The Central Asian nomadic tents are a very important part of nomadic life and provide the only form of formal housing for peoples. They are extremely durable and perfectly suitable for use in the mountainous regions of Central Asia. Each tent itself is a work of art and takes almost 12 months to build from yak wool spun by hand for yarn.
Building a Central Asian Nomad Tent
Tents built by nomadic tribes in Central Asia are generally medium in size and held up by a rope of handmade yak wool and eight to twelve (depending on the size of the tent) with treated wooden poles. The hand-spun fabric used to cover the tent is relatively thin and lets in a certain amount of light during daylight hours. The tent is constructed to include a large opening in the top of the tent that is used as a chimney or smoke hole to release smoke from a central manure stove located in the tent. During the warmer months of the year, these holes are also used to allow cool air and warm sunlight to enter the living room inside the tent. A multitude of Buddhist prayer flags are also attached to the exterior of the store.
The interior of most nomadic tents in Central Asia is relatively basic with Spartan features and few belongings. However, there are some basic items that are generally found in all nomadic tents in Central Asia and these include mats, warm woolen blankets, a manure stove, a wooden table of some kind, clothing and food storage areas and religious symbols including an image of the Dalai Lama and a thangka painting of Buddhist art.
Directly outside the tent, the traditional nomads of Central Asia keep yaks and dogs tethered. Dogs are used as a form of security and companionship and yaks are used for their wool and manure as a source of fuel that is burned in ovens found inside stores.
Nomadic tents of central Asia in the modern world
The use of traditional nomadic tents in Central Asia is declining rapidly due in part to the urbanization of parts of the traditionally nomadic peoples in the area, but also because more and more members of the Central Asian tribes are beginning to live in adobe houses. . Currently, the only areas in Central Asia that still have a large number of traditional nomadic tents that people use as residences are in the Nagchu and Ngari prefectures in Tibet (known in China as the Tibet Autonomous Region) and in Yushu. and Ganzi. prefectures of China proper.
