A KIRGHIZ "POMINKA."

Waikato Times, Volume 87, Issue 13275, 2 September 1916, Page 4 (Supplement)

A KIRGHIZ "POMINKA."

A peuninka is not something to eat. Its nearest eipmaient is the Irish "wake, bin it is a much more strenuous altair ihaii that ancieni e eToinonial rite, and lasts several days, soini'times e'Veui a wi'e'K. I lie old hgyptiaiis built Ltle-lii-e'lVe'S luigltly p\ la 111 ills lo e'OlnlUi'iiuiiaii' tlirir iiepariui'e- from the' world. lim modern what shoiihl one call tiiein .' kirglK'i'zei's;—native's ot the Jvirghi/, Sleppe-s • lay aslile a goneroils sum of nioiioy io be spent on a lostival o| gaiely and re|oicing, io which, some six imuiilis or a year alter iheir deaih, ail their friends are' to be invited. I Ins. .Mr I'j. .Nelson f ell a s lire's lis, i s in i ni,. aceordaiice with ibi'. iiieail oi 1io• j> 11 a 111 >' that pervades i hat ills: riei. "in. Ili in way," he adds, "not only does the 'lying man provide in a weirl by way lor the digniiv ami uoiior ol his 1 alllllx, but he also carries unit 111111 ; beyond I he grave, the tradition and law ol Kirghiz hospiiality." And we are told i lull, ibis is "a won-

eli'i'lHl law ; elnelly uoiiderlul because it is universally oiu'ved. To the guest within the aool nothing can be denied, no matter what the; previous relations between guest and host may have been." In The Atlantic Monthly Mr Fell tells of his attendance, in company with several other Westerners, at tlm pominka ot the wealthy Sultan Haccn

Akacv. They went clad in their best Siberian costumes, with immaculate equipment, on the best steeds that the station could boast. He elescribes his arrival at the encampment of the Sultan : "Seve'ral miles from the aool, and long before we could see it, we saw it large party of gaily dressed riders dashing towarel us; they had ridden out to meet us and escort us in honor to our tent. "'Salaam Alaikuin! Aman ! Anian !' "It all seemed very gay and very simple and natural. They turned and rode with us to the encampment. "When we arrived at the' aool, it was the seem- of the- most animated life conceivable'. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, had come in to enjoy tin* sport, for such a pominka might never occur again during their lifetime. A hundred pietald two-year-old horses had been allotted for slaughter, to feed the multitude—a number hitherto unheard of —and as for the sheep, no one thought of counting them. All day and night the feasting went on; from tent to tent great steaming platters of boiled meat and skins of koumiss were carried.

"Altogether the pominka lasted for three days of continuous feasting, 'with sports thrown in.' As we read: "Wrestling is very popular; even the women engage in hard-fought bouts; hut especially popular are the sports and games with which horses are concerned. The sheepskin contest always draws a large crowd. 'Die skin of a freshly slaughtered sheep is seized hy a mounted rider, who gallops oil'; hundreds dash after him and try to wrest it from hint; the man who succeeds dashes oil' with it himself, and so it changes hands. It is a rough sport, and so is the wrestling on horseback: hut every one is so good-natured and good-humored that it is seldom that any one is hurt. ''One form of sport (r) they have which is not inspiring; it is, in fact, disgusting. Every aool of consequence has its eating champion, and, on festal occasions, the champions of different aools are pitted against one. another. The two champions sit down facing each other, and platter after platter of boiled meat (always without salt) is put in front of each man, who crams the meat into his mouth with his hands and gulps it down, like a wolf. Bowl after howl ol koumiss and samovar after samovar of tea disappear in like manner. The quantity which these gastronomical giants are able to consume is astonishing. An ordinary accomplishment lor ono hero at a sitting is:

(>nc entire sheep. Fight gallons of koumiss. Two gallons of tea. Wonderful. I>u( horrible! The poininka usually closes with the most popular event, of all, the horse-race. It is a cross-country race and starts from a point about twelve or fifteen miles away. Tiny little hoys are put up as jockeys, whose little legs are too small to grip the saddle. The crowd gathers near the finish and waits patiently for an hour or two. Little specks appear on the horizon, and a number of horsemen gather to meet them. As they come nearer, the partisans of each horse close in round it and gallop by its side, urging it forward with whip and shouts. They grow more asd more excited as they draw near the goal; one rider whips out a rope and, fastening one end to the saddle of the racing-horse, ties the other to his own and drags him along. Another does the same. On the other side, another hooks on to the bridle, and so on, till there may be a dozen fresh horses dragging the tired racehorses along, with terrific yells and shouts. It is a scene of the greatest possible animation; the crowd is immense, all well mounted, racing hither and thither. There is no defined finish, no judge, but there never seems to be any difficulty in deciding which horse is the winner. The honor is much prized both for the horse and the rider. "It is indeed wonderful fo see how the little fellows of six and eight years of age can endure such a ride. The prize may he ot money, of cloth, or anything else. But. whatever it is, it is immediately distributed by the winner among his friends. He likes the honor of winning. but the prize itself has no attractions for him. I have never observed this habit on our Western racecourses. The odd thing is that it is'all done so naturally, so good-lmmoredly, without definition ot rules, or without intervention of stewards or judges or policethey play the game like real sportsmen.''