# Meat Distribution Rules and Significance of Radial Bone (Kar Zhilik) in Kyrgyz traditional knowledge

Amantour Japarov

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Amantour Japarov. Meat Distribution Rules and Significance of Radial Bone (Kar Zhilik) in Kyrgyz traditional knowledge. 2017. halshs-05288529

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MEAT DISTRIBUTION RULES
AND SIGNIFICANCE OF RADIAL
BONE (KAR ZHILIK) IN KYRGYZ
TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE

(AMANTOUR JAPAROV<fnref n="1" />)

Amantour Japarov is a Head of the Ethnology Department at the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences, the Kyrgyz Republic. He has an academic degree of Kandidat nauk in History and Ethnography (2002) focused on the traditional cattle breading and social organization of the Kyrgyz. Since 2003 he is a representative of the French Institute for Central Asia Studies (IFEAC) in Bishkek. His main research interests are in the nomadic cultures such as of Central Asia and Niger in Africa, Kyrgyz historical and cultural heritage, modernization and tradition. He is author of more than a hundred articles.

INTRODUCTION

In this article I discuss some of the aspects of Kyrgyz traditions related to meat distribution. I draw the attention to different cuts of meat and their symbolic meanings and functions in Kyrgyz society. Meat serves as identity markers, and thus different pieces of meat indicate different social status of companions. The representations of Kyrgyz can be analysed through the prism of meat distribution, that is, one of the tubular bones of sheep or radial bone (kar zhilik), whose origins go back to the Middle Ages. The practices related to this bone have been continued till the modern conditions and are now widely applied in the region.

This article is based on the long term ethnographic research, conducted
from 1998 to 2014 in Kochkor rayon of Naryn oblast, Alay rayon of Osh
oblast, Tong rayon of Issyk-Kul oblast of the Kyrgyz Republic. Additional
secondary literature on different Turkic people and their meat distribution
practices has been used in this article with comparative purposes. The meth-
ods of collected data were mostly in-depth interviews and participant obser-
vation.

<footnote n="1">¹ I would like to express my gratitude to Aida Aaly Alymbaeva for her constructive comments that helped to improve the content of the text. Moreover, I would like to thank Aksana Ismailbekova and Aibek Samakov for their enormous help with the translation of the text from Russian language into English.</footnote>
## THE MEANING OF MEAT IN NUTRITION SYSTEM AND TREATMENT OF GUESTS

The meat of bred cattle has been and remains to be one of the most important parts of Kyrgyz nutrition. The consumption of meat provides the body with the necessary energy for nomads in cold conditions like in late autumn and winter. These seasons are often accompanied in the territory of the current Kyrgyz Republic by prolonged snowstorms and blizzards. It is hard to imagine any family gatherings and various festivals and rituals without slaughtering a sheep for the family members and guests.

The tradition of hospitality has been one of the main characteristics of the Kyrgyz ancestors, and this included to meet unexpected guests, such as strangers and pilgrims who came from afar in the most appropriate way. The host would make all the efforts to provide the guests with the comfort, by giving fresh meat for dinner and conveniently placing night bad. There is a widespread proverb among Kyrgyz on the meaning that guest will not be offended if he or she is hungry, but the guest will be offended if no sheep is slaughtered for him or her.

## BUTCHERING AND DISTRIBUTION PIECES OF MEAT AMONG THE PARTICIPANTS OF THE MEAL

Basically, any family member could easily slaughter small cattle such as sheep and goats. Except for specific cases, there was no need to invite an external person with the slaughtering of the cattle. When it was necessary to slaughter the large cattle and butcher its carcasses, one of the most experienced relatives with the specialized skills would be invited for help. The local terminology for such a skilled person is *kasapchy*. He is always ready to fulfil his duty for the communities (Moldokulova 2014: 21). In every descent groups and communities, however, there were also people who could chop properly the bones of large cattle into several pieces and cook according to the number of the guests.

Meat and its tubular bones as well as other important bones have a great social significance for social gatherings and collective meals for Kyrgyz. These bones serve as signifiers or markers of one's status and position of the participants of the social gatherings. Therefore it was required to properly distribute pieces of meat and bones (*ustukan*) while taking into account differences of age, gender, and social status of guests. Guests coming from other descent groups or communities, potential affines, or sudden travelers are more respected and have to be treated well by giving them the most important bones, pieces of meat, and other delicious parts. If the pieces of meat were not correctly distributed to the guests without taking into account age, gender, and status, the guests would be offended. As a result, parts of meat and bones were the sources of potential misunderstanding, tensions, and conflicts. A special person (*chygdanchy* or *bökööl*) is appointed for the distribu-
tion of meat during the big life cycle events. His responsibility included correct distribution of food among the guests. In case of making a mistake, according to the customary law – *adat* – this person would take the responsibility or be punished by a fine (*aiyp*) (Kochkuov 2013: 237–238). In relation to such matters, a historian and archeologist, Kubat Tabaldiev highlights the continuity of this tradition from the earlier days to nowadays: “Violation of rules in distributing meat might negatively affect the moods of honored guests. Usually, the guests with the highest status would be informed in advance and be invited to the circle of the most honorable guests – *ucha tabak*. Second, the guests with the middle status will be invited to join the circle of guests – *zhandooch tabak*. These guests then distribute among themselves further a portion of the carcass according to status and age. The preferences will be given to the parents of the groom or parents of the bride. In case if there are both parents of a groom and parents of a bride, they gallantly decide among themselves whom to give which piece of meat, taking into account age, geographical distance, and other characteristics” (Tabaldiev 2013: 157–167).

The order of distribution of piece among the guests in one tablecloth<fnref n="2" /> (*dastorkon*) is regarded as a kind of fixation of real social relationships in everyday life. The elderly men *aksakals* or honorable guests would get the most valuable pieces in the distribution of meat cuts. For example: the most honorary men would get the horse bone, a sacrum (*ucha*), cannon bones (*zham-bash*), and fat tail of sheep (*byirak*)

If we want to understand the reasons why these of the carcass have received such significant social values, it can be assumed that the meats from indicated bones are usually the soft and juicy. My elderly informants, would tell me that elders would get the head of the sheep before the mid of the 19 century in At-Bashy, Naryn oblast. These elders, in turn, would cut off a small piece of meat from the sheep head for themselves to taste and after they would immediately pass the head to the youngest guests. Today this tradition has been transformed in Naryn. Now head is not given to the elders instead it is given directly to the youngest guests. In contrast, the sheep's head is given to the respected elder or honored guests in Chui oblast.

In northern Kyrgyzstan, the most honourable piece of meat for women in the 19th and beginning of 20th centuries were *kuimulchak* (tail appendage with the meat and fat) and daughter-in-laws would be content with *küng zhilik* (bone from the knee to the shoulder blade)

In Tong rayon of Issyk-Kul oblast, the brisket of sheep (*tösh*) is given to the married daughters.

<footnote n="2">² This is a traditional space where guests would eat food together. The term *dastarkhan* can be translated as the tablecloth, which is laid on the ground. This belongs to the traditional Central Asian cuisine and food culture.</footnote>
The empirical findings of S. M. Abramzon in the northern and southern regions of the Kyrgyz Republic have shown that there is a significant degree of diverse meat distribution rituals. The degree of honor associated with different cuts of meat varies between lamb and horse meat (Kochkunov 2003: 224–226, 2013: 238–240). It is important to highlight that the custom of separating animals carcass into joints has been widely practiced among peoples of the Turkic world.

Particularly, in south-eastern Tuva, usually most honored guests' get the *uzha* and the joint of the rear legs. The brisket of sheep (*tösh*) is given only to the head of the household or host family of the guests, but a head would get (after having the *uzha*) to the most respected and honored guests. The right shoulder, a thigh bone from the back of the legs and other pieces of lamb are offered to the guests of secondary importance (Potapov 1969: 182–183). This is the fact that the *uzha* is the prestigious part of the meat, which highlights the recent results of field studies (Stepanoff 2013: 301, 397).

## USTUKAN AS THE MEANS OF INFLUENCING ON THE YOUNG GENERATION AND ASSOCIATED CHANGES

Elders of the community and other guests sitting on the same tablecloth would taste a small portion of their meat and share their *ustukan* (bones with meat) with other young people or children. At the same time they would express their wish so that children grow up healthy and reach their own elderly age. This was the form of expression of optimism and prospects for the younger generation to reach status, respect, and honor of young people when they become older themselves. This gesture among other things was the effective leverages of influence on the young people and transmission of cultural heritage of people. *Ustukan* helped to maintain social ties between people of different generations. While receiving piece of meat according to one's status, guests appreciated honor and shared their meat with other tablecloth companions. "If a guest receives *ucha*, he has to thank the person by giving a monetary reward. After that he has to share the meat by cutting into several pieces" (Tabaldiev 2013: 157-167). In a similar fashion, among Tuvinians, when the guest receives the best parts of the carcass *uzha*, he or she also has to share this with other individuals in the same tent and one small piece of meat has to be thrown to the fire for the ancestors (Potapov 1969: 183). There are parallels in the etiquette of giving and receiving meat between Kyrgyz and Tuvinian people, which highlights the common food culture patterns of two ethnic groups.

At the present time as well as in the past, the youngest person sitting on the tablecloth should be responsible for distributing the pieces of meat of the bone for the tablecloth companions. But sometimes it is possible that the younger generation might not know well the task of distributing meat according to the rules, in such situations the elder person or any knowledgeable
<figure><img src="image_2.png" /><figcaption>Photo 1: Enjoying Meat brought as *ustukan* at home from a feast
(A. JAPAROV, 2015)</figcaption></figure>

person would take over the task to himself. Usually, in the process of eating, the younger people should cut the meat neatly into small pieces, which were later added to the noodles. This dish is called *beshbarmak*. Nowadays the host tries to prepare the meal in advance including chopping into small pieces of meat before the arrival of the guests. As a result, cooked meat is not as finely-chopped in comparison with the traditional way of cutting. The release of the young person from his role leads to the loss of his meat cutting skills and also changes the whole atmosphere of collective meat consumption. The act of cutting meat into small pieces has been always a social act because the elders would teach the young about the techniques of cutting, give some comments, and praise if the young person cut it correctly. Thus every guest can participate not only in the eating processes, but also in its preparation with lively and leisurely discussions. The process of simplifying the preparation of *beshbarmak* is inevitable. In particular, this came due to the loss of skills and changes in the organization of hosting guests and preparation of the main meal in advance.

According to A. S. Kochkunov, it was important to leave a small price of meat on the bone, some *ustukan*, and a small amount of chopped meat (*tuperagan et*) for the service personnel and children so that they could also en-
joy the meat (Kochkunov 2003: 226). This would partially correspond to the
reality of the first decades of 19th century. At present, there are rare cases
when the guests give some part of their meat *ustukan* to a serving person, a
host, and children. By contrast, this custom is slowly becoming forgotten or
ignored as part of the transformation in the food consumption system. Now
only the chopped meat mixed with noodles remains as the strong meal con-
sumption custom for the families. But the guests giving the *ustukan* to their
wives or husbands and taking it home became a frequent phenomenon, which
was not previously possible. This practice shows the drastic change of per-
sonal food consumption, which was not typical for Kyrgyz society till the
independence of the Kyrgyz Republic. This can be explained by the fact that
the Kyrgyz society has experienced a very difficult socio-economic crisis in
the transformation from command economy to free market economy, in
which people could not/give pass meat to the serving guests instead of taking
it home for their own family members.

BELIEFS AND LEGENDS ABOUT THE KAR ZHILIK:
“YOU CANNOT BREAK THIS BONE!”

Kyrgyz leading for centuries the nomadic lifestyle used the bones of sheep for different purposes, and each of those bones has had its own significance and value. Among many other bones, according to the legends, the radial bones have sacred qualities and magical powers. Much has been written about how local people carefully used to treat that cortical bone, mostly in folklore, ethnographic field materials, and additional results of research scientists.

<figure><img src="image_3.png" /><figcaption>Photo 2: *Ustukan* brought at home with *kar zhilik* is on the top</figcaption></figure>

(A. JAPAROV, 2015)
It was important to eat the radial bones with a knife as the best method properly cleaning meat from the bones. It was forbidden to nibble meat (*tish menen mülzhügön bolboit*) which was the manifestation of bad education and shame. The life-style of Kyrgyz herdsmen and their worldviews are connected to the bones, and thus bones are subject to certain rules and norms that have been cemented as the local custom.

Toleubaev (2013) describes the beliefs associated with the radial bones among Kazaks which is identical to Kyrgyz. Both Kyrgyz and Kazaks gave the radial bones mostly to young people, wishing them a long life. This suggests that the radial bones as a piece of meat could embody the collective consumption, which signifies the longevity. At the same time, young unmarried women would not hold the radial bones, due to fear that they would not get married in the future. Teenagers and young boys were not given any tubular bones with *alchiki* (the knee bone), because this implied that once young men reached their marriageable ages they would keep delaying their marriage for a long time (Toleubaev 2013: 276).

For some Kyrgyz radial bone was considered as the bone of young men (*zhigitter*) and for others as the bone of horse herders. The ethnographic material of S.M. Abramzon also states the importance of radial bones for horse shepherds due to its protective qualities. If the bones were hung at home, a herder would not feel alone and be secured under their protective qualities. In addition, the bones meant to protect horses (*kar zhilik zhilki kaitarat*) as well. Any wolf and robber would be afraid of these bones (Abramzon 1971: 299). The elder generation would spread information among children about the protective qualities of the radial bones in the process of joint eating. Many elders would respond to the questions of the children and satisfy their interests towards the magical qualities of bones. That is how the knowledge on the importance of the radial bone and its protective skills was transferred through oral histories from one generation to another. Among many other bones of cattle, the first meat that was put into water was the radial bone (*kar zhilik*). In a similar way, Kazaks have the same practice with the radial bone (*kar zhilik*) in terms of putting it first into the water. The knowledgeable persons of folk tradition would claim that newborn animals forth out of the womb from this bone.

According to the beliefs of the ancestors, the radial bone protects the family members, house, property and livestock from possible robberies and assaults. In one of the folk legends it is stated that once upon a time a beautiful and intelligent young woman came to visit her natal parents, but she could not go back home together with her husband due to serious reasons therefore she had to prolong her stay at her own family's house. Before the departure of her husband, however, she put several cleaned radial bones of sheep into his bag.

The young woman explained to her husband, that the bones would be his fellow companions during his long trip. She warned her husband in advance
that he had to break only one bone per day with the aim to extract the contents for his own daily food consumption. He followed the request of his wife as long as he was very close to his camp. And he decided to chop the remaining bones before reaching his camp. Immediately after that he became a victim of robbers who would not dare to attack him otherwise if he had the bones in the bag. According to the legends, if he had reserved at least one bone, he would have reached home safe and sound. There are of course other variations of legends in Kyrgyz folklore, which all underscore the protective qualities of the radial bone. The legends were one of the most effective tools in the transmission of cultural traditions from one generation to another generation.

Within the existing framework of custom, Kyrgyz try to not break the radial bones into pieces, as the legend highlights above; the consequences in case of the violation of the customary practices might be harmful. The taboo has been widely spread and is strictly followed. This can be included into the number of prohibitions which Frazer has mentioned in connection to magic in his studies (Frazer 1980: 26). According to legends, the life of man who broke to extract intraosseous fat (*chuchuk*) could become very difficult. The radial bone has never been given to dogs or thrown away. The well cleaned bone was always hung in the corral or in the barn for cattle on the right side of the front of the building. Ancestors used to hang the bone on the wide woven stripes (*zhabyk bash*) or they could also put it on top of the folding latticework walls of the wood (*kerege*) and believed that it could protect them from those who had bad intentions. In 19th and at the beginning of 20th centuries people would tie the bone near the saddle (*kanzhiga bailap alishkan*) especially when they would make a long journey. According to legends, the bone would burn like a candle (*sham*) and protect the surrounding areas. The number of burning candles would depend on the number of bones. People believed that in case of enemy attack, the bones would transform into warriors and be engaged in battle. Many nomadic warriors also had taken with them radial bones, when they had to fight with the enemy<fnref n="3" />.

For Kyrgyz radial bone has a magical meaning, which can protect not only from robbery but also from dark and evil forces (Japarov 1999: 46). A similar pattern can be observed among the Kazaks who hung a radial bone at the front door in an effort to protect family and property from various afflictions (Toleubaev 1992: 41).

In many cases, especially those who believe in the magical power of the radial bone, people used to put some sticks in the hole as a means of protection from potential attacks. Valikhanov also mentions how Kazaks used to hang a radial bone at their homes like Mongols. The Mongols also strung a

<footnote n="3">³ This is based on empirical material collected in Naryn, Issyk-Kul, Talas, Chui oblasts.</footnote>
little blade of grass in the hole: in this way the bone looked like an armed fighter (Toleubayev 2013: 276).

## PHENOMENON OF MAGIC AND THE RADIAL BONE

As mentioned above, people sincerely believed in the power of the radial bone. While discussing the phenomenon of magic, Aaron Brudnyi claims, that “In existential terms, particular interest is the experience of human situations in which the existence of magic seems natural, but an appeal to the magician justified. The roots of these kinds of emotions go deep into the prehistoric past of mankind, highlighting logical thinking of a primitive man. In the conditions of human existence, men are forced to search for satisfying their own basic needs, protect themselves against threatening realities. This is actually to go along a narrow strip of shade separating the light of life and darkness nothingness” (1994: 61). Paying attention to the peculiarities of magic, A. Yuber and M. Moss state that “magical rite is the always the matter of individual and individuals operating in private domain, and their actions and practices are shrouded in mystery” (cited in Tokarev 1990: 410).

Obviously, traditional imaginations related to the radial bone have not lost its significance even nowadays, which give all the reasons to consider this

<figure><img src="image_4.png" /><figcaption>Photo 3: A radial bone *kar zhilik* hang up a door (A. JAPAROV, 2015)</figcaption></figure>
bone as the symbol of determination and courage for those who genuinely believe in its magical power. In the eyes of those who believe it has only positive qualities.

If we look the radial bone through the prism of binary opposition ‘my (or our) friend makes me (or us) good deeds by protecting from enemies and evils’, this highlights the causal relationships that explain the attitude of the individual, family and community to the radial bone. In case of accident or troubles within the family could be interpreted in terms of careless attitude of some of the family members towards the radial bone. For this reason, in order not to incur further trouble, ancestors strictly prohibited to break the bone into pieces. People would say that if the rules related to treating the radial bone with respect are violated, this can led to the deterioration of vigilance and further weaknesses of one’s condition. The result of serious consequence such as various troubles and woes were due to disrespecting the radial bone. The Soviet ethnographer B. H. Basilov gives an example from his ethno-graphic findings among Turkmen. Once upon a time, one Turkmen man was informed of the robbery in his village, for which he replied by saying that “personally he did not break the radial bone, therefore his house should have been avoided from troubles” (Basilov 1973: 196–197).

## REGIONAL FEATURES OF TUBULAR BONES AND RADIAL BONES

Kyrgyz people living in the southern part of Kyrgyzstan began to break the bones of small cattle into several parts earlier than the northern Kyrgyz counterparts did. According to the respondents, they began to practice this since the mid-1960s. As T. Aitbaeva, the specialist of food supply systems of the Kyrgyz southern regions, states that during that skilled people (bölkchü) were appointed to break or chop the bones of the slaughtered cattle into pieces. This was done because of economic difficulties of southern region and the small number of cattle in the valleys. People have come to believe that by this way they could treat more people with a small amount of meat.

During the Soviet time there was a prohibition on the cattle breeding more than the state standardized norms. In other words, the herders should not have generated cattle beyond the existing standardized norms. Therefore many villagers could not expand their herds. Moreover, the vast majority of areas in southern Kyrgyzstan were mostly used for agriculture, limiting the opportunity to provide the cattle with pasture. In the Fergana Valley during the Soviet time the priority crops were technical plants, such as cotton and tobacco. Under the conditions with a minimum number of cattle in almost all farms, people tried to be more rational and economical. Obviously, there is a visible factor which was ethno-cultural interaction with neighboring Uzbek and Tajik ethnic groups.

Traditional cuisine and system of nutrition of these ethnic people allowed treating more guests with a limited amount of meat. While living side by side
with Uzbeks and Tajiks in a compact and scattered zone, Kyrgyz could have borrowed the experiences of neighbors. It is important to mention that southern Kyrgyz have a slightly different order and significance of meat distribution. In particular, the majority of the population of Batken oblast consists of the representatives of descent groups *ichkilik*, who value more carcass from the ribs to thighs (*karchyga*) compare to cannon bones (*zhambash*), which is a contrast picture from the northern Kyrgyz Republics. They call it as *ucha* and consider it very honorable.

In the southern part of the Kyrgyz Republic, the radial bone is not as sensitive as in the northern part of that region. In the southern Kyrgyz Republic, the radial bone as well as other tubular bones can be chopped for cooking or be split into two parts. In the spiritual culture of the local population there is no faith in the miraculous power and magic influence of the bone. Perhaps such belief had existed before among the ancestors in the south during the pre-Islamic times, and after that this practice had been lost for some reasons.

While jointly consuming meat, southern Kyrgyz do not serve the radial bone to the guests. This part of meat is eaten by the members of the family, considering it as not honorable. At the same time, despite loss on the beliefs of the radial bone, southern Kyrgyz still practice the significance of meat distribution according to social status, age, and geographical locations of the guests.

## USING RADIAL BONE FOR CAUSING HARM

Kyrgyz herders just like other nomads could easily turn into warriors in case of outside threat during difficult politico-military situation. They also believed that radial bone could be used to weaken and worsen their adversaries' military power. In such cases human radial bone were used as opposed to that of an animal. According to traditional beliefs, burying or sticking a pair of adversary's radial bones in the ground was enough to prevent an emergence of a strong, respected and high-status leader in the opposing tribe. An example from 14th century illustrating the above-mentioned argument can be found in the works of Belek Soltonoev who was one of the earliest Kyrgyz ethnographers and historians. Soltonoev (1993: 25) mentions that Alybek-baatyr of Sayak tribe was a prominent figure in the feud of Sarybagysh and Bugu tribes. When Alybek-baatyr was captured and being escorted, a person named Kydyk of Sarybagysh tribe attacked Alybek and killed the latter. After that Alybek-baatyr's radial bones were buried in the Kotmaldy area, which is in the vicinity of modern Balykchy town. By doing so, the attackers intended to weaken the strong adversary's family and tribe, and prevent emergence of strong and brave people among Alybek's descendants. (ibid.: 25). This example illustrates well the belief in the magical capacity of the radial bone.
## RELIANCE ON MAGICAL ACTIONS AFTER THE COLLAPSE OF THE SOVIET UNION AND FEW EXAMPLES FROM 2000S

Main elements of traditional beliefs were sought-after by mass consciousness during the difficult transition period after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Kyrgyz Republic was experiencing economic hardship, which negatively affected socio-cultural domain. Some people deprived of state support started appealing to irrational practices that had existed latently in their consciousness. It appears that “when a particular human need gets aggravated, one involuntarily seeks refuge in something primitive, yet very convincing in matters that cannot be analysed rationally but touch precisely on feelings” (Brudnyi 1994: 62). Archaic perceptions dominated minds of not only less educated people working in low-skill jobs but also of highly educated and skilled ones. Mass consciousness was ready to accept archaization of everyday life as an unalienable part of modern society’s culture.

As theft, robbery, fraud and violence became more frequent in cities and villages, people started turning to traditional knowledge about amulets, including protective powers of the radial bone. People started using this bone to protect themselves from misfortunes. One could see hanging radial bones in apartments, yards and cattle barns, both in cities and villages. It was curious to see that after the collapse of the Soviet Union, long-haul truck drivers hanged the radial bone inside of their trucks believing in its protective powers. Truck drivers saw it as a necessary precautionary action given that they had to stop in deserted areas and in villages where local youth could be hostile or even aggressive. Having radial bone as an amulet made them feel safer. Such a belief in magical powers of the radial bone had a positive effect on the drivers, e. g., increasing self-confidence and self-control. Folklore researcher Nurjan Narynbaeva (2015, fall), who researches myths and legends, notes that she always saw radial bones beside the house entrance to her relative who back in the day studied in one of the technical universities in Eastern Europe. She mentioned that she herself does the same now and has two radial bones displayed on the left side of the wall beside the entrance. Left side is considered to be the ‘male’ part of the yurt.

Cloths (such as cloak and other apparel) displayed at the edge of a farm also performed protective functions. It resembles scarecrows used by peasants but in this case cloths are used to scare off wolves. Carol Ferret documented and photographed such practice in one of the summer pastures while taking part in migrations of Kazakh herders in 2012 (Ferret 2015: 160). I witnessed the same practice with a Turkologist Klyashtornyi at the Son-Kul summer pasture in summer of 2000. Such type of magical beliefs can be classified as apotropaic and the logic behind is “to repel, ward off, and scare off evil forces and prevent their forthcoming. Various amulets and avertyks as well as gestures and sounds are used for this purpose” (Tokarev 1990: 429).
Beliefs in protective powers of the radial bone and respectful attitude to it is widespread in all parts of northern Kyrgyzstan. In some cases radial bone is still used by people who do not necessarily believe in its protective power. Some young people keep the radial bone and refrain from breaking it due to the tradition without acknowledging the sacral qualities of this bone.

There are cases when all bones of a slaughtered animal are divided in half before being cooked during big feasts and rituals. According to traditions it is neither encouraged or prohibited to break tubular bones except for the radial bone. In northern Kyrgyzstan, people still adhere to this belief and do not break the radial bone. The following example shows the regional differences in Kyrgyzstan towards the radial bone. During my field research in Alay district of Osh province in 2009, I saw the radial bone broke in half during a communal feast. The feast was a part of *kudayi* ritual and was conducted on the bank of the river (this ritual can be understood as an ancient land fertility ritual (*zher suu taiu* – A. J.). In northern Kyrgyzstan this ritual is known as *tülöö*. By conducting this ritual, people asked for good weather and well-being. In 2007, I took part in a communal feast called *tülöönün tamagy* in Kochkor district of Naryn region. As opposed to the first example, radial bones of the slaughtered sheep were not broken, although all other tubular bones were. This can serve as an evidence that the traditional prohibition for breaking radial bones is still observed in northern Kyrgyzstan.

My observations suggests that people started relying on more rational methods as difficult transitional times are being overcome and as people learn to adapt to changing conditions. Some part of population has a negative attitude towards traditional beliefs perceiving the latter as rudiments that need to be left in the past. Moreover, transmission of knowledge from older generations to the younger ones ceased to be the important part of upbringing and therefore, a big chunk of traditional knowledge gets forgotten not only in the cities but also in the villages.

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* Brudnyi, Aaron. 1994. 'Magia kak fenomen individual'nogo i massovogo soznania', in *Okoldovannaia real'nost'.* Moscow: Vostochnaia literatura.

* Valikhanov, Chokan. 1984. *Sobranie sochinenii v 5 tomakh*. Tom 1. Alma-Ata.
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