The 'Kazakhs' (also spelled 'Kazaks', 'Qazaqs';
Kazakh: Қазақтар [];
Russian: Казахи; the English name is
transliterated from Russian) are a
Turkic people of the northern parts of
Central Asia (largely
Kazakhstan, but also found in parts of
Uzbekistan,
China,
Russia, and
Mongolia). They are famous for the fierce love of freedom, skillful horse riding and hunting with semi-domesticated eagles.
Etymology of ''Kazakh''
There are many theories on the origin of the word "Kazakh". "Qazaq" was included in a 13th century Turk-
Arabian dictionary, where its meaning was given as "independent" or "free".. Both Kazakhs and later
Cossacks adopted Turkic social term "qazaq" as their name.
The Kazakhs have a legend about a white goose (''Qaz'' means 'goose', ''Aq'' means 'white'). In this
Creation Myth, a white goose flying over the great steppes was impregnated by the rays of the Sun, giving birth to the first Kazakh.
[1] This version was rejected by linguists, because in Turkic languages, an adjective is put before a noun, therefore, '"white goose"' would be ''Aqqaz'', not ''Qazaq''.
One of the theories on the origin of the word "Kazakh" (originally "Qazaq") is that it comes from the ancient
Turkic word ''"qazğaq"'', first mentioned on the 8th century Turkic monument of
Uyuk-Turan. According to the notable Turkic linguist
Vasily Radlov and the orientalist Veniamin Yudin, the noun ''"qazğaq"'' derives from the same root as the verb ''"qazğan"'' ("to obtain", "to gain"). Therefore, ''"qazğaq"'' defines a type of person that seeks profit and gain.
[2]
Culture
Kazakh stamps featuring a traditional bride's dress, groom's clothing and the interior of a ''kiyiz uy'', a traditional Kazakh yurt.
Indo-Iranian tribes, Turkic tribes from Siberia and Altai, and Mongolic tribes took part in the formation of Kazakhs and other Central Asian Turkic peoples. Modern Kazakhs are descendants of Turkic tribes (
Kipchaks or
Cumans), Mongol groups (
Kereis,
Naimans, etc.) and Indo-Iranian tribes (
Wusun,
Sarmatians,
Scythians, etc.) which populated the territory between Siberia and the Black Sea and remained in Central Asia when the Turkic and Mongol groups started to invade and conquer the area between the fifth and thirteenth centuries AD
[4].
As shown on PBS' "
Secrets of the Dead" in the episode entitled "Amazon Warrior Women," there is strong evidence that some of the Kazakh population are descendants of the culture which spawned the
Amazon Warrior myth within
Ancient Greek literature.
Due to their complex history, Kazakhs display
phenotypical diversity. Kazakhs exhibit predominantly Mongoloid features. Fair to light-brown skin tends to be the norm. Among physical traits are aquiline noses,
epicanthic folds and high cheekbones. Hair colour among Kazakhs varies from prevalent jet black to red and sandy brown. Hazel, green and blue eyes are not uncommon.
Many are also skilled in the performance of Kazakh traditional songs. One of the most commonly used traditional musical instruments of the Kazakhs is the ''
dombra'', a plucked lute with two strings. It is often used to accompany solo or group singing. Another popular instrument is Kobyz, a bow instrument played on the knees. Along with other instruments, these two instruments play a key role in the traditional Kazakh orchestra. A famous composer is Kurmangaz, who lived in the 19th century. A famous singer of the Soviet epoch is Roza Rimbayeva, she was a star of the trans-Soviet-Union scale. Among the modern performers is singer Toqtar. A famous Kazakh rock band is Ulker, performing in the genre of ethno-rock, which synthesises rock music with the traditional Kazakh music.
Language
Main articles: Kazakh language
The Kazakh language is a member of the
Turkic language family, as are
Uzbek,
Kyrgyz,
Tatar,
Uyghur,
Turkish,
Azeri,
Turkmen, and many other living and historical languages spoken in
Eastern Europe,
Central Asia,
Xinjiang, and
Siberia.
Kazakh belongs to the
Kipchak (Northwestern) group of the Turkic language family. Kazakh is characterized, in distinction to other Turkic languages, by the presence of in place of reconstructed proto-Turkic
★ and in place of
★ ; furthermore, Kazakh has (
alveodental affricate) where other Turkic languages have (
glide).
Kazakh, like most of the Turkic language family lacks phonemic
vowel length, and as such there is no distinction between long and short vowels.
Kazakh was written with the Arabic script during the 19th century, when a number of poets, educated in Islamic schools, incited revolt against Russia. Russia's response was to set up secular schools and devise a way of writing Kazakh with the Cyrillic alphabet, which was not widely accepted. By 1917, the Arabic script was reintroduced, even in schools and local government.
In 1927, a Kazakh nationalist movement sprang up but was soon suppressed. At the same time the Arabic script was banned and the Latin alphabet was imposed for writing Kazakh. The Latin alphabet was in turn replaced by the Cyrillic alphabet in 1940.
Kazakh is one of the principal languages spoken in
Kazakhstan, along with
Russian. It is also spoken in the
Ili region of the
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the
People's Republic of China, where the Arabic script is used, and in parts of Mongolia.
Kazakh tribalism
}
Due to their nomadic pastoral lifestyle, Kazakhs kept an epic tradition of
oral history. They had to develop phenomenal memories in order to keep an account of their history. The nation, which amalgamated nomadic tribes of various Kazakh origins, managed to preserve the distant memory of the original founding clans. It was important for a Kazakh to know his or her genealogical tree for no less than seven generations back (known as ''şejire'', from the
Arabic word shajara - "tree").
The Kazakh marriage system was exogamous, with marriage between individuals with a common ancestor within seven generations considered
taboo. In intertribal marriage, paternal descent is decisive.
In modern Kazakhstan,
tribalism is officially prohibited, practically almost negligible, and definitely fading away in business and government life. Still it is common for Kazakhs to ask which tribe they belong to when they meet each other. Nowadays, it is more of a tradition than necessity. There is no hostility between tribes. Kazakhs, regardless of their tribal origin, consider themselves one nation.
The majority of Kazakhs belongs to one of the three ''
jüzes'' (jüz, roughly translatable as "
horde"): the "Great jüz" (''Ulı jüz''), "Middle jüz" (''Orta jüz''), and "Junior jüz" (''Kişi jüz''). Every jüz consists of tribes (''taypa'') and clans (''ruw''). Also Kazakhs, but outside of the jüz system are: ''töre'' (direct descendants of
Genghis Khan), ''qoja'' (descendants of
Arabian missionaries and warriors), and ''töleñgit'' (descendants of
Oirat captives).
Kazakh Population in Kazakhstan
'Table: Percentage of Kazakhs in Kazakhstan (census data)'
[3] [4] [5]
| 1897 % | 1911 % | 1926 % | 1939 % | 1959 % | 1970 % | 1979 % | 1989 % | 1999 % | 2006 % |
|---|
73.9 | 60.8 | 59.5 | 38.0 | 30.0 | 32.6 | 36.0 | 39.7 | 53.4 | 59.2 |
Ethnic Kazakh minorities
In China
Kazakhs, called Hāsàkè Zú in Chinese (; literally "Kazakh people" or "Kazakh nationality") are among
56 minority groups officially recognized by the
People's Republic of China (PRC). In the PRC there are two Kazakh
autonomous prefectures, the
Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture in the
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and
Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in
Qinghai, three Kazakh autonomous counties,
Aksai Kazakh Autonomous County in
Gansu,
Barkol Kazakh Autonomous County and
Mori Kazakh Autonomous County in the
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
Many Kazakhs in China are not fluent in
Standard Mandarin, China's official language, instead speaking the
Kazakh language.
Since the early 21st century, Mamuer Rayeskan, a young Kazakh musician from
Qitai, Xinjiang now living in
Beijing, has achieved some renown for his reworking of Kazakh folk songs with his group IZ, with which he sings and plays acoustic guitar, dombra, and
Jew's harp.
In Russia
In
Russia, the Kazakh population lives in the regions bordering Kazakhstan. The 2002 Russian census recorded 655,000 Kazakhs living in the
Astrakhan,
Volgograd,
Samara,
Orenburg,
Chelyabinsk,
Kurgan,
Tyumen,
Omsk,
Novosibirsk and
Altai Krai regions. Since they, their ancestors, and other
Turkic peoples populated these areas long before Russian
colonisation, Russian Kazakhs are
irredenta. During the
1920s, however, significant numbers of Kazakh families were left outside the designated
Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic; after the end of the
Soviet Union in 1991, they acquired Russian citizenship.
In Mongolia
Many Kazakhs live in
Bayan-Ölgiy Province. The Kazakh folk music is widely admired and loved in Mongolia.
In Uzbekistan
Significant Kazakh population in
Karakalpakstan and Tashkent oblast.
See also
★
List of Kazakh historical figures
★
Demographics of Kazakhstan
Notes and references
1. Humphreys, An. ''Central Asia (Lonely Planet Guide)'' Sydney:Lonely Planet Publications, 2004, ISBN 978-0864426734
2. Yudin, Veniamin P. ''Tsentralnaya Aziya v 14-18 vekah glazami vostokoveda.'' Almaty: Dajk-Press, 2001, ISBN 9965-441-39-1
3. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights/
http://www.ohchr.org/english/issues/minorities/docs/WP5.doc
4. Alexandrov, Mikhail. ''Uneasy Alliance: Relations Between Russia and Kazakhstan in the Post-Soviet Era, 1992-1997.'' Greenwood Press, 1999, ISBN 978-0313309656
5. Agency on Statistics of the Republic of Kazakhstan - "Demographic situation in the Republic of Kazakhstan in 2006"/
http://www.stat.kz/index.php?lang=rus&uin=1176791556&chapter=1176791809 ''(in Russian)''
External links
★
Ethnographic map of Kazakhstan
★
Kazakhs in France - AKFT
★
World Association of the Kazakhs
★ http://sana.gov.kz/showarticle.php?lang=eng&id=342
★
Massagan.com (The largest web site in kazakh language)
★
Suhbat (Atameken Toby)
★
Secrets of the Dead: Amazon Warrior Women (PBS)
★
Turk monument of Uyuk-Turan mentioning the word ''"qazğaq"''
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