau Bridge in New Zealand (Bunjee Jumping)

Food Bridge

Also New Zealand

Road / Car Bridge in New Zealand

Old Bridge in Bolivia

Food Bridge in Kyrgyzstan

Not a suspension bridge

Kyrgyzstan

Tajikistan - border to Afghanistan

 

 

Cemeteries in Kyrgyzstan

Cemeteries in Kyrgyzstan are different to expectations in an Islam oriented country. You don’t see unpretentious graves but rather mausoleums. The typical mausoleum is big, elaborated, and showing symbols with connection to the diseased person. Often you can see symbols, which are clearly shamanistic. Sometimes you see graves with a metal structure above resembling a yurt.

You don’t have to travel to remote mountain areas to see these graveyards, but rather see a lot along the roads. One I have visited while hiking into the mountains, though. Along with Islamic and shamanistic influences, you can also detect a Russian influence by the enamel portraits attached to tombstones.

There are also old graveyards or tombstones like the Balbals. Please look at the link for these. But I might write more on the Balbals in the future.

 

 

Cemetery in the mountains

 

Close-up of a mausoleum

 

 

Met6al structure above the grave in the form of a yurt

 

 

Soviet star, deer horns, and the half moon

 

 

Cemetery along the road

 

Mausoleums along the road

Links:

http://rheumatologe.blogspot.de/2014/10/burial-and-memorial-of-dead.html

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Islam in Kyrgyzstan and Hijab

More than 86% of the population of Kyrgyzstan is Muslim. Kyrgyzstan has seen a drain of its non-Muslim population as the percentage of Russians, Ukrainians, and Germans dropped from about 32% to about 14% within 20 years. This and the revival of Islamic practices since independence made Islam a force to be considered in the political spheres of Kyrgyzstan. The constitution of Kyrgyzstan is strictly secular, but Islamic values seep into not only daily but also political life. 

Most Muslims belong to the Sunni branch of Islam, which came into the region already during the 8^th century. Sufism has a strong tradition in Kyrgyzstan. The wandering sufi ascetics might have found a better reception with nomadic North. And it doesn’t surprise that you can still find shamanistic practices among Kyrgyz Muslims. The South of Kyrgyzstan is different; you can view the North as being more secular and the South being more religious.

You can see a strong revival of Islam in Kyrgyzstan after independence in 1991. Back then Kyrgyzstan had 39 mosques, which number has risen to 2300. “A field study by doctoral student Yanti Hölzchen of the collaborative research center ResourceCultures has found that at the same time, there is a desire among Kyrgyz of all ages to practise a moderate form of Islam - particularly among 20-40 year olds.” It might not be the building boom but the concessions that alarm Kyzgyz politicians. It is very easy for a village to have a mosque being build and financed by Saudi Arabia, but the Imam is trained in Saudi Arabia, which means that Saudi or wahhabitic values are introduced into the Kyrgyz society.

 

Left side is a picture of women in traditional dresses

The first picture irritates, but it shows the concerns of politicians, in which direction the Kyrgyz society might chance to go. On the other hand only the women should decide how much veil they want to be dressed in (Niqab).  The niqab and burka might arouse security concerns, especially in countries that see terroristic attacks. How is it in Kyrgyzstan? I haven’t seen extreme forms like niqab or burka. Lots of women don’t use a headscarf. One sees more women in rural areas than in the cities wearing a headscarf.

 

Market in Bishkek - the meat sellers have to wear a cap or a head scarf because of hygienic reasons (so its 50:50 here)

 

Three young ladies obviously enjoying a more traditional way of dressing - central park in Bishkek

 

Posing for wedding pictures near Karakol / Issyk-Kul 

 

Market at Osch in the South - most women wear hijab 

 

But that's also at the market in Osch - and none of the young women is wearing a head scarf

Links:

Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_Kyrgyzstan

Jeffrey Hayes - http://factsanddetails.com/central-asia/Kyrgyzstan/sub8_5a/entry-4752.html

Yanti Hölzchen - https://www.uni-tuebingen.de/en/news/newsfullview-news/article/moscheen-bau-boomt-in-kirgisistan.html

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