"Archive Photo". Uyghur Dance "Usul", 1934 Year

As part of the collaboration with the Central State Archive of Film, Photo, and Sound Documents (CSAFPSD KR), which is part of the Archive Service of the KR, AKIpress is launching a project titled "It Was Recently, It Was Long Ago," dedicated to archival photographs.

One of the presented photographs captures the Uyghur dance "Usul," made in 1934, making it 92 years old.

Note:

The Uyghur dance "Usul," also known as "Dap usuli," is a traditional choreographic art of the Uyghur people with deep roots. Dap (doyra) is one of the oldest musical instruments of the Uyghurs, and the dance, accompanied by its sounds, holds a significant place in the cultural tradition of the Uyghur population.

Uyghurs in Kyrgyzstan in the 1930s

In the 1930s, the descendants of the first wave of settlers from Kashgar and neighboring areas of Xinjiang, who arrived in the late 19th to early 20th century and settled in the Fergana Valley and Chui region, were already living in Kyrgyzstan, engaging in agriculture and crafts.

The situation of the Uyghur people in the 1930s was complex, as they faced general upheavals in the region: uprisings and the brief establishment of the East Turkestan Republic in Kashgar in 1933, as well as Soviet collectivization and migration processes in Central Asia, which contributed to increased migration towards the USSR, including the future Kyrgyz SSR.

The photograph is provided by the Central State Archive of Film, Photo, and Sound Documents of the KR.