Culture of Kazakhstan

KHAN UNIVERSITY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATION AND WORLD LANGUAGES

old age and death, every step of their lives has

historically been marked with celebration. Even their funeral ceremonies have their own special symbolism.

based on the ecological balance and sustainability, a product of

a culture that does not seek to dominate and change the nature, but seeks to learn its laws and follow them in daily life. Perceiving the nature as a natural shelter, nomads created their house by the own laws of the nature.

a dome. If explain its structure in simple words, it

consists of three main parts and many other smaller parts.

Three main parts include Shanyrak – top of the Yurt. Kerege – walls carcass and Uwyk – a carcass part from Kerege to the Shanyrak. The carcass is usually covered with pieces of felt from outside and decorated with carpets from inside.

are meat, flour and milk products, though nowadays many other

ingredients are common in the cuisine

Kazakhs are believed to be among the top countries in tea consumption, almost every meal is followed by tea in Kazakh families.

Kazakh cuisine is usually not spicy.

There are many high calorie dishes in the traditional Kazakh cuisine.

their guests is besbarmak. Name of this dish is translated

from Kazakh as “five fingers” because of a manner to eat the dish by hand.

Besbarmak’s main ingredients are: meat (lamb or horse meat), pasta (it is cut into small squares), as well as herbs (dill, parsley, cilantro, etc.)

was characterized by common forms for all segments of the

population, but with a certain social and age regulations. Elegance and beautiful elements to dresses were given by fur trim, embroidery, jewelry. Traditional materials for the clothes were leather, fur, thin felt, cloth, which was produced by the local population. Clothes sewn from imported materials - silk, brocade, velvet, were a kind of measure of wealthiness of their owners. Cotton was also widely used.

Generally, outerwear of women was similar to that of men:

similar jackets, waistcoats, gowns, wide leather belts, it differed from men's only in colours and some decoration details.

Men's clothing consisted of the following components: Double under vest (zheyde), lower pants - made of light fabric and the upper - of cloth, suede, sheepskin or thick cotton fabric. The main type of outer clothing was shapan, a kind of robe.

and traditions. We can distinguish an akyn (a bard), a

zhirau (an epos-teller), an anshi (a singer), a kuyshi (an instrumentalist), an artekshi (a fairy-story-teller) and a ku (a homorist) among the Kazakh national musicians.

place are taken by musical instruments. They are cultural heritage

which is transferred from generation to generation and which came till our days.

gentle, soft and velvety melodious sound is produced by only

two strings.

Nowadays some dombra kuys are arranged and performed in rock or modern pop style, e.g. by Ulytau, Asylbek Ensepov, and even classical music is performed by traditional Kazakh instruments, which give them new sounding.

one of the most common musical instruments of early nomads.
Kobyz

served as a means of communication with the spirits. Imitation of nature sounds are characteristic to kobyz kuys, e.g. howling of wolves, cry of swans, running horse, the sound of a released arrow.

celebrations. And even if they have no practical effect nowadays,

Kazakh sports are integral parts of national culture.

means "a grey wolf." Kokpar is considered to be a

kind of polo. This is a very popular masculine sport where two teams (from five to ten persons in each) of horse riders grapple over a decapitated goat, which they try to deposit in the opponent’s goal. The distance between two goalposts is 300-400 metres. It lasts 15 minutes. In case of a draw, horsemen have the second round. If there is no result again, a competition between two players is organised.

is to beat out with one’s own asyk (a bone

of a knee sheep joint) one or several asyks from a raw at a certain distance, which become the property of a player.

feature of national character, is hospitality. In the Kazakh society,

there is an unofficial law voiced in ancient times, which says “Meet a guest as the God's messenger”.
Hospitality is considered a sacred duty in the Kazakh society. At all times, the steppe inhabitants did their best to please their guest. Therefore, each traveller knew that he or she would be welcomed anywhere in the Kazakh land.

holidays in Central Asia. In Kazakhstan it is celebrated on

the day of the spring equinox, March 22. On that day, the streets of villages and towns are transformed. Guests are hosted in beautiful yurts with the traditional Nauryz kozhe dish made of seven traditional ingredients. People respecting this nearly month-long holiday forgive each others' debts and offences.

in all the major languages ​​of the world. The world

should recognize Kazakhstan not only by oil resources and major foreign policy initiatives, but also by cultural achievements. ”
N. A. Nazarbaev

States Department of State. 2009-10-26. Retrieved 2010-06-03.
Kazakhstan - International

Religious Freedom Report 2008 U.S. Department of State. Retrieved on 2009-09-07.
"New craft works of Kazakh artisans submitted for Sheber crafts contest". KazInform.
Wikipedia pages List of Kazakhstani submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
"Kazakhstan in America Magic Songs of the Eternal Steppe". Carnegie Hall.
"Kazakh American Association presents: Magic Songs of the Eternal Steppe". The Kennedy Center.
The Customs and Traditions of the Kazakh By Betsy Wagenhauser Archived 2001-12-23 at Archive.