Traditional equestrian games in Kyrgyz cinematography

Traditional equestrian games were a very important part of the culture for all Turkic people, because of the nomadic style of life and periodic wars throughout the history. Equestrian games make the young people be very close to the horse – the animal, which was the main element in daily nomad life and prepare young men to control a horse very skillfully during the battles. We can see the same situation in the history of the Kyrgyz people. Most of the traditional games of Kyrgyz people are also horse related. According to literature, Kyrgyz people have a lot of equestrian games like At Chabysh, Zhamby Atmay, Er Enish, Kok-boru, Tiyin Enmei, Kyz Kuumay, Kelin Zharysh, Dzhigitovka, etc. Sport is one of the main themes in cinema from the beginning of the history of cinematography. Traditional sports games are also often used in films, especially in Turkic country cinemas. As we know, Kyrgyz Cinema was part of the multinational Soviet Cinema and despite it, it could use many cultural elements in Kyrgyz films. Traditional sports and games are also used as an element of cinema narration. This research analyzes the using traditional equestrian sports and games in Kyrgyz Cinema, as one of the effective propaganda tools.

Keywords: Kyrgyz cinema; equestrian sports; traditional games