Bayanaul National Park, Kazakhstan July 20-31 2025

Legends of Bayanaul

Landscape, Lore, Language

The Bayanaul region is home to hundreds of picturesque rock formations, carved by wind and rain, and resembling everything from ships to heros to a lady’s comb.

The people who live here have traditional stories and beliefs about scores of local landmarks. This oral folklore was passed down for centuries in the Kazakh langage, but with the recent growth of tourism the same stories are now told — by locals and tour guides — in Russian and English, too.

Are these really the same stories? What happens when an oral legend jumps to a different language, a different culture? Do local storytellers adapt their tales for audiences with a foreign sense of humor, or foreign standards of propriety?

Our team will record, transcribe and compare Bayanaul legends as told in English, Russian and Kazakh. They will also photograph and video the natural features tied to those legends. Bi- or trilingual staff will assist with translation.

Expedition start and end point: Pavlodar, Kazakhstan