Shatyr Gallery is dedicated to the culture, traditions, history, and philosophy of Central Asia. We are looking for the historical and cultural connection of Central Asia with other parts of the world. The population of Central Asia is a mixture of autochthonic and migrating Indo-Iranian, Turkic and Mongolian tribes, which merged into a coloristic picture of the Central Asian cultures and traditions of modern time.

 

According to ancient manuscripts, a huge Eurasian territory from Europe to China was inhabited by Scythians or Saka tribes. Common roots have also been found on the American continent and elsewhere.

 

The worldview of the Central Asian nomads evolved based on folk wisdom, spiritual beliefs and the knowledge of the Cosmos. The vast territory from Mongolia to Eastern Europe was inhabited by ancient nomadic tribes whose spiritual beliefs were characterized by great diversity: Zoroastrianism, Tengrianism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. The worship of nature as a universal source of life is one of the most important features of the spiritual nomadic culture.

Recent findings based on genetic and linguistic studies reveal the wide distribution of the Türkic alphabet and their carriers in a Western Europe [Klyosov A.A. Russian Academy of DNA Genealogy. 2010]. Numerous archeological monuments inscriptions of Ancient Türkic writings were found on a huge territory from Western Siberia and Mongolia, Central Asia, Eastern Turkestan (Turfan) to Eastern Europe (Don, Kuban) and belong to the 8th-10th centuries. Both Türkic groups of alphabets belonged to the same Türkic family of languages and coexisted in Southern Siberia, Central Asia and, perhaps, Mongolia [Kyzlasov I.L. Writings on Eurasian Steppes, 1994). 

 

According to the Türkic and Mongol cosmogony, the universe is divided into three spheres: heaven, earth, and underground, each of which, in turn, was seen as a visible and invisible [Bezertinov R.N. Ancient Türkic Cosmological Views, 1997]. The visible sky or the "nearest sky" was inhabited by the sun and the moon, stars, and rainbow. The middle (visible) world was divided into alive and lifeless forms. This world was located on the earth and was a place of birth, growth, and living for all living beings. The main feature of the world is a continuity of life and its constant renewal. Ancient Türks believed that there is no death but a steady and consistent cycle of human life in the universe [Potapov L.P. Altaic Shamanism, 1991]. Therefore, they were not afraid of physical death regarding it as a natural extension of life, but in another existence.

 

The closeness of Turkic people to nature is expressed in a twelve-year animal cycle calendar which is now uniformly accepted all over the world. The worship of nature as the universal source of life is one of the most significant features of the spiritual nomadic culture. The Sun was the son of Tengri and the Earth deity. Tengri supervised the creation of the world by the Sun’s rays, which are strings linking the spirits of plants to the Sun. 

 

Our publications and photo albums showcase the culture and traditions of Central Asia and neighboring regions and the ethnocultural diversity of the world.