![Kyrgyz yurt](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Kyrgyzsk%C3%A1_jurta%2C_Song-k%C3%B6l.jpg)
A yurt (from the
Turkic languages
The Turkic languages are a language family of over 35 documented languages, spoken by the Turkic peoples of Eurasia from Eastern Europe and Southern Europe to Central Asia, East Asia, North Asia ( Siberia), and Western Asia. The Turkic l ...
) or ger (
Mongolian) is a portable, round tent covered and
insulated with skins or
felt
Felt is a textile material that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic or acrylonitrile or wood ...
and traditionally used as a dwelling by several distinct
nomadic groups in the
steppes
In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes.
Steppe biomes may include:
* the montane grasslands and shrublands biome
* the temperate grassland ...
and
mountains of
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
. The structure consists of a flexible angled assembly or latticework of wood or
bamboo
Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...
for walls, a door frame, ribs (poles, rafters), and a wheel (crown, compression ring) possibly steam-bent as a roof. The roof structure is sometimes self-supporting, but large yurts may have interior posts supporting the crown. The top of the wall of self-supporting yurts is prevented from spreading by means of a tension band which opposes the force of the roof ribs. Yurts take between 30 minutes and 3 hours to set up or take down, and are generally used by between five and 15 people. Nomadic farming with yurts as housing has been the primary life style in Central Asia, particularly Mongolia, for thousands of years.
Modern yurts may be permanently built on a wooden or concrete platform; they may use modern materials such as metal framing, plastics, plexiglass dome, or
radiant insulation.
Etymology and translations
Old Turkic
Old Turkic (also East Old Turkic, Orkhon Turkic language, Old Uyghur) is the earliest attested form of the Turkic languages, found in Göktürk and Uyghur Khaganate inscriptions dating from about the eighth to the 13th century. It is the old ...
''yurt'' "tent, dwelling, abode, range" may have been derived from the Old Turkic word ur - verb with the suffix +Ut. In modern Turkish, the word "yurt" is used as the synonym of "homeland" or a "dormitory", while in modern Azerbaijani, "yurd" mainly signifies "homeland" or "motherland". In Russian, the structure is called "yurta" (юрта), whence the word came into English.
Translations
* // – in use in Azerbaijani, Turkish and Bashkir languages.
* (transliterated: ger, ) – in
Mongolian simply means "home".
* (transliterated: ) is the
Bashkir term for yurt.
* (transliterated: , ) – the Kazakh word, and means "felt house".
* (transliterated: , ) – the Kyrgyz term is meaning "grey house", because of the color of the felt.
* (, "white house") and (, "black house") – in the
Turkmen language
Turkmen (, , , or , , , ), sometimes referred to as "Turkmen Turkic" or "Turkmen Turkish", is a Turkic language spoken by the Turkmens of Central Asia, mainly of Turkmenistan, Iran, and Afghanistan. It has an estimated 5 million native speake ...
, which term is used depends on its luxury and elegance.
* () and () – in
Qaraqalpaq
Karakalpak is a Turkic language spoken by Karakalpaks in Karakalpakstan. It is divided into two dialects, Northeastern Karakalpak and Southeastern Karakalpak. It developed alongside Uzbek language, Uzbek and neighboring Kazakh languages, being mar ...
the first term means "black house", while the second means "a newborn family" and is used only to name a young family's yurt.
* In
Hungarian yurt is called "". Besides the more scientific modern-era word "", Hungarians in everyday life still use "" for all tent-like dwellings, which could be the original word Hungarians used for yurts in historic times.
* In
Bulgarian
Bulgarian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria
* Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group
* Bulgarian language, a Slavic language
* Bulgarian alphabet
* A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria
* Bul ...
yurt is called "юрта" (yurta).
* "Kherga"/"
Jirga
A jirga ( ps, جرګه, ''jərga'') is an assembly of leaders that makes decisions by consensus according to Pashtunwali, the Pashtuns, Pashtun social code. It is conducted in order to settle disputes among the Pashtuns, but also by members of oth ...
" –
Afghans call them.
* "Khema" (خیمه/ख़ेमा) in
Hindustani is the word for a yurt or a tent-like dwelling in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
, from the
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
: خَيْمَة
* In
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
yurt is called (châdor)
* In
Tajik the names are "yurt", "khona-i siyoh", "khayma" (юрт, хонаи сиёҳ, хайма).
* (, ) is the
Tuvan word for yurt.
* кереге (, //) is the
Southern Altai word for a yurt made from felt.
* A
Yaranga
A Yaranga ( Chukchi: ) is a tent-like traditional mobile home of some nomadic Northern indigenous peoples of Russia, such as Chukchi and Siberian Yupik.
A Yaranga is a cone-shaped or rounded reindeer-hide tent. It is built of a light wooden fr ...
is a tent-like traditional mobile home of some nomadic Northern indigenous peoples of Russia, such as Chukchi and Siberian Yupik.
History
Yurts have been a distinctive feature of life in Central Asia for at least two and a half thousand years. The first written description of a yurt used as a dwelling was recorded by the
ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
historian
Herodotus
Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...
. He described yurt-like tents as the dwelling place of the
Scythians
The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern
* : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved for the ancient tribes of northern and eastern Centra ...
, a horse riding-nomadic nation who lived in the northern Black Sea and Central Asian region from around 600 BC to AD 300.
Construction
![Gurvger](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Gurvger.jpg)
Traditional yurts consist of an expanding wooden circular frame carrying a felt cover. The
felt
Felt is a textile material that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic or acrylonitrile or wood ...
is made from the wool of the flocks of sheep that accompany the
pastoralists
Pastoralism is a form of animal husbandry where domesticated animals (known as "livestock") are released onto large vegetated outdoor lands (pastures) for grazing, historically by nomadic people who moved around with their herds. The animal s ...
. The
timber
Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, w ...
to make the external structure is not to be found on the treeless
steppes
In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes.
Steppe biomes may include:
* the montane grasslands and shrublands biome
* the temperate grassland ...
, and must be obtained by trade in the valleys below.
The frame consists of one or more expanding
lattice
Lattice may refer to:
Arts and design
* Latticework, an ornamental criss-crossed framework, an arrangement of crossing laths or other thin strips of material
* Lattice (music), an organized grid model of pitch ratios
* Lattice (pastry), an orna ...
wall-sections, a door-frame, bent roof poles and a crown. The Mongolian Ger has one or more columns to support the crown and straight roof poles. The (self-supporting) wood frame is covered with pieces of felt. Depending on availability, felt is additionally covered with canvas and/or sun-covers. The frame is held together with one or more ropes or ribbons. The structure is kept under compression by the weight of the covers, sometimes supplemented by a heavy weight hung from the center of the roof. They vary with different sizes, and relative weight. They provide a large amount of insulation and protection from the outside cold of winters, and they are easily changed to keep the yurts cool for summertime.
A yurt is designed to be dismantled and the parts carried compactly on
camels
A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. ...
or
yaks
The domestic yak (''Bos grunniens''), also known as the Tartary ox, grunting ox or hairy cattle, is a species of long-haired domesticated cattle found throughout the Himalayan region of the Indian subcontinent, the Tibetan Plateau, Kachin St ...
to be rebuilt on another site. Complete construction takes around 2 hours.
File:Montage d'une yourte murs.jpg, Pitching a yurt: starting with walls and door
File:Yurt-construction-1.JPG, placing of roof construction
File:Yurt-construction-2.JPG, roof construction in place with roof slopes
File:Yurt-construction-3.JPG, placing the thin undercover on the roof slopes
File:Yurt-construction-5.JPG, placing the outer cover
File:Yurt-construction-4.JPG, felt cover in place
File:Yurt-construction-6 (final).JPG, Last step: adding ropes
File:Mongolian Ger.jpg, A ger sits on the Steppes near Mandalgovi
Insulation and decoration, symbolism
The traditional insulation and decoration within a yurt primarily exists of pattern-based woollen felted rugs. These patterns are generally not according to taste, but are derived from sacred ornaments with certain symbolism. Symbols representing strength are for instance the khas (
swastika) or four powerful beasts (
lion,
tiger
The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on ...
,
garuda
Garuda (Sanskrit: ; Pāli: ; Vedic Sanskrit: गरुळ Garuḷa) is a Hindu demigod and divine creature mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain faiths. He is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. Garuda ...
, and
dragon), as well as stylized representations of the five
elements (fire, water, earth, metal, and wood), considered to be the fundamental, unchanging elements of the cosmos. Such patterns are commonly used in the home with the belief that they will bring strength and offer protection.
Repeating geometric patterns are also widely used, like the continuous hammer or walking pattern (alkhan khee). Commonly used as a border decoration, it represents unending strength and constant movement. Another common pattern is the ulzii, a symbol of long life and happiness. The khamar ugalz (nose pattern) and ever ugalz (horn pattern) are derived from the shape of the animal's nose and horns, and are the oldest traditional patterns. All patterns can be found among not only the yurts themselves, but also on embroidery, furniture, books, clothing, doors, and other objects.
In Kyrgyz felted rug manufacturing the most common patterns are the Ala kiyiz and Shyrdak. Ornaments are visualising good wishes or blessing of the makers to a daughter who gets married, to children or grandchildren.
In Central Asia
Image:Shangrak.JPG, Shangyrak
Image:Coat of arms of Kazakhstan.svg, Emblem of Kazakhstan
, supporters = Tulpar
, compartment =
, motto = QAZAQSTAN
, orders =
, other_elements =
, use = The Cyrillic-text version used between 1992 and 2018
, image2=Emblem of Kazakhstan.svg, image2_captio ...
Image:Flag of Kyrgyzstan.svg, Flag of Kyrgyzstan
The flag of the Kyrgyz Republic ( ky, Кыргыз Республикасынын Мамлекеттик Туусу, Kyrgyz Respublikasynyn Mamlekettik Tuusu, The State Flag of the Kyrgyz Republic, russian: Флаг Кыргызстана, Гос ...
The ''shangyrak'' or wooden crown of the yurt ( mn, тооно, ; kk, шаңырақ, Shañıraq ; ky, түндүк ; tk, tüýnük) is itself emblematic in many Central Asian cultures. In old
Kazakh communities, the yurt itself would often be repaired and rebuilt, but the shangyrak would remain intact, passed from father to son upon the father's death. A family's length of heritage could be measured by the accumulation of stains on the shangyrak from decades of smoke passing through it. A stylized version of the crown is in the center of the
coat of arms of Kazakhstan
, supporters = Tulpar
, compartment =
, motto = QAZAQSTAN
, orders =
, other_elements =
, use = The Cyrillic-text version used between 1992 and 2018
, image2=Emblem of Kazakhstan.svg, image2_captio ...
, and forms the main image on the
flag of Kyrgyzstan
The flag of the Kyrgyz Republic ( ky, Кыргыз Республикасынын Мамлекеттик Туусу, Kyrgyz Respublikasynyn Mamlekettik Tuusu, The State Flag of the Kyrgyz Republic, russian: Флаг Кыргызстана, Гос ...
.
Today a yurt is seen as a national symbol among many Central Asian groups, and as such, yurts may be used as cafés (especially those specialising in traditional food), museums (especially relating to national culture), and souvenir shops. In celebration of the city of Mary's year as Cultural Capital of the
Turkic World, the government of Turkmenistan constructed a yurt-shaped structure, called Ak Öýi (White Building) and described as "The World's Largest Yurt", of concrete, granite, aluminum, and glass. Established on November 27, 2015, the structure is 35 meters high and 70 meters in diameter. According to the
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...
state news agency, "A white yurt is a symbol of an age-old, distinctive historical-cultural legacy, a sign of preservation of our roots and origins." This three-story structure includes a café, offices, and VIP apartments as well as a large auditorium with 3,000 seats.
Buddhism in Mongolia
![Yurt_hearth_1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/Yurt_hearth_1.JPG)
The design of the Mongolian ger developed from its ancient simple forms to actively integrate with Buddhist culture. The crown—toono adopted the shape of Dharmachakra. The earlier style of toono, nowadays more readily found in Central Asian yurts, is called in Mongolia "sarkhinag toono" while the toono representing Buddhist dharmachakra is called "
khorlo
Khorlo ( Tib.: འཁོར་ལོ་; 'khor-lo') means: 'wheel', 'round', 'mandala', 'chakra', 'samsara'.
It appears in the names of some tantric deities such as Chakrasamvara ('khor-lo bde-mchog, "wheel of great bliss") and Kalachakra (dus-k ...
" (Tibetan འཀོར་ལོ།) toono. Also the shapes, colors and ornaments of the wooden elements—toono, pillars and poles of the Mongolian yurt are in accord with the artistic style found in Buddhist monasteries of Mongolia. Such yurts are called "uyangiin ger", literally meaning "home of lyrics" or "home of melodies".
Westernization
![FinishedYurt](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/FinishedYurt.jpg)
Enthusiasts in other countries have adapted the visual idea of the yurt, a round, semi-permanent tent. Although those structures may be copied to some extent from the originals found in Central Asia, they often have some different features in their design to adapt them to different climate and use.
In
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, yurts are often made using
hi-tech
High technology (high tech), also known as advanced technology (advanced tech) or exotechnology, is technology that is at the cutting edge: the highest form of technology available. It can be defined as either the most complex or the newest te ...
materials. They can be highly engineered and built for
extreme weather
Extreme weather or extreme climate events includes unexpected, unusual, severe, or unseasonal weather; weather at the extremes of the historical distribution—the range that has been seen in the past. Often, extreme events are based on a loca ...
conditions. In addition, erecting one can take days and they may not be intended to be frequently moved. Such North American yurts are better thought of as yurt derivations, as they are no longer round felt homes that are easy to mount, dismount and transport. North American yurts and yurt derivations were pioneered by
William Coperthwaite
William S. Coperthwaite (September 19, 1930 – November 26, 2013), a native of Maine, U.S., pioneered yurt building in the United States. For his book ''A Handmade Life: In Search of Simplicity'', he received the Nautilus Book Award.
Childhood ...
in the 1960s, after he was inspired to build them by a National Geographic article about
Supreme Court Justice
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest-ranking judicial body in the United States. Its membership, as set by the Judiciary Act of 1869, consists of the chief justice of the United States and eight Associate Justice of the Supreme ...
William O. Douglas
William Orville Douglas (October 16, 1898January 19, 1980) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, who was known for his strong progressive and civil libertarian views, and is often ci ...
's visit to Mongolia.
![Kelleys_Island_State_Park_Yurt](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Kelleys_Island_State_Park_Yurt.jpg)
In 1978, American company, Pacific Yurts, became the first to manufacture yurts using architectural fabrics and structural engineering, paving the way for yurts to become popular attractions at ski resorts and campgrounds. Yurts are also popular in Northern Canada. In 1993, Oregon became the first state to incorporate yurts into its Parks Department as year round camping facilities. Since then, at least 17 other US States have introduced yurt camping into their own parks departments.
In
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, a closer approximation to the Mongolian and Central Asian yurt is in production in several countries. These tents use local
hardwood, and often are adapted for a wetter climate with steeper
roof
A roof ( : roofs or rooves) is the top covering of a building, including all materials and constructions necessary to support it on the walls of the building or on uprights, providing protection against rain, snow, sunlight, extremes of te ...
profiles and
waterproof
Waterproofing is the process of making an object or structure waterproof or water-resistant so that it remains relatively unaffected by water or resisting the ingress of water under specified conditions. Such items may be used in wet environme ...
canvas. In essence they are yurts, but some lack the felt cover and ornate features across the exterior that is present in traditional yurt. There are UK-made yurts that feature a metal frame in use in at least two
glamping
Glamping is a portmanteau of " glamorous" and "camping", and describes a style of camping with amenities and, in some cases, resort-style services not usually associated with "traditional" camping. Glamping has become particularly popular with ...
sites in
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
and
Dorset
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...
.
The
palloza
A palloza (also known as pallouza or pallaza) is a traditional dwelling of the Serra dos Ancares of northwest Spain.
Structure
A palloza is a traditional thatched house as found in Leonese county of El Bierzo, Serra dos Ancares in Galicia, and ...
is a traditional building found in the
Serra dos Ancares
The Serra dos Ancares (Spanish: ''Sierra de los Ancares'', also known as ''Sierra de Ancares'') is a mountain range of the Galician Massif in north-west Spain, extending in a south-westerly direction from the western end of the Cantabrian Mountain ...
in
Galicia (NW Spain). Pallozas have stone walls and a conical roof made of stalks of
rye.
Different groups and individuals use yurts for a variety of purposes, from full-time housing to school rooms. In some provincial parks in Canada, and state parks in several US states, permanent yurts are available for
camping
Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more na ...
.
Since the late 1920s the German youth and
Scouting movements have adapted a variant of the yurt and the Sami
lavvu
Lavvu (or se, lávvu, smj, låvdagoahte, smn, láávu, sms, kååvas, sjd, коавас (''kåvas''), fi, kota or umpilaavu, no, lavvo or sametelt, and sv, kåta) is a temporary dwelling used by the Sami people of northern extremes of North ...
(
Kohte
The Kohte is the typical tent of German Scouting and the German Youth Movement. Based on the Sami goahti and lavvu and developed in the late 1920s and early 1930s, it is an open-topped tent assembled on-site from four characteristically shaped ...
), calling them ''Schwarzzelt'' (Black tents), a term mainly used for tents from North-Africa.
See also
![Yurts_in_the_tourist_camp](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Yurts_in_the_tourist_camp._Mongolia.jpg)
*
Architecture of Mongolia
The architecture of Mongolia is largely based on traditional dwellings, such as the yurt ( mn, гэр, ) and the tent. During the 16th and 17th centuries, lamaseries were built throughout the country as temples which were later enlarged to acc ...
*
Flag of Kyrgyzstan
The flag of the Kyrgyz Republic ( ky, Кыргыз Республикасынын Мамлекеттик Туусу, Kyrgyz Respublikasynyn Mamlekettik Tuusu, The State Flag of the Kyrgyz Republic, russian: Флаг Кыргызстана, Гос ...
*
Ger district
A ger district ( mn, гэр хороолол, ) is a form of residential district in Mongolian settlements. They usually consist of parcels with one or more detached houses or gers (hence the name), surrounded by two-metre high wooden fences. ...
*
Igloo
*
List of human habitation forms
This is a list of house types. Houses can be built in a large variety of configurations. A basic division is between free-standing or single-family detached homes and various types of attached or multi-family residential dwellings. Both may v ...
*
Tent
*
Tipi
A tipi , often called a lodge in English, is a conical tent, historically made of animal hides or pelts, and in more recent generations of canvas, stretched on a framework of wooden poles. The word is Siouan, and in use in Dakhótiyapi, Lakȟó ...
*
Yaranga
A Yaranga ( Chukchi: ) is a tent-like traditional mobile home of some nomadic Northern indigenous peoples of Russia, such as Chukchi and Siberian Yupik.
A Yaranga is a cone-shaped or rounded reindeer-hide tent. It is built of a light wooden fr ...
*
Vernacular architecture
Vernacular architecture is building done outside any academic tradition, and without professional guidance. This category encompasses a wide range and variety of building types, with differing methods of construction, from around the world, bo ...
*
Alternative housing
Alternative housing is a category of domicile structures that are built or designed outside of the mainstream norm e.g., town homes, single family homes and apartment complexes. In modern days, alternative housing commonly takes the form of ti ...
References
External links
*
Yurt Infonbsp;– A comprehensive resource for yurts and related structures
Yurt Forumnbsp;– A community resource for yurts and related structures
Yurt - World History EncyclopediaTimelapse of Yurt construction at Blackdown Yurts – Devon, England by Mike LusmoreYurts of the Nomadic Chahar People. Inner Mongolia, China, 1874Yurt living tips from experts
{{Authority control
Central Asian culture
Indigenous architecture
House types
Tents
Vernacular architecture
Mongolian culture