Traditions are one of the most important regulators of public relations. They determine the mentality, behavioral patterns of people, provide a connection with historical roots. An important unifying role is played by the native language.
With Kazakhstan gaining state independence, modern Kazakhs all over the world are experiencing a sense of national revival, which also affects national traditions that have adapted to modern realities. However, there are some customs that need to be left in the past.
Among these is the medieval custom of “kyz alyp kashu– – the abduction of the bride. Unfortunately, the practice of forced marriage takes place in modern Kazakhstan. In addition to the fact that this wedding ceremony is preserved, it is also presented by some Kazakhs as something valuable and sacred, which contradicts modern international practice of protecting women’s rights. Moreover, kidnapping as a type of criminally punishable act is provided for in the criminal legislation of most countries of the world.
From our point of view, another custom is not relevant, which does not correspond to the secular ideas of the Kazakhs in the modern world, which should only be mentioned in history. We are talking about the custom of paying kalym for the bride in its truly ancient manifestation. This custom has now been greatly transformed, in many regions it has changed so much that it looks more like gifts to the bride’s relatives.
Kazakhs have customs for all occasions: meetings and seeing off guests and relatives, funerals, assistance to those in need, etc. Particularly noteworthy traditions are considered: “zhylu” – helping people in need after an accident; “yerulik” – inviting new neighbors to a treat; “tokym kagar” – solemn send-offs of those leaving for a long time or far away and other traditions.
Traditions are a collection of ideas and objects that connect people with their origin and with their past. As already noted, traditions cannot remain unchanged, they undergo changes due to objective reasons. Some of them disappear and are forgotten, but over time they can return to everyday life again.
Traditions arise in culture mainly in two ways. It depends on who initiates these traditions. The first method involves the emergence of a tradition “from below”, among the people, when it happens spontaneously and spontaneously. It is mainly about traditions related to the creation of a family, everyday life, and the celebration of significant events. As a rule, a certain part of society participates in this process. In the future, individual actions of people turn into a social phenomenon. The second method involves initiation “from above”, when tradition is determined by the choice and desire of power structures.
When we talk about the transformation of traditions, these changes can be quantitative and qualitative. In some cases, the tradition can cover the entire population, and sometimes even go beyond the country, acquiring a global scale. For example, such global traditions include the celebration of “Nauryz Meiramy”, when Kazakhs from all over the world join the holiday.
Qualitative changes in traditions relate to their content. This happens when some ideas, values and symbols are replaced by others. At the same time, some traditions can be changed and abandoned, while others can be completely erased. In the modern world, among such traditions, one can distinguish, for example, public holidays established by law in countries. For example, December 16 is the Independence Day of Kazakhstan, when Kazakhs all over the world congratulate their compatriots. There are similar holidays in all CIS countries today. This tradition replaced the traditional Soviet-era holiday, which was celebrated annually on November 7.
Basically, the reasons for changing traditions are related to psychological principles. It is a peculiar property of the human mind to have a thirst for change, a need for novelty and originality. A person constantly strives for innovation and creativity. Any tradition is eventually questioned and revised by a person. There are various discoveries in history that fundamentally change a person’s awareness of certain events. In addition, traditions can change due to the fact that they collide with each other in all their diversity.
As an example, we can mention the tradition of celebrating “Algys aitu kuni” – Gratitude Day on March 1. The holiday was initiated in 2016: “It would be fair to celebrate annually March 1 – the Day of the formation of the Assembly of People of Kazakhstan as a Day of gratitude of all ethnic groups to each other and to the Kazakhs who showed mercy and accepted these people as relatives. This day can become a bright holiday of mercy, friendship and love of all Kazakhstanis to each other.” On the Day of Gratitude, it is customary to remember how representatives of different ethnic groups were received in Kazakhstan during the years of political repression and deportation of peoples (the holiday has nothing to do with the American Thanksgiving Day, which opens the season of New Year holidays).
Today, the public’s interest in national traditions must be supported and encouraged. Of course, we will never live the way our ancestors lived. This is understandable even from the standpoint of scientific and technological progress. Nevertheless, at present, interest in everything ethnic, including Kazakh national music, dances and crafts, has increased. Many, tired of the pressure of globalization, are looking for opportunities to get in touch with living history. A huge number of interactive museums are opening, outdoor festivals, concerts and fairs are taking place.
It has become worthy and fascinating to learn the cultural traditions of the Kazakh people all over the world. For example, there was a phenomenon of group performance of the dance “Boz Zhorga” by Kazakh youth from different countries. One of the greatest instruments and the main symbol of the Kazakh musical culture, of course, is the dombra, without which no event in the life of the people could do. So it was back in the days of the nomads and remains to this day. This plucked two-stringed instrument invariably unites people of different professions, faiths and nationalities. His sounds are able to tell and convey much deeper thoughts than words. Dombra is rightfully one of the seven national treasures of Kazakhstan.
Today, Kazakh youth from around the world have also supported the phenomenon of group performance of Kazakh musical compositions by dombrists. For example, in China on May 30, 2010, more than ten thousand dombrists performed the Kazakh kui “Kenes”, and the dombra – a Kazakh stringed instrument – got into the Guinness Book of Records.
Preparations for setting the record went on for two years. An extraordinary event occurred in the mostly Kazakh-populated area of Tola SUAR. They came up with the idea to put the Kazakh folk instrument dombra in the Guinness Book of Records. True, at first they were puzzling over how to do this, but in the end they decided to take not only the quality of the amazing dombra sound, but also the power of mass performance. To implement the idea, at least ten thousand people owning a dombra were required. A cry was thrown to all the villages of the Tola SUAR district with a request to participate in setting a record. It should be noted that 93 thousand people live in this area, 73 percent of them are Kazakhs.
Gulistan Khamitkyzy, director of the district House of Culture, said: “We understood perfectly well that it is very difficult to gather a large number of people, and even those who own a dombra. Therefore, for two years there was a phased work on the preparation of dombrists.” A five-minute program “Learning Dombra” was launched on local channels. Ordinary citizens, stockmen, and grain growers also joined the process. A special lesson was set aside for learning to play the instrument in schools. As a result, 160 dombrists were selected from among schoolchildren, who were taught the Kazakh kyu “Kenes” by the best virtuosos of the district.
The musical composition was not chosen by chance. G. Khamitkyzy notes: “We have been thinking for a long time about which piece to perform in front of the representatives of the Guinness Book of Records. The choice fell on the Kazakh kui “Kenes”, which translates as “advice”. The history of kui is very interesting. Kazakhs in ancient times solved social problems through the councils of elders. Kazakh kuishi improvisers sometimes participated in them. It must be assumed that this kui appeared exactly at those moments.” Having learned, 160 dombrists, in turn, had to prepare their students. As a result, over ten thousand people participated in setting the record, including representatives of twenty nationalities.
The two-year work of Chinese Kazakhs has borne fruit. Those who have not held a dombra in their hands before have developed an interest in this instrument. The event gave the Kazakhs of China an opportunity to remember their national roots, helped them get to know each other better. National traditions passed down from generation to generation are an element of cultural heritage and a foundation in the formation of morality. The Kazakh people sacredly honor the customs and traditions inherited from their ancestors. It should be noted that over the years of its existence, the Kazakh nation has accumulated so much baggage in this area that it is impossible to cover all the national Kazakh traditions inherent in Kazakhs. The basis for the emergence of the above-mentioned national characteristics of the Kazakhs was precisely national traditions – generalized norms and principles of public relations.
Most of the traditions and customs of Kazakhs around the world have undergone a transformation. There are customs that have remained unchanged, for example: “suyinshi”, “yerulik”, “konakkade”, “baigazy” and others. At the same time, there are traditions that cannot be repeated exactly today. For example: “at mingizip shapan toad” is a high honor to the dear guest – akyn, batyr – who visited the village, in recognition of his merits, he receives a horse and an expensive camel wool chapan with a calico lining as a gift from the locals; “bes zhaksy” is a gift to a particularly respected guest, consisting of five valuable things at the same time: a camel – “kara nar”, a horse – “zhuirik at”, an expensive carpet – “kalyn kilem”, a diamond saber – “almas kylysh”, a sable fur coat – “bulgyn ishik”.
The study of the question of the influence of modernity on the national Kazakh traditions observed by Kazakhs of different countries allows us to draw the following conclusions:
1) speaking of traditions, we mean both traditions themselves and other “traditional” components: customs, rituals, norms and rules, behavioral habits, tastes, views, modes of action, skills and abilities that reflect the consciousness of a particular people and allow identifying people depending on their ethnicity;
2) the concept of tradition indicates the main qualitative difference of everything that can be summed up under this concept: since the idea was not created by a specific person and is not a product of individual creative imagination, it means that it was received from others and, due to social repeatability, is perceived as a custom;
3) cultural traditions are closely connected with social reality and cannot remain unchanged over time; they change gradually, because due to the development of science and technology, people’s economic living conditions change, as a result of migration phenomena, the social environment changes;
4) cultural customs of Kazakhs from different countries may differ greatly: what is the norm for some Kazakhs, may be unacceptable for other Kazakhs;
5) the degree of urbanization also affects the difference in the observance of national traditions by Kazakhs;
6) cultural traditions do not arise just like that, they appear at the moment when there is a need for them, they can change in parallel with human consciousness and the objective needs of people, disappear and be reborn in a new guise;
7) each Kazakh national tradition has its own personal philosophical meaning;
8) political, economic, technological conditions of modern life sometimes allow to interpret historically formed Kazakh national traditions in a new way;
9) perhaps the time has come when it is necessary to create and ensure the operation of a public special website (or other electronic source), where historically literate information describing national Kazakh traditions, customs, festivals should be posted, so that people can read and reproduce the original images of Kazakh traditions.
Thus, Kazakh national cultural traditions are the continuity of the accumulated experience of ancestors, which is necessary for modern Kazakhs for more efficient life and allows them to make fewer mistakes. Kazakh customs maintain an invisible connection of epochs through the preservation and transmission of the model of social relations and spiritual qualities of Kazakhs. However, Kazakh national traditions are changing under the pressure of modern technologies of life, and this is an objective reality.
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Автор – Дина Ораз
