A marvellous journey through the extraordinary costumes of the nomadic peoples of central Asia.
This book is unique from two points of view. Firstly a book has never been published before in either American or European literature on the costumes of the nomadic peoples of central Asia. This richly illustrated volume presents the work of the eminent Russian anthropologist Klavdiya Ivanova Antipina, who died in 1996 at the age of 92. Klavdiya Antipina was one of the few Soviet anthropologists who devoted their lives to researching the nomads of Kyrgyzstan, she herself spend most of her life in Kyrgyzstan and in particular focused her work on material culture in the southern region of the country. The costumes and documentation presented in this volume constitute a substantial part of the research carried out by the eminent anthropologist during her years in Kyrgyzstan and have never been published before.
Secondly, the book is illustrated by French photographer Rolando Paiva, who travelled Kyrgyzstan extensively to capture the population and their costumes through his lens. His work integrates and enriches Klavdiya Antipina's research by showing the transformation, evolution and especially the conservation of Kyrgyz identity, an example of central Asian nomadic culture.