The Kirgiz Falconers

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THE majestic grasslands, rugged deserts and snow-capped mountains of western Xinjiang have been home to China’s largest community of ethnic kirgiz for centuries. A Muslim Turkic people, China’s Kirgiz are the linguistic and ethnic brethren of the Central Asian Kirgiz that constitute the majority population of the bordering Kyrgyz Republic.

Herding and hunting have always been the traditional means of livelihood for the nomadic Kirgiz.

In the warmer months, Kirgiz would move their herds from one patch of land to another in the perennial hunt for fresh pasture. In winter, hunting became the main occupation. Day in, day out, hunting parties headed out into the Gobi, a barren desert of shifting sands, rugged outcrops and low shrubs. Hunts featured a twofold attack: mounted Kirgiz men flushed out game, leaving whirlwinds of dust in their wake, while trained hawks prepared for an aerial kill.

Falconry is believed to have originated in either Mesopotamia or Mongolia and China some 4,000 years ago. Today, it is an essential part of Kirgiz traditions and culture. In Akqi, a frontier town near the Chinese-Kyrgyzstan border in the foothills of the Tianshan Mountains, almost every Kirgiz family keeps a hawk. As they watch over their grazing flocks, locals take time out to train hawks on nearby Kokshal and Karateke Mountains and along the Toshigan River.

The hawk variety on the Pamir Plateau is medium-sized and gray with short, rounded wings. The hawk joins hounds as essential companions to local hunters.

I arrived at Yalangqi, a village a few miles from Akqi Town, in late winter, and found accommodation with the Biekes. Makar Bieke, 50, and his seven brothers are said to be among the best horsemen and hunters in the region. Makar tells me his eldest brother, now in his 60s, can still ride like the wind with his hawk firmly perched on his shoulder.

Although traditional lifestyles are still very much alive in the remote Kirgiz community, modern amenities have trickled in, which ensure locals have access to the world around them. Almost every household has a motorcycle, and some have cars. A few years ago, a bridge was built over the river that lies between Yalangqi Village and Akqi Town, cutting the motorbike ride between them from four hours to 30 minutes.

Local homes are small, detached cab-ins made of adobe and hay. The design is a homage to the nomads’ traditional dwelling, the tent. Adobe and hay don’t support large structures, and the smaller rooms of the cabins inhibit heat loss and are more resistant to strong winds. Makar’s cabin has three bedrooms, the eastern one for guests. A brick bed takes much of the space in the room and is covered with an ornately embroidered felt blanket.