Ancient festival of Kymyzmuryndyk held in Akmola region

“Dulat, a resident of the Kenbidaiyk village, is already drinking the eighth cup of kymyz. None of the participants could drink more than six cups until now,” said a correspondent.

Residents of Akmola region celebrated the ancient festival of Kymyzmuryndyk. According to the tradition, people took part in the ceremony of kymyz-drinking. Contestants need to drink 10 cups of the fermented mare’s milk in just five minutes. National sports competitions were also organized. The program includes baige horse race, Kazakh wrestling and kokpar game.

“The festival has brought together the residents of the whole region. I’ve never seen anything like that in my life. We need to revive our traditions and organize such events more often,” said Amangeldy Auzhanov, Korgalzhyn village resident.

“Competitions in national sports were held on quite a large scale. For example, about 90 riders from all over Akmola region took part in kokpar. We also organized both the 25-kilometre alaman-baige horse race and the 16-kilometre tai-baige. Kazakh wrestling was also organized. They competed in different weight categories, from lightweight to heavyweight,” said Murager Akhmetbekov, Shalkar village resident.

In 2018, Kymyzmuryndyk festival and traditional spring ceremonies of Kazakh horse breeders were included in the UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.

 

 

Translation by Zhanna Smagulova

Editing by Galiya Khassenkhanova