EMILBEK ZHUMAEV,   Kyzyl-Tuu village, Issyk-Kul oblast 

Kyzyl-Tuu in Issyk-Kul is known for its yurt-making masters. Here, a yurt is never the work of one person alone: different hands shape the wooden frame, prepare the felt, twist the ropes, make the decorations and weave the chiy. Through this collective work, knowledge accumulated over generations remains alive.

During my fieldwork, I met Emilbek Zhumaev, Zamira Tulkubaeva and Aidana Uson kyzy. It was here that I began to see chiy not as a separate craft, but as an essential part of the larger system of making a yurt. Zamira eje introduced me to different forms of chiy, including eshik chiy, and an older technique of reinforcing it with thin strips of goatskin.

In Kyzyl-Tuu, tradition and chiy knowledge remains alive because people still use it, practiсe it and learn it alongside one another.