Culture of Kazakhstan
Encyclopedia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n conquest, the Kazaks
Kazaks
Kazak may be a transliteration from native languages into English of the following terms:* Kazakhs , an ethnic group of Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia and Turkey* Qazaq - a Kazakh language newspaper published in the early 20th century...
had a well-articulated culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
based on their nomadic pastoral economy. Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
was introduced to Kazakhstan in the 7th to 12th century. Besides lamb, many other traditional foods retain symbolic value in Kazak culture. Kazakh culture is largely influenced by a Turkic nomadic lifestyle.
Because animal husbandry
Animal husbandry
Animal husbandry is the agricultural practice of breeding and raising livestock.- History :Animal husbandry has been practiced for thousands of years, since the first domestication of animals....
was central to the Kazaks' traditional lifestyle, most of their nomadic practices and customs relate in some way to livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
. Traditional curses and blessings invoked disease or fecundity
Fecundity
Fecundity, derived from the word fecund, generally refers to the ability to reproduce. In demography, fecundity is the potential reproductive capacity of an individual or population. In biology, the definition is more equivalent to fertility, or the actual reproductive rate of an organism or...
among animals, and good manners required that a person ask first about the health of a man's livestock when greeting him and only afterward inquire about the human aspects of his life.
The traditional Kazak dwelling is the yurt
Yurt
A yurt is a portable, bent wood-framed dwelling structure traditionally used by Turkic nomads in the steppes of Central Asia. The structure comprises a crown or compression wheel usually steam bent, supported by roof ribs which are bent down at the end where they meet the lattice wall...
, a tent consisting of a flexible framework of willow wood covered with varying thicknesses of felt
Felt
Felt is a non-woven cloth that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing woollen fibres. While some types of felt are very soft, some are tough enough to form construction materials. Felt can be of any colour, and made into any shape or size....
. The open top permits smoke from the central hearth
Hearth
In common historic and modern usage, a hearth is a brick- or stone-lined fireplace or oven often used for cooking and/or heating. For centuries, the hearth was considered an integral part of a home, often its central or most important feature...
to escape; temperature and draft can be controlled by a flap that increases or decreases the size of the opening. A properly constructed yurt can be cooled in summer and warmed in winter, and it can be disassembled or set up in less than an hour. The interior of the yurt has ritual
Ritual
A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value. It may be prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. The term usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers....
significance; the right side generally is reserved for men and the left for women. Yurts are also frequently used as a decorative motif in restaurants and other public buildings.
Modern Influences
Today's KazakhstanKazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
is a modern culture, thriving in the post-Soviet era. The traditional Kazakh lifestyle has blended with influences from Western societies as well as those from Kazakhstan's Russian and Chinese neighbors.
Religion
IslamIslam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
is the largest religion in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, followed by Russian Orthodox Christianity. By tradition the Kazaks
Kazaks
Kazak may be a transliteration from native languages into English of the following terms:* Kazakhs , an ethnic group of Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia and Turkey* Qazaq - a Kazakh language newspaper published in the early 20th century...
are Sunni
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites....
Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s, and the Russians
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
are Russian Orthodox. Approximately 47% of the population is Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
. The majority are Sunni of the Hanafi
Hanafi
The Hanafi school is one of the four Madhhab in jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. The Hanafi madhhab is named after the Persian scholar Abu Hanifa an-Nu‘man ibn Thābit , a Tabi‘i whose legal views were preserved primarily by his two most important disciples, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani...
school, including ethnic Kazakhs, who constitute about 60% the population, as well as by ethnic Uzbeks, Uighurs, and Tatars. Less than 25% of the population of Kazakhstan is Russian Orthodox, including ethnic Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians. Other religious groups include Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, the Bahá'í Faith
Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....
, Hare Krishnas
International Society for Krishna Consciousness
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness , known colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement, is a Gaudiya Vaishnava religious organization. It was founded in 1966 in New York City by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada...
, Buddhists, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Sports
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
, and boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
. Kazakhstan won 8 medals
Kazakhstan at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Kazakhstan competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.-Archery:Men's individual:* Stanislav Zabrodskiy - 18th placeWomen's individual:* Viktoriya Beloslydtseva - 23rd place* Olga Pilipova - 57th place-Athletics:...
in the 2004 Summer Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
- the largest tally for any nation in Western Asia.
Association football is also popular, with the Kazakhstan Super League
Kazakhstan Super League
The Kazakhstan Premier League is the top division of football in Kazakhstan. The League is controlled by the Football Union of Kazakhstan and was set up in 1992. The League is fed into by the First Division, starting spring and finishing in late fall, making each championship correspond to a...
being the top-level competition for the sport in the country.
A lot of professional cyclists that compete on the European circuit come from Kazakhstan. Most notable is Alexander Vinokourov
Alexander Vinokourov
Alexander Nikolaevich Vinokourov, also written Alexandre Vinokourov, is an ethnically Russian Kazakhstani professional road bicycle racer who currently competes with the UCI ProTeam Astana...
whose achievements include 2 Paris–Nice's and 3rd place in the 2003 Tour de France
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
and the Amstel Gold Race
Amstel Gold Race
The Amstel Gold Race is a road bicycle race held in the southern part of the province of Limburg, Netherlands. Since 1989 it has been among the races included in season long rankings tables, as part of the UCI Road World Cup , the UCI ProTour , UCI World Ranking and from 2011 the UCI World Tour...
. Vinokourov leads which is supported by a coalition of Kazakh companies. This team is registered as a UCI ProTeam and competes in the major races including the Tour de France.
Rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
also has a wide following in Kazakhstan, with over 10,000 fans consistently turning up to watch the national team
Kazakhstan national rugby union team
The Kazakhstan national rugby union team represents Kazakhstan at international level of rugby union. The team are nicknamed "The Nomads" and are controlled by the Kazakhstan Rugby Union....
play. Recent big wins over Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka national rugby union team
The Sri Lanka national rugby union team represents Sri Lanka in international rugby union competitions. Sri Lanka have yet to make their debut at the Rugby World Cup. They have the longest tradition of organised club rugby in Asia, dating back to 1879, which was just 8 years after the founding of...
and the Arabian Gulf Rugby team have given the Kazakhstan side reason to believe that they could be contenders to qualify for the 2011 Rugby World Cup
2011 Rugby World Cup
The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Africa at a meeting in Dublin on 17 November 2005...
.
Movies
In September 2006 the government announced that it is funding distribution of a multi million dollar movie called "Nomad" about the new-created by Kazakhstan government history of the nation. The movie started in 2003, and has been plagued with multiple development problems, finally released in 2006.Since that time such movies like "Mongol", "Tulpan" and "Kelin" have been released. All three films were submitted for the Academy Award for the Best Foreign Languages Film . The movie 'Tulpan' won the Prix Un Certain Regard at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival . The speechless movie "kelin" made the shortlist of the 82.Academy Awards.