Let Me Run You Over. If You’re Still Alive I Want To Marry You!

Some Kyrgyz traditions may sound too weird. People across the world wont understand them. When I remember the customs my great parents had I get goose bumps. One of them is how men used to test their future wives. It wasn’t all about assets, but physical strength of a woman. She had to be strong enough to carry and take care of a child. Remember medieval times when knights used to fight to conquer their women or at least some titles and money in Europe?

At that time Kyrgyz men used to ride on their horses and hit a woman they wanted to marry with their big winter hat. (Yes, you are reading right.) If a woman was strong enough to stay on her feet and didn’t loose her balance, then that is the right woman to be the mother of his kids. Not too romantic, right? I don’t know how women felt, but I would try to carry a big stick around, just in case someone will “ask me out”. So it's the 21st century now and what do you think Kyrgyz men do to find their love? They just kidnap, as I narrated in “The Sack Over Your Head A Ring On Your Finger?”. Mores change, same as people.


I would be very interested how people all around the world used to date, marry and love, relationships in general. Nowadays it’s all became a universal thing, so that peculiarities of the nations are lost. Who would at the beginning of 20th century think that Kyrgyz young people will give flowers and sweets to each other on Valentine’s Day by the end of the century? I am assuming Kyrgyz men are becoming more romantic. But you still can find that Kyrgyz men prefer both physically and mentally strong women and they are not into model type of girls, but of course you don’t have to be a wrestler either to find a man in Kyrgyzstan.