Slave, not remembering kinship… About the fate of these unfortunate martyrs written by the famous Kyrgyz writer Chingiz Aitmatov in the novel “And longer than a century lasts a day”.
Once constantly warring nomadic Asians mistreating the prisoners, but particularly terrible fate awaited those who were to become slaves. The memory of the slaves was destroyed by terrible torture. Their carefully shaved head was worn Shiri — thick pieces of camel skins of freshly slaughtered full-grown camel. The skin of his flesh side, as the plaster sticking to shaved head like a rubber bathing cap. Slaves tied, worn around the neck pads to keep the head from touching the ground, and throwing for a few days in the sun. The skin is dried, compressed, squeezed the head and made slaves of inhuman torment. Grows coarse hair of Asians rested in fossilized skin, curled and grown again in the scalp, causing even more miserable terrible suffering.
Five or six prisoners survived one, but he completely lost his memory and became dumb half-slave, ready day and night to herd cattle, unquestioningly carry out any dirty work and, in addition to food, to demand nothing from the owner in return. Mankurt like a dog, was loyal to his master and one was replaced by a dozen other employees.
In the mid 70-ies of our field exploration party at the end of the season was located at the junction of the railway Aktogai-Friendship. This road once in our country were shipped from China exotic products for us, then the relationship between the USSR and China went wrong, trains in the fraternal country has not gone, but the road was maintained in good condition. Twice a week, it went to a mini-train with a wagon-shop, supplying all necessary staff road. The caretaker on our siding was whether Uyghur, or Kyrgyz in Russian speaking really bad, as his wife, and twice “mother-heroine”. They were more than a dozen, all students studied in boarding school and spoke good Russian, they were at home only on vacation, and the younger brood were following mother, like the goslings of a goose, and only the eldest son was, when the economy is passing camels, cows and sheep. He did not know how to read and write and did not know a single letter. So ordered by the father, making him his assistant. Offensive word dunce called his younger brothers, and it was far from the truth. By the evil will of the parent of a grown kid left with the mind of a child. Almost mankurt.
Of course, this is not true, but somehow it preserved in memory forever, and when I re-read Aitmatov, just remember that the good and the unfortunate young man. Everyone understands happiness in his own way, in any case, when dealing with something I did not notice that the guy was upset with his position in the family may just not be aware of the tragic situation, but I feel sorry for him until now.
“Mankurt” often seen me with the gun and once said that in the sand, not far from us, there is a lake where there are a lot of ducks. Can’t be, say, where in the Sands of the lake? In broken Russian aborigine claimed that the lake even on foot can be reached. Show? — ask. Zhaksy (good) — is responsible.
In the morning in the day we went. We go through the dunes for an hour or two, and the lake is not. How soon will the lake, ask. Soon, soon, soon Fars — was the answer.
After another hour I left poplaski water. The heat was no longer October, but drinking is still wanted. I was surprised that the guy does not drink and water with you. My patience has snapped. Went back, say, Jaman (bad) way, back find? Maybe you adacip kitty? (got lost). Joc (no), said.
In the morning we went to the lake almost to the North, perpendicular to the railroad, and even without a compass it would be released, I’m not particularly worried, although to be guided in the sand is very hard, and on cloudy days almost impossible. For example, in southern TRANS-Balkhash area the ridge of dunes stretching mainly from South-East to North-West, but it’s still unreliable landmark, once there I got lost and went in the direction of the camp for tens of kilometers, at the end of the day lucky — saved random machine builders wells for shepherds. Water they had, and the taste of that water even remember now.
We returned home in the evening. The father of my guide had to yell for going AWOL several times and even hit the poor thing with a stick. The most striking thing is the lake they found. From the great lakes Sasykkol to the West stretches the drying duct, and at the end of this duct is, or rather was overgrown with reeds and a small fine lake among the dunes, we soon found it. Ducks used to swim there Nemer at the time, it is a pity that later he was found, the season was already over, but to hunt for it we have time. “Mankurt” was right.
People on the pond if there were, very rarely, the conductor and myself have been there only once, he was wrong only in the city, and in the result, we are in that ill-fated day he strode past the lake.
