0761 KYRGYZSTAN - Komuz player in national clothes

The komuz (qomuz), an ancient fretless string instrument, is the best-known national instrument and one of the better-known Kyrgyz national symbols. It is generally made from a single piece of wood (usually apricot or juniper), has three strings traditionally made out of gut, and is used either as accompaniment or as a lead instrument in a wide variety of musical styles, including aytysh (a song competition between akyns), and the recitation of the lengthy verse epic Manas or other heroic and lyric poetry. The names of parts of the komuz are often allusions to body parts, particularly of horses.

0285 KYRGYZSTAN - Ala-kiyiz and Shyrdak, art of Kyrgyz traditional felt carpets (UNESCO ICH)

Currently there are approximately 4.5 million of Kyrgyz in the world, of whom over 3.8 million live in Kyrgyzstan, a landlocked and mountainous republic located in Central Asia (between Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and China), and become independent in 1991. Is believed that the name "kyrgyz" have been derived from the Turkic word for "forty", in reference to the forty clans of the legendary hero Manas, who united them against the Uyghurs, who in the early 9th century AD dominated much of Central Asia. The story about their origin is so important for the Kyrgyz, that on their flag is a 40-ray sun, a reference to the 40 tribes. Many legends talk about that (you can find some here), but I find the most interesting the one which tells that the daughters from several clans ended a war by dressing alike and asking their warring fathers, husbands, and brothers to tell them apart. When they fail to do so, the girls point out that they all one people and should not be fighting amongst themselves.