The Gold in the Ground is a folktale that came from a country called Kazakhstan.

KA-ZAKH-STAN

Where is Kazakhstan?

Kazakhstan is huge, 2.7 million square kilometers. That’s about 4 times the size of Texas! It has a population of 18 million people, compared to 28 million people in Texas, so there is a lot of space for everyone. But more than half the country is covered in desert and arid land. You can see it in the map where it is a sandy color.

There is actual gold in Kazakhstan, in the mountains of the northeast. But the Gold in the Ground that we talk about in the story is really meant to be the soil where all the food comes from. There is a great deal of rich farmland in the north, and more than one fifth of the population works in agriculture, just like the Farmer and the Shepherd in our story.

The people in Kazakhstan are just like you and me. They have their various jobs — office workers, politicians, teachers, factory workers, farmers, dancers, artists, engineers, caregivers. They have their families and their hobbies, and their cultural traditions.

Here are some examples of Kazakhi food:

Chechil, a kind of string cheese soaked in brine.

Chookchook, fried dough covered in sticky sugary glaze

Beshbarmak, a dish made from meat, noodles and onions.

Sorpa Airan, a cross between yoghurt and soup.

Shubat, fermented camel’s milk!

Shelpek, a kind of flatbread.

On national holidays they dress up in traditional costumes to celebrate their heritage.

Have you heard of THE EAGLE HUNTRESS? That is a movie based on a real 13-year-old girl in Kazakhstan who trains to be an eagle champion. You should see it. It’s amazing.

Here is another photo of a man with with a giant bird.

Maybe it’s no wonder there is a folktale from Kazakhstan that is full of birds!