Many may have fresh memory of the summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) member States in Bishkek in early June, at which the heads of the member states discussed issues of trade and economic cooperation, projects in the field of energy and health, food security, and technological innovations.
We would like to share photos about the cultural part of the summit, where RDF’s coordinator of traditional knowledge projects, Kuluipa Akmatova, served as a Russian-Kyrgyz interpreter of Salbuurun Kyrgyz national traditional hunting known for complex hunting techniques engaging birds of prey, dogs and archery.
The translation was carried out for the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Dimitri Medvedev, who took a short walk with our President in the Ala-Archinsk gorge, where a fragment of the Salbuurun complex hunting process was shown. According to Kuluipa Akmatova, Prime Minister Medvedev was keenly interested in Kyrgyz hunting, and surprised everyone with excellent knowledge of Taigan dogs and falconry.
At the end of this cultural visit, bata, a traditional blessing, was performed before the distinguished guests. In Kyrgyz tradition, bata is given to the most respected person in the family, and, in the family, they are also the spiritual practitioners.
Normally, a blessing is given before some accomplishment, journey, or good endeavour. Here, bata was given to our distinguished guest, Dmitry Anatolyevich, and to our President, Almazbek Sharshenovich to wish for good and fruitful initiatives of the summit with the CIS member States.