The Legend of Yurt

The Kazakh yurt is a unique invention of the nomadic people. Yurt remains the oldest but also the most modern home of nomads. It is easily transported by horses and camels. It is quickly installed and dismantled. It stays cool in the summer and warm in the winter. The Kazakh yurt consists of wooden frames in a coat cover. It’s impressing how people could create this kind of home back in the days. That’s why there are also a lot of legends connected with its invention. You can get acquainted with one of them below:

Once upon a time, a Kazakh man was walking along the steppe. Suddenly a strong storm arose. The man looked around to find some kind of shelter. He saw one tree standing alone with its low branches. He hurried to it to shelter from rain and lightning.

All the small insects- ant, beetle, grasshopper, dragonfly- for whom the tree and the plants were home gathered around the man. They were surprised why he was hiding there and not going to his home. He sat near the trunk trying to hide from the rain. Suddenly he heard a voice.

-Why don’t you get to your home, just like we did?- the insects asked.

-I’m a traveller, I travel everywhere. I don’t have a house.

-How is that possible? Everyone has a house! And it must be reliable, like ours, keeping us from the hot sun and cold nights.

-But I can never make a house like that,- sighed the man with sadness.

When the rain stopped the insects decided to help the man to build a house. The ant brought dry twigs, the beetle carried sheep wool, the grasshopper brought flexible stems, the dragonfly brought flower petals. Seeing this wonderful assistance, the man decided to start building it.

They bent the branches and fasten them to get around the frame, which would make the house resilient. It would protect the house from wind, rain and snow. They rolled the wool around the skeleton to make it warm. They left a small hole on the roof so that the sun would light the house in the afternoon and the stars at night. The flower petals were used to make carpets for decorating the inside of the house. Due to this, the house became cosy and beautiful. Due to the twigs it could be easily assembled and dismantled. The man was astonished by the final result. He named it yurt and since then his happy life in the house began.