A saba is a sack for making koumiss. It is a leather vessel in the shape of a truncated pyramid with an elongated top. This type of utensil was used to prepare and store the traditional Kazakh horse milk drink. Such vessels were made by special people — smokers. While working on the skin, they made a half-dugout with a tight-s roof, where they left a small slit for air access. The door was tightly closed.

This saba from the museum’s collection was sewn from a whole piece of horse skin. Although, this was not a tradition; sometimes the skins of two or three animals could be used. The material had to be prepared: the wool had to be shaved off on the outer side and cleaned of fat on the inner side. After that, the processed skin was left to dry in the shade for three days. Then the dried skin was cut and stretched.

The specific shape of the saba was achieved by the triangular gussets attached to the sides. The skins, suspended from the poles with threads, were attached to another pole straightening the material with its weight. The skins were kept at a distance of three meters from the smoke and regularly checked to prevent them from burning. The fire was lit once or twice a day for almost a month.

This treatment was completed when the skin was the color of a sun tan, soft and free of fatty layers. As a result, the vessel became watertight. The product was smoked with the fumes of meadowsweet or birch trees. Thanks to this process, the skin became stronger, and the characteristic smell of soot gave koumiss a special flavor and improved the quality of the drink.

A saba was stitched with horse or camel hair thread, which increased the strength of the vessel and also decorated the product. Before making koumiss, the vessel was washed, and filled with ayran for a few days to eliminate the smell of skin. After that, the saba was stretched, covered with wet soot, butter or kaimak fat cream.

A saba could hold up to 50 liters of liquid, in special cases the volume reached 100 liters. The size of the saba increased in proportion to the family income. The leather vessel was convenient in nomadic conditions. Light-weighted and spacious, it was suitable for transport by pack animals. It took more than three months to make one saba.