Rituals among Kazakhs: between tradition and modernity

Yurt in the Kazakh steppes. Photo сredit: George Frost / Library of Congress

by PhD candidate Gulžan Dosšanova

Rituals are a key element of Kazakh culture, linking the past to the present and strengthening social ties within the community. Many traditional customs and traditions still persist; some are being rediscovered, and others are practiced in altered forms. In this paper, I will focus on the types of rituals from the funerary complex in Western Kazakhstan, around the towns of Oral and Aqtobe, and their significance in the context of contemporary society, semantic transformation, and the persistence of a magical component in the ritual.

Among the many customs that are almost forgotten and hardly practiced anymore are the customs of "shulen", "zhyrtys", and "aza salu". These rites were part of the ceremonies on various occasions, at weddings and funerals.

ZHYRTYS. As Zharikbayeva D. B. states in her article, the tradition of "zhyrtys zhyrtu"- tearing the whole cloth to pieces and "zhyrtys tazatu"- giving out pieces of torn cloth are ancient traditions: Этот обычай восходит к древней традиции разрывания одежды покойного, считалось, что с кусочками одежды благодатная сила умершего переходит на оставшихся в живых.This custom goes back to the ancient tradition of tearing the clothes of the deceased; it was believed that, with pieces of the clothes, the deceased's gracious power passed to the survivors.1 As late as the 1980s, it was common at funerals. As a child, I was given these knots of cloth with coins inside. It was usually an expensive fabric cut into standard rectangles.

The cloth - "mata", was, and sometimes still is, the subject of a gift. Informants justified such donations by the scarcity of these goods in the past. Older people used to buy meters of expensive cloth - "mata", this was treasured and given away on various occasions, mainly as a gift. The "mata" was used to make clothes - "kojlek" or blankets - "korpe"2. Sometimes, large, up to tens of meters, were kept just for burial. As Tochtabaeva Sh. Zh. In her book, in the past, an elderly woman wore a 7-meter-long white turban, with the understanding that if she happened to die unexpectedly, she would already have a prepared cloth in which she could be wrapped for burial.3 The cloth was a good commodity.

The tearing of the colored fabric marked the end of a person's life pilgrimage. In the case of burial, the zhyrtys symbolize the persistence of the connection with the deceased person and his remembrance. The cloth's color symbolizes the vibrancy of life. After the burial of a man, the cloth was torn, predominantly blue and green 5. For women, red and yellow (as stated by Yernazarov Zh. T. - yellow color in West Kazakhstan is a sign of sadness 6). It was not customary to give zhyrtys at weddings. All informants claimed that this ceremony was performed only at funerals. The ceremony of "zhyrtys "7 was transformed into giving out "oramal" - scarves, sometimes towels - "oramal ulestiredi."

Today, however, a ceremony persists in which the survivors distribute the belongings of a deceased person who has lived to a ripe old age, 90 years or more. Living to a great age is considered a good quality that can be transformed, and the deceased person's belongings will be passed on to whoever receives the item - "zhasyn bersin". Sometimes such funerals resemble a celebratory event, the so-called "toy". In the book of Yernazarov Zh. T. about ceremonies of this type, it is written that they are ceremonies reminiscent of the ancient past, when it was believed that the deceased would find himself in the afterworld and in need of things, and therefore personal belongings were put in the grave. This tradition has died out, shifting from a funeral custom to a commemorative one.8 Here, the principle of contagious/sympathetic magic is manifested, according to which it is believed that the person receiving it will also live to a great age and that the good qualities of the deceased person will pass on to him.

SHULEN. This ancient custom of "shulen taratu" is almost unknown nowadays. None of the informants knew about it. In the past, it was a generous practice of rich people giving food, possessions, and cattle to the poor. It was once one of the widespread socio-cultural institutions of Kazakh society, as Professor Artykbayev Zh. 9 states. It is a kind of redistribution of property and belongs to the rituals of the potlach type.

AZA SALU. The "aza salu" ceremony, which, for example, V. K. von Gern10 wrote in his ethnographic notes as a national custom, when relatives would come to the bereaved and give a gift of cattle intended for the funeral expenses, is now almost unknown. None of the informants knew of it. The cattle were used not only for preparing food but also as prizes in the various contests held at the funeral complex (horse racing, competitions of singers – aqyns). This is how the funeral of an important, wealthy person was conducted in the 19th century.

Memorial feasts "sadaqa" 11- are the tribulations held today. Anyone can come to the feast, especially in the first days after the funeral - everyone gets a meal. But strangers, as a rule, do not appear at feasts. They include relatives, colleagues, neighbors who knew the deceased, and fellow mourners who express condolences. Those attending usually bring some money with them. There is someone in the bereaved family who collects the money and often keeps records of who contributed what amount. Commemorative feasts are made for 3 - ushysi, 7 - zhetysi, 40 - qyrqysi, 100 - zhuzy (in West Kazakhstan), and one year after death - zhyly. People are usually already invited to the 40-, 100-, and one-year commemorative feasts, as one of the informants told me. Many may forget the date of death, so the survivors are reminded of the dates. After the "sadaqa", the leftover food is distributed to those attending. Now, no food is distributed 12. One of the informants said that only the next of kin are allowed to take something with them; the others replied that food is not given away after the "sadaqa" commemorative feast so that the grief does not transfer through the food to them, so here too there is a manifestation of contagious/sympathetic magic - the superstition of transferring, in this case, an unwanted element, to one's own abode.

With the annual commemoration feast - "zhyly" sometimes called "as" - for a significant, wealthy person, the mourning period for the family ends. However, memorial feasts, which they call "sadaqa" are still held by the bereaved. "As" - an event sometimes spectacular in the past, to which hundreds of people gathered, more resembled a wedding festival: there were "bajga" - horse races, competitions of singers - "aqyns". Descriptions of such feasts have survived in 19 century memoirs, for example, V. K. von Gern writes: "...расход скота на поминках увеличивает (возвышает) известность богатого человека настолько, что имя его, известное при жизни лишь в своем роде, ...после богатых поминок, разнесется далеко по степи. /..the consumption of cattle at wakes increases (elevates) the fame of a rich man so much that his name, known during his life only in his own family, ...after rich wakes, will spread far across the steppe./ 13 Kulshat Medeuova mentions the performance of the commemoration more than 100 years after his death.14

It is different from the wedding feast, from here a "sarqyt", a so-called share, is sent to the one who, for some reason, could not attend the wedding celebration and receives something from the wedding table. Whereby, when asked why a share is sent from the wedding feast, they answer that it is a tradition - "yrym". This tradition serves as a kind of normative regulator in society, along with another regulator regarding the individual's behavior in society - "ujat"- "shame". But I will not discuss these phenomena here.

The custom of giving "sarqyt" is widespread. The meaning of this custom is probably similar to that described by Bayburin A. K15. - It is the redistribution of the "share" - the share of the life force belonging to each individual.

The gradual disappearance of the ceremonies (or their transformation) of "zhyrtys", "shulen", and "aza salu" is connected with social changes and a change in attitude towards the afterlife. If in the case of "zhyrtys" the informants know about this ceremony, in the case of "shulen" and "aza salu", all of the respondents answered that they have never heard of these customs.

Why don't they know about the rituals?

"Shulen" was the custom of redistributing the wealth of wealthy individuals among their fellow tribesmen. During the Soviet era, when there was an effort to equalize property, this custom degraded, as there were no rich and poor in the Soviet Union.

"Aza salu" is a custom associated with the family structure of society, in which all relatives were required to pay tribute to the deceased, especially if he or she was elderly, and to contribute to the survivor's funeral arrangements. Here, one of the regulators of behavior, "ujat", was observed. The solidarity of all clan members was also evident. With the gradual sedentarization and severing of family ties, this custom has lost its significance, but mutual help in various crises still exists. Not only between relatives but also between other members of the community: neighbors, colleagues, and friends help each other in different life situations. So, with this custom, the substance remained the same, and that is - mutual help.

"Zyrtys", which most kept in the traditional practices of the society, transformed into the distribution of scarves, sometimes small towels - "oramal ulestiru". I believe this is due to less interconnectedness with the clan structure of the society, unlike the "aza salu" where each member of the clan felt obliged to contribute a gift to the bereaved. Interestingly, in the region around Oral, this custom is only associated with burial. In the Manqystau area, "zhyrtys tazatu" is performed at weddings nowadays.

In this short paper, I have chosen only those customs practiced during the cycle of funeral rituals. One of the reasons for the degradation of these customs, I believe, is the great social change in the structure of society, which was caused by the deepening and expanding colonization of Tsarist Russia in the 19th century, the seizure of land from nomads by settling immigrants, and thus the social and economic life of the local population was changed. With the establishment of Soviet rule came further changes, including sedentarisation, which affected the social structure and way of life.

There are other traditions that I would like to write more about in the future, for example:

In the past, the age of an individual was defined by how many "mushels" they had or in which "mushel" they were: "mushel" - a 12-year-long life-cycle period, now a little-known tradition.

Another tradition is connected with „share" - "sybaha" – different from "sarqyt" and it is interesting to learn more about these customs.

What I would like to emphasize is the persistent belief in magical acts and the general superstitious nature of people. One of the common superstitions that everyone knows about is the belief in bewitchment - "koz tiiu". There are various practices to defend against bewitchment. I would like to write about them later.

Rituals play a key role in strengthening social bonds and identity in Kazakh society. Despite the impact of modernization and urbanization, rituals remain an important part of many Kazakhs' lives. Celebrations of traditional festivals and rituals are often associated with maintaining cultural identity and emphasizing the importance of traditions in the modern world.

Gulžan Dosšanova

PhD student, study program: Ethnology and cultural anthropology (P0314D250006)

Institute of Ethnology and Central European and Balkan Studies

Faculty of Arts, Charles University

Notes:

1 Zharkimbajeva D. B., Fenomen „ loskutnoje odejalo" v gendernom soznanii kazachskoso obschestva. Problemy vostokovedeniia,

2/2017, s. 14

1. Zharkimbajeva D. B., Ibid, s. 14

2. Tochtabajeva S. ⅖., Etiketnve normy Kazachov Cast 2: semia i socium, 2017

3. Zharkimbajeva D. B., Fenomen „ loskutnoie odejalo" v gendernom soznanii kazachskoga obschestva. Problemy vostokovedenija,

2/2017, s. 1

5 Zharkimbajeva D. B., Fenomen „Loskutnoie odejala" v gendernom soznanii kazachskoga abschestva. Problemy vostokovedenija,

2/2017, s. 14

Yernazarov Z. T., Semienaia abriadnost kazachav: simval i ritual, 2003, s. 146

7 Yernazarov Z. T., Semjenaja obrjadnost kazachov: simvol i ritual, 2003, s. 148

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