Kazak Nationality

There are different opinions on the origin of the "Kazak" nationality, and there are five representative views:

The first view is that the name "Kazak" appeared in the 15th century. At that time, some herdsmen in the lower reaches of the SYR River moved to the Chu River Basin south of the Balkash Lake under the leadership of Khan and ghanibek Khan. Because they went east to resist and get rid of the rule and oppression of arbuher Khan, they were named "Kazak".

The second view is that "Wusun" is the antithesis of "Kazak".

The third view is that "Kazak" is the antithesis of Kosa and Hosa in the book of Tang. As early as the 5th-6th century, some Gaoche tribes on the Mongolian Plateau moved westward across Altai Mountain and Erqis River, nomadized in the grasslands north of the Aral Sea and Caspian Sea, and later became tiele tribes such as enqu, Ho, he and Yamo (Yan) in the east of Fulin (Eastern Roman Empire) and adeshui. Hosah is also translated as hosah, gosah and kosah. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the tiele tribes formed a tribal alliance with the korsa as the core, conquered and integrated some local indigenous peoples, and established a political power. Because its language was the same as that of the Turks formed not long ago, it was called the "korsa Turkic state". According to the Jingxing Ji written by Du Huan in the Tang Dynasty: "(the state of Tarot) is connected to the Turks in the north." (the book of the new Tang Dynasty · biography of the western regions) "(Persia) is adjacent to the Turks in the north." (huoxun) reaches the Turks in the northwest. In the 6th century, the state reached its heyday, with its territory extending from the north of the Aral Sea in the east to the northeast of the Black Sea in the west, and its capital near Astrakhan in the lower reaches of the Volga River, Close relations with Eastern Rome and confrontation with Persia. Later, it developed into the state of chincha and was conquered by Genghis Khan and his descendants in the 13th century. According to the records of the world written in Persian in 982, there is a national title of "Kazak" in Aram.

The fourth view is that according to the famous linguist Mohamed Kashkari of the 11th century in the Turkic dictionary, Turks describe the sharpness of swords and other weapons as "Kazak". During the northern and Southern Dynasties, between the Mongolian Plateau and the Eastern Roman Empire, there were hori, Horsa and other tribes of the tiele nationality. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the khasa Turkic state was formed in the west of Central Asia. The West Turkic Nai chuluo Khan was transferred to the Sui Dynasty. Following the emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, he made meritorious contributions to the eastern expedition to Korea and was named "horsana Khan", which means "brave and healthy Khan". Therefore, the name "Kazak" appeared as early as the late Northern and Southern Dynasties, which means brave, strong and sharp. First, the first part of the word "Kazak" is "Kaz", and the derived words have the meaning of "freedom" and "autonomy". The latter part "AK" is the ancient form of most additional suffixes. Therefore, the full meaning of the word Kazak is "brave and free people who move freely on the vast grassland";

The fifth view is that the ancestors of Kazak are the Cypriots living in Central Asia from the 7th to 4th centuries BC. Some scholars believe that the word "Kazak" is a combination of the names of the ancient "kaspy" people living in Central Asia and the ancient "sak" people living in the Ili River Basin. The ancient pronunciation of the word "Sai" is "sak", which is very appropriate to translate Cypriots.

The origin of Kazak nationality is relatively complex. It is generally believed that it is mainly formed by the integration of the ancient Wusun, Kangju, Aran (Yancai) people, the Cypriots and Dayue who originally lived in the grasslands of Central Asia, and the Xiongnu, Xianbei, Rouran, Turk, tiele, Khitan, Mongolia and other nationalities who later entered the region. From the early 13th century when the Mongolian nation was strong to the establishment of the Kazakh Dynasty in the 15th century, some tribes and clans mentioned above about the origin of Kazak nationality accelerated the pace of unity. The final formation of the Kazakh national community is closely related to the "white account" Khanate in history.

At the beginning of the 13th century, Genghis Khan marched westward, and tribes such as Wusun, Keli and Naiman were also forced to move westward. The golden tent khanate, Chahatai Khanate and wokuotai Khanate of the Mongolian Empire each have some areas that are the pastoral areas of the Kazaks. Soon, due to the enfeoffment of leading households, a new separatist regime of the golden tent Khanate was created. The white tent Khanate established in the eastern part of today's Kazakhstan unified the whole golden tent Khanate in the 14th century.

Kazak ancestors established a regional regime, which is called Kazakh Khanate in history. In 1456, the Khan and janibek Khan led their troops to leave the Uzbek Khanate and move eastward to mengwurstan (East Chagatai Khanate). These herdsmen who broke away from the Uzbek Khanate are called Kazakhs. They established a Kazakh Khanate headed by Khan in the new pastoral area, with a population of 200000.

In the seventh year of Jingtai of the Ming Dynasty (1456), the last Khan in the Baizhang khanate, the son of Barak, lived up to the expectations of the people, led the Kazakh tribes to move eastward to the Chu River Basin and the Talas River Basin, established an independent political entity, the Kazakh khanate, and lived a peaceful life, which attracted a large number of nomadic tribes from the surrounding areas to join.

After the establishment of the Kazakh khanate, the Kazakh ministries gained political independence, developed rapidly economically, and the territory of the Khanate continued to expand. From the 1950s to the early 1970s, the Kazakh Khanate owned the chincha grassland and the Central Asian places of tandala, Turkistan and urgenci. In 1500, he occupied the middle of the river. By the 1920s, the territory of the Kazakh Khanate included the SYR River Basin in the south, the seven River region in the southeast, the eastern and southern regions of Balkash Lake in the northeast, and the yuyek River Basin in the West. From 1698 to 1718, many Kazak tribes were divided into three Yuzi according to the tribal pedigree. Dayuzi, known as the right, is mainly distributed in the Chu River, Talas River and the vast area from Yili River to Xier River to the south of Balkash lake; Zhongyuzi is called the left part, which is mainly distributed in the north of dayuzi. The summer pasture is in the middle reaches of Xier River and Kara mountains, and the winter pasture is in the basins of tobor River, ismu River, Nura River and saresu river; Xiaoyuzi said that the western territory is now the western region of Kazakhstan.

At the end of the 17th century, Junggar, one of the four Western Mongolian weilat, began to prosper and expand outward. In the seventies of the 17th century, kardan in Junggar expanded southward to Qinghai and western Xinjiang, and Kazakh ministries were often invaded by Junggar. The Kazakh Khanate once declined. Since then, Kazaks have launched a hard struggle against the feudal aristocratic group in Junggar.

In the middle of the 18th century, the Qing government calmed down the rebellion of the aristocrats in Junggar and unified Xinjiang, which provided good conditions for the development of multi-ethnic groups in the western region. In 1766, the Qing government ordered general Ili: "Ili and other places have a vast land, and the more people, the better. If Kazaks are not allowed to nomadic places, or are afraid of looting, they can take in those who are willing to be attached". In 1767, the Qing government told Kazakh Khan abulai in zhongyuzi that "Kazakh herdsmen can go to Ili and other places to nomadize". In this way, from the 1860s, Kazakhstan began to move to ILI, Tacheng and Altay, the hometown of its ancestors. The heizai tribe of the Naiman tribe in zhongyuzi and the aleban and Suwan tribes in dayuzi moved to Yili area; The tribes that moved to Tacheng and Altay were mainly Keli, Naiman and other tribes in zhongyuzi. Since then, the economic and cultural exchanges between Kazaks and the mainland have become more frequent.

In 1864, China and Russia signed the northwest boundary treaty. Tsarist Russia occupied a large area of China's northwest frontier. Some Kazakh tribes expressed their firm position that "all the people are under the jurisdiction of Russia everywhere, although they will not obey it" and voted back to the motherland one after another. The Qing government implemented the 1000 household system for the Kazaks under its jurisdiction on the basis of the original clan and tribe. Officials are divided into 1000 heads of households, 100 heads of households, Taiwan, Kyrgyzstan, public, etc. Kazaks began to pay taxes, fulfill national obligations, and finally accept the direct jurisdiction of the central dynasty.

During the revolution of 1911, Kazaks and the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang jointly overthrew the rule of the Qing government in Xinjiang and quickly awakened under the influence of the ideological trend of the revolution of 1911. In 1912, Altay zakhreya, baimula, etc. led the Kazakh delegation to Beijing. The Beiyang government appointed the fourth sun Ailin of Duke kukudai as the county king, wumurtai as the Duke, mami and zakhreya as Beizi, with 12 Taiji and 12 ukurtai.

During the new democratic revolution, Kazak, Han and other nationalities supported each other and worked together to overthrow the rule of the Kuomintang reactionaries in Xinjiang.

In history, all Kazaks belonged to certain clans and tribes. Since the end of the 16th century, Kazakhs and their distribution areas have been divided into three "Yuzi", namely ulayuzi (big Yuzi), ertuyuzi (middle Yuzi) and qiqikeyuzi (small Yuzi), which are called right, left and west respectively in the documents of the Qing Dynasty. Among them, ertuyuzi has the largest number and the strongest strength, and the clan and tribe lineage is also preserved most completely. The Kazaks in China are mainly the tribes of ulayuz and ertuyuz.

Kazak clans and tribes used to be blood groups of different sizes. For example, the abak Keri tribe has 12 clans, such as jiangtekeyi, jahonk, jerushi, sharbas, Karakas, gastaban, yitiele, chubalaiker, miqi'er, kangsadak and ximoying. The smallest production organization and nomadic settlement within the tribe are called "Auer", most of them are descendants of the same ancestor and father, but sometimes there are a few members who are not related by blood, most of them are herdsmen attached to external settlements due to poverty. Therefore, the difference between the rich and the poor is also clearly reflected in the "Auer". "Auer" varies in size, some three or five, some ten or more. Kazaks call the kinship group of the clan tribe "Yeli". "Yeli" is named after the ancestor. Through the lineage of the clan and tribe, we can not only see the reproduction of "Yeli", but also understand the relationship between them.

Kazakh clans and tribes have a history of hundreds of years, but there are still certain restrictions on internal intermarriage, generally beyond seven generations. Under the conditions of nomadic production mode, it is difficult for a single family to resist natural disasters and enemy attacks. Only a relatively stable organization can ensure the safety of life and livestock. Therefore, the "Yeli" formed by blood relationship is suitable for this need. Although, in the process of historical development, due to war, migration and other reasons, the internal relationship of "Yeli" has become quite relaxed. In essence, it has become a tool used by the feudal ruling class. However, under the strong maintenance of the feudal ruling group composed of nobles and tribal leaders, clan tribes, as a form of social organization, existed until the founding of new China.

Since the early 13th century, the western regions have been the territory of Chagatai and wokuotai, the sons of Genghis Khan. Kazaks have long been under the rule of Mongolia. The "Khan" and "Sudan" of the upper class of the clan tribal group are filled by Mongolian nobles. They claim to be the descendants of Genghis Khan and are called "tole" (white bone head). The ruling working herdsmen are called "Hara" (black bone), that is, Dalits. There is a strict hierarchy between "white bone head" and "black bone", and intermarriage is not allowed. There are also "Ku'er" and "Kun" with the lowest social status, which are male and female slaves. The feudal rulers of the past dynasties always courted and used the Kazakh nobles and tribal leaders to rule the vast Kazakh people. For example, in the Qing Dynasty, Kazakh nobles and leaders in Altay were granted titles of Duke, Taiji, ukurtai, zalen and zangen; The Kazakh nobles in Tacheng and Ili were granted the posts of head of a thousand households, head of a hundred households and so on.

After the revolution of 1911, warlord Yang Zengxin changed thousands and hundreds of households into agricultural officials and township agreements. During the reign of the Kuomintang, the Baojia system was implemented in Kazakh areas, and Kazakh leaders were appointed as district and township Baojia chiefs. Despite the change of dynasties, the power of Kazakh tribal leaders has never been weakened, but on the contrary, they have received more "legal" privileges. Since the Qing Dynasty, the larger tribal leaders were exempt from all taxes and official duties except livestock tax, and held the power of politics, justice and tax collection. As for the "TOLES" born in noble tribes, they have higher status and greater power. Tuoli County in Xinjiang is the seat of noble tribes. There is also the proverb "no tribe without Tuolie" among Kazaks. Proud to have Genghis Khan descendants as leaders, some tribes also invited "tole" as leaders. Kazak tribal leaders are feudal herdsmen of different sizes, while the vast majority of dependent herdsmen ruled by them are poor herdsmen, and the distinction between grades and classes is basically the same.

In addition to aristocrats, tribal leaders, large and small herdsmen, there are "Bi" who constitute the Kazakh feudal ruling group. "Bi" is generally born in a rich herdsman family, familiar with tribal customary law and good at rhetoric. It is recognized as a person who mediates disputes. Kazak has no written law, but each tribe has unwritten traditional customary law, which mainly includes the protection of private property, the protection of the privileges of tribal leaders, and the maintenance of tribal consolidation and unity. In case of property, marriage or other problems within the tribe, "ratio" means mediation and treatment in accordance with the customary law of the tribe. Usually, "nine penalties" means compensation for nine livestock, which will be doubled in case of serious cases. Because the Kazakh customary law has long been feudal and has essentially become a tool for safeguarding the interests of the exploiting class, "Bi" can arbitrarily explain the customary law, there is no justice between the feudal herdsmen and the poor herdsmen.

For a long time, the tribal concept has been the means used by the ruling class to control the working people. The tribal leaders tried their best to promote the unity of the tribe in order to ease and cover up the internal class contradictions. Kazak tribes have the habit of "blood for blood, injury for injury" blood revenge. This is often used by leaders as an opportunity to defraud money, so that personal problems between different tribes lead to tribal disputes. In this case, the tribal leaders will emphasize the so-called tribal honor and interests and provoke a large-scale armed struggle in the name of revenge. In case of human life, the head of the tribe will lead the people to "revenge" for the dead and ask the other party to compensate the price of life with livestock. The life price paid was shared by all the members of the murderer's "Yeli". The average man's life price is 200 horses, women's life price is halved, and the life price of nobles is 7 times higher than that of civilians. However, the families of the deceased received only a small part of the life price, most of which went to the upper class and powerful people of the tribe. It can be seen that the tribal customary law and the so-called maintenance of tribal interests and unity are very hypocritical.

Before the founding of new China, the clan and tribal organization of Kazak fully reflected the characteristics and content of patriarchal feudal system, that is, the feudal exploitation system was combined with the patriarchal system of clan and tribe. The tribal leaders from tole to auerbas had great power over the herdsmen. According to traditional regulations, the herdsmen's first hunting gains every year should be dedicated to the noble leaders, and they can't enjoy them themselves. In aour, the time and route of transferring pastures, as well as the apportionment of servants, foreign negotiations and dispute resolution are all decided by aour bas. It is also a matter of course for the enslaved herdsmen and their livestock. It can be seen that the ruling group composed of nobles and tribal leaders not only plundered the people economically, but also a politically privileged class, and the majority of working herdsmen were in a completely powerless position.

On November 27, 1954, Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture was established. Later, due to the inconvenience of carrying out celebrations in the severe winter season, the state day was changed to September 1 every year with the approval of the State Council. Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture governs Tacheng, Altay and ten counties and cities directly under the prefecture. Most of the Kazaks living in the former Haixi Mongolian Tibetan Kazak Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai Province returned to Xinjiang in June 1984 under the care of the Party Central Committee and the State Council. 13 ethnic townships have also been established in areas where Kazaks are relatively concentrated. After the founding of new China, the state implemented a stable policy of no distinction, no struggle, no class division and no definite composition in pastoral areas. At the same time, taking into account the interests of the majority of poor herdsmen, it achieved the dual interests of herdsmen and herdsmen, improved the labor remuneration of herdsmen, abolished the feudal privilege of tribal leaders, ordinary herdsmen from the same "awl" or poor herdsmen with relatives and friends, Spontaneously organize temporary or perennial mutual aid groups.

faith

Shamanism

Kazak people first worshipped natural phenomena and gods. In ancient times, they lived a nomadic life on the vast grassland. Through the worship of nature, they sought the safety of livestock and life, and defeated all kinds of disasters, suffering and diseases.

In ancient times, many clans and tribes, such as Cypriots, Huns, Wusun and Kangju, worshipped the moon, sun, stars, fire and a certain animal. Kazakhs worship the God of earth and the God of water. For this reason, they worship mountains, strange peaks, caves, rivers, single trees and springs. They will go to the sacred place with this natural landscape to sacrifice cattle and sheep, hold sacrificial activities and worship.

The Kazakh people initially believed that heaven was the great God and God. In some myths and legends, people believe that there are humans in the sky. Their belts are tied around their necks. Humans are between the two (heaven and earth), so the belts are tied around their waists, while people underground tie their belts around their feet. They all worship their own sun, moon and stars. The Kazakh people created these myths and spread them according to the belief that the universe is divided into three worlds by Shamanism. Among the Kazak people, people will curse a person: "bombarded by the gods", or evaluate a person as "irritable as the gods", or call those whose ancestors are brave for several generations as "descendants of the gods", which are related to the belief in the gods of Shamanism.

In summer, when drought or plague is prevalent, Kazakh people go to the river bank or some places they worship to slaughter animals, offer sacrifices, preach and give alms. The people would gather around a high ground and pray to the sky, "pray for the God of heaven to rain and the earth to spit green". After converting to Islam, he combined it with Islamic rules and worshipped it.

The Kazak people still retain the religious custom of worshipping the moon. Like many ancient nationalities, Kazaks also worship fire, pray for light, and worship fire as the "mother of fire". Because they believe that fire is a sacred force, has its own profound connotation, has the divine power to expel demons, and is noble. It is believed that fire is the Savior of the Kazakh people and has the power to get them out of disaster.

When a Kazak baby is born, it is necessary to pour oil on the fire and light a long-standing lamp for seven consecutive days. Young people gathered together, singing and dancing, and called it "qilidahana" - the baby birth ceremony. According to the ancient myths and legends of the Kazakh people, this custom stems from the belief that fire can exorcise evil spirits.

In Kazak mythology, there has been a belief in gods since ancient times. People believe that natural forces and natural phenomena are all living and have masters in charge of them. These masters are divided into "gods" and "disasters". The gods seek the welfare of human beings, livestock and animals and protect them; And disaster brings them disease, plague, disaster, misfortune and suffering. It is believed that gods will always fight against disaster.

Shamanism believes that the situation of the dead has nothing to do with the gods, but with the quality of funerals organized by their relatives. After Kazak converted to Islam, these customs also changed with the rules of Islam. Some old customs and rituals that worship the souls of ancestors are combined with Islamic customs and integrated into one.

The wizards and doctors of Kazak nationality are the representatives of Shamanism before converting to Islam. Kazakhs call men with shaman ability and skills "Bacchus" and women "hosinasi". They are regarded as people who are appreciated and assisted by the gods and can talk to the gods, can connect the relationship between the gods and people, are angels who often meet the souls of the dead and the gods, and are people with foresight. They can call the gods and talk to heaven and the gods. They travel around, divining, divining and predicting the future. They predict people's future destiny by reading palms or divining with sheep dung eggs. They call the pulse for people or ghosts and exorcise them. They also treat patients with drugs. When summoning the gods, each wizard has his own aria, Dongbula or hubozi. Kazak wizards worship "holhutt" as the father of wizards. Some wizards wear white swan fur on their heads, tie various cloth strips around their necks and hold sticks, and wander around. In ancient times, wizards enjoyed high prestige. When people are ill, they will invite wizards or come to the door to ask for medicine.

Islamism

After the Kazaks converted to Islam, there are still many wizards and doctors. However, with the changes of the times, they lost their supreme status, and the practice of witches tended to the rules of Islam; They will supplement the ancient Shamanism with the content that Allah is true. Up to now, there are still wizards among Kazaks. They wear Swan fur hats, hang colored cloth strips around their necks, take out divine sticks in their hands, ride horses from awul to awul, and perform divination, chant spells, cure diseases, dispel evils and pray for blessings. These wizards are still popular with women and the elderly.

In the areas where the Kazaks gathered in Xinjiang, mosques and Scripture schools were not built until the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century. Prior to this, Kazaks carried out worship, festival prayers and other activities in the open air without a mosque. Especially after the Qing army calmed down the Junggar aristocratic riots, a large number of mosques and Scripture schools were built in Ili, talbahatai and Altay. At the same time, many villages have opened Scripture schools and private Scripture schools.

The wide spread of Islam has turned the various religions spread in this area before itself into one religion, polytheism into monotheism, and brought Arab and Persian civilization.

Architecture

The places where Kazaks live are divided into winter Wozi, spring Wozi, summer Wozi and autumn Wozi according to the four seasons of the year. Generally, it is one place in spring and autumn. In winter, they live in clods or dry houses. In forest areas, they spend the winter in wooden houses. In other seasons, they live in yurts. Several families are called a Wule. Awul is composed of people who are related by blood. The places where they live are connected with grasslands, cooperate in production and move together. Yurt is a simple movable house that moves from one habitat to another in spring, summer and autumn. The yurt is sun shading, moisture proof at night, windproof and rain proof, ventilated and bright, and easy to move. Generally, it can be supported and removed within 30 minutes.

The yurt of wealthy families is very particular. Various patterns are cut with different cloth, and the surrounding felt is decorated. Wall felt and colored felt hung around the grid. The ground is covered with flower felt, embroidered felt and carpet. Rich people's yurt grills and spoke columns are painted and inlaid with Carved bone ornaments and silver ornaments.

Kazakh herdsmen live in a fixed place for nearly half a year from the late autumn of that year to the spring of the next year (i.e. from November to march of the next year), which is called dongwozi. Winter dens usually choose places with shelter, water, grass, firewood and sunshine along the river. The housing construction of winter pasture depends on the geography, nature and climate of the residence: building wooden houses in forest areas; In places with few trees, earth blocks, stones or dry barriers are used as walls to build square flat roof houses. A domed warehouse was built next to the house. The structure of the domed warehouse is similar to that of the yurt. The bottom is round or polygonal. The wall is built with earth blocks or stones to a height of two and a half meters, and the roof is arched with rafters similar to radial columns to form a circle. One end of the rafter is supported on the wall made of stones or earth blocks, and the other end is fixed on the ring frame. Cover the outside with reed mats or branches and spread mud. There are four or six columns inside, and a fire can be made in the middle of the round barn. Smoke goes out from the top circle, cooks in winter, and smokes the winter slaughtered meat hanging on the column. Next to the winter nest house, a livestock pen is built with stones, dry bases and branches. Beside the pen, straw stacks for winter are stacked, and there are horse pegs in the middle of the pen.

After the founding of new China, the people's government fully took into account that Kazak herdsmen lived by water and grass for the convenience of feeding horses, cattle and sheep, moved with herds, and encountered great difficulties in their children's school and medical treatment. In order to completely solve this problem, the party and the people's government planned to build settled or semi settled settlements, and Kazak herdsmen gradually turned to the combination of settlement and herding. Most of the remaining settlements were built after the 1970s.

Clothes & Accessories

Kazak costumes have strong national characteristics. "Twamak" is a hat worn by Kazak men in winter. It has two ear fans and a long tail fan behind it that can cover the wind and snow and avoid the cold. The inner layer of the hat is generally made of black lamb skin or fox skin, and the face is made of brightly colored silk. In winter, they also wear a dome hat called "Polk", which is generally made of otter skin, mink skin, fox skin and lamb skin. Men wear tanned fur coats or trousers with wool facing inward in winter, and fur coats sewn with wolf skin, fox skin or other valuable animal skin (with cloth outside). The belt is mostly made of cowhide, ranging in width. It is inlaid with gold, silver, coral, pearls, gemstones and other accessories. In summer, elderly Kazak men usually wear boots made of soft leather, coats and rubber shoes to protect their boots. Young men wear long leather boots. Hunters wear high cocked soft boots that are convenient for trekking. In addition, men in alpine regions also wear warm felt boots.

Kazak women's clothes are more complex than men's clothes, with a wide range of styles and exquisite workmanship. Moreover, with the change of age, their clothes are also different. Women's headdress mainly includes hat and scarf. Girls wear "tacia" since childhood. This kind of hat has a hard shell and a flat top. The top is inserted with owl feathers indicating auspiciousness, decorated with dazzling pearls and jade. "Shawukeli" is a pointed hat worn by girls when they get married. The inner layer is felt and the outer cover is satin. The hat wall is embroidered with patterns containing various deformations of flowers, plants and animal horns, inlaid with colorful gold, silver and jewelry. The little girl's clothes are mostly decorated with silver, copper or buttons. The girls and girls wear a dress with cross stitch lace at the cuffs and pleated hems. The upper body is equipped with half of a tight black, red and green waistcoat, and the two sides of the waistcoat are decorated with bright silver. Unmarried girls wear white underwear with geometric patterns embroidered on their collars and cuffs, lace camisoles on the outside, double-layer lace pleated skirts on the hem, and a wide range of silver dollars, buttons, beads and shells on both sides of the chest. In the warm season, middle-aged women wear colored velvet embroidered edges on their chest and hem, with half of the sleeve length of two pockets on both sides, loop and waistband; "Yishike" cut from Fox leg skin and lamb skin in winter is pressed with otter skin. There are various patterns on the front and hem, and a leather coat "kuru" covered with silk and satin cloth. Women's shoes and boots have many styles. They usually wear "Maisi" (soft soled leather boots) and coat "kaibus" (overshoes). The boots, shoes and socks of women in rich families are more exquisite. The "kaibusi" they wear has various decorations, and the "Maisi" is embroidered with patterns.

With the impact of the economic tide, Kazakh clothing styles have been updated, which is not much different from the clothes worn by most nationalities.

diet

Kazak diet is closely related to nomadic life, mainly including tea, meat, milk and pasta. In the Kazakh people's daily diet, they can have no vegetables for a day, but they must not have no tea for a day. Three meals a day and two meals during the day are mainly black tea or milk tea cooked from brick tea and Fu tea. The practice of milk tea is to add some salt to the fried strong tea, add some milk, milk skin and butter, accompanied by Nang or fried noodles and fried wheat. This is breakfast and lunch. In the evening, eat a staple food with meat and noodles and drink a lot of tea. It can drive out the cold in winter and relieve the summer heat in summer. Because of eating more meat, drinking tea can help digestion and increase nutrition.

When winter comes and the mountains are about to be closed by heavy snow, Kazakhs have to slaughter some horses, cattle and sheep, and then process some meat into horse intestines, beef enema, bacon and fried meat slices as winter storage meat. In this way, the processed meat can be eaten until the next spring.

Kazak dairy products are mainly made of sheep's milk, milk, horse's milk and camel's milk. There is a proverb: "milk is the food of Kazakhstan". This shows the weight of dairy products in Kazak food. The main types of dairy products are fresh milk, sour milk, milk skin, milk tofu, milk pimple, butter, milk cake, horse milk wine and so on. Due to the constant relocation of nomadic life, the production method of Kazak pasta is also simple, convenient and unrestricted. Traditional pasta mainly includes pancakes, oil cakes, fried wheat, "Naren" (a hand-held diet that cuts cooked mutton into small pieces and covers noodles), "balsak" (mutton oil fried dough), etc.

In addition to the above-mentioned part of the diet, Kazaks living in cities have also learned to cook meals of various flavors from their surrounding Brother nationalities, and their diet structure tends to be diversified. At the same time, it in turn affected the Kazakh people in agricultural and pastoral areas and enriched their dining tables. Uygur rice intestines, noodles and lungs, and Hui powder soup have become a common meal for Kazaks.

etiquette

In Kazakh people's daily life, "Bata" (i.e. blessing words) is everywhere and spoken all the time. For example, people naturally regard "Bata" as an important etiquette to express their good wishes to people and things, from the birth of a baby, naming to marriage, from slaughtering livestock and eating to going out to work, moving to different places, and from birthday to festivals. For different objects, the blessing content of "Bata" is also different. For example, if you are a guest at someone's house, send "Bata" before and after dinner. The content is: "may you keep oil and water in your pot, please keep your cloth (table) food, and wish your family happiness". Kazakhs firmly believe that the power of "Bata" is mysterious and powerful. A proverb says: "rain stains the green earth, Bata becomes a hero", "a beautiful Bata can make a person good luck, but without Bata, a person will be bad luck".

In places where Kazakhs live in compact communities, the elderly, both men and women, rich and poor, are highly respected. When the younger generation sees them, they should salute and greet them, and replace their names with honorific titles such as "aksahal" (old man), "APA" (aunt). When the old man is talking, the younger generation must not interrupt, let alone smoke and drink in front of them. When the old man dismounts, the younger generation should come out to meet him, help him dismount and tie his horse. When entering the room, let the old man go first and sit in the upper and middle position of the room. When eating meat, you should bring the sheep's head and legs to the elderly.

Sahi etiquette runs through the whole life of Kazaks. Congratulations on the birth of a baby, congratulations on the marriage of men and women, etc. as long as there are major and minor events worthy of celebration, women will hold handfuls or plates of delicious dry food such as happy candy, milk pimples and balsak, and throw them to happy people from time to time to show that there are joys, blessings and happy events. People will catch the happy candy one after another and scramble to eat "saxiwu".

literature

Kazak folk songs mostly show the production and life, customs, ideas and beliefs of ancient clans and tribes; There are also some folk songs that originated in the later period and adapted to the social environment at that time. The contents of these folk literature works are closely related to ancient customs, interests and aspirations, become an integral part, and are directly used in life customs.

Some ancient folk songs reflect the theme of worshipping nature. Ancient people could not understand the mysteries of the natural world and thought that language and prayer could affect nature. Therefore, in their daily life and production, they are committed to using mysterious spells to get rid of natural disasters. One of them is the prayer song with the effect of calling the wind and rain. Most of these folk songs are sung at the ceremony of praying for God's rain. It is generally believed that if wizards throw a stone made of magic stone into the water, supplemented by sacred prayer songs, dark clouds will gather together and bring downpour. With sincere feelings, they prayed for rain to the sky, the God of water and the God of cloud. They believe that the reason why the earth is dry is that the "black bag" and "yellow basin" are empty, so that the land is barren and people and animals are thirsty. In life, if they are bitten by insects, Kazakhs use special spells to clear the poison. They curse the God of poisonous insects through such spells. There is an exorcism song in the Qingdu song. In the exorcism, most of the evil spirits are driven to the barren mountains where there is no smoke, to the enemy or to the skeletons eaten by the stingy woman. In case of human and animal plague, the young people in the village will light a raging fire at the edge of the village and sing exorcism songs all night. The exorcism song shows all kinds of tricks used by the God of disaster. At the same time, it also expresses the singer's desire to drive away the God of disaster and pray for health.

Folk songs related to primitive religious beliefs are gradually integrated with Shamanism customs with the changes of the times. Among Kazak people, this kind of folk song is often sung by shamans, and later called "the song of shamans". With the passage of time, this wizard song has gradually enriched in content and form. The content of wizard's song mostly calls for the master of disaster, intimidates it with mysterious spells and smokes it with fire; Or call the dark clouds to gather, pray for God to rain, and so on. This kind of folk song mainly reflects the psychology of praying for God's blessing, religious belief and totem worship consciousness. Among them, there are also the contents of worshipping the spirit of ancestors and worshiping people with spirituality, which are rare in previous folk songs.

Ancient folk songs spread widely, and prayer is one of the most widely used genres. This is a folk Allegro handed down according to national customs and created to express sincere feelings. Many customs of ancient Kazak people's life were inseparable from prayer. Almost all prayers have a common content, which is to pray for happiness. "Amen, I pray for you" always connects the coming of happiness with kodel, the God of happiness. Kazakhs believe that "a good voice is half wealth", so they especially value sincere prayer. In front of the public, it is a great honor to get the prayers and blessings of those respected elders or famous wizards. People even believe that the blessings obtained through prayer will be handed down from generation to generation. Because prayer and blessing is a genre with permanent appeal, it is still widely spread among people.

The most national characteristic of Kazak folk songs is duet. Duet is an impromptu creative competition between two Akons (i.e. duets). Among Kazak people, the art of duet singing is quite popular. In the etiquette of baby birth and wedding ceremony, people gathered together, paired up with each other and began to sing in pairs. Even during the leisurely grazing, on the long way to move, or on the way to visit relatives and friends, or when distinguished guests come at home, people will meet by chance. They will also use the method of duet to greet each other, joke with each other and compete with each other through a few short lyrics. This phenomenon has become a common practice. Sometimes, people who sing duets are not all quick witted, eloquent and fluent Arken, but they can generally communicate in the form of duets. In terms of form, the original form of duet is tongue learning duet. The first two sentences of the lyrics are common. That is, the first two lyrics sung by the former Akon are repeated by the latter Akon, and then they sing impromptu.

Akon's playing and singing is a folk literature genre with strong vitality. Until today, there are still many popular duet works circulating among the masses. At present, all localities and counties under the jurisdiction of Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture organize Akon playing and singing every year. Nowadays, the content of Akon's lyrics keeps up with the pace of the times, and his duet skills have also been greatly improved.

music

The Kazak national musical instruments mainly include Dongbula, hubuzi, sibuzhe, etc.

Dongbula is especially popular with the Kazak people. It uses birch and other materials to make the body and sheep intestines to make strings. In the past, the body of the piano was shovel shaped and spoon shaped. Now there is a new folk Dongbula that blends these two forms.

All kinds of Kazak musical instruments are easy to carry and play. Song singing has a wide range of mass.

dance

The traditional Kazakh Dance is characterized by imitating the movements of birds and animals. It is exaggerated and humorous, lifelike, vivid and vivid, and has strong expressiveness and appeal.

The traditional dance is "halazholha" (also translated as "black walking horse").

festival

Kazak festivals, like other nationalities who believe in Islam, are closely related to religious beliefs. In addition to Rouzi Festival and gurbang Festival, there is also "nawurouzi" festival.

Although "Rouzi Festival" and "gurbang Festival" originated from religion, they have become Kazak festivals with strong national characteristics and are national legal national festivals.

"Nawurouzi Festival" is a traditional festival before Kazak people believe in Islam, which is equivalent to the Spring Festival. The Kazak people have used the calendar of the zodiac for a long time. The starting point of these Zodiac years is the spring breeze equal day and night (March 22), which is called "ules" or "nawurouzi" (naw-rez). "Nawurouzi" means "new year". The Chinese Zodiac begins to change from the day of "nawurouzi", which is regarded as the replacement of the old and the new, and is called the "spring equinox" (ules Kuni). On "Na Wu Rouzi" day, every family makes "Na Wu Rouzi" porridge. Kazakhs flock to villages and households, drink porridge from house to house, sing the poem "Na Wu Rouzi", embrace the new year, and wish a prosperous livestock and a bumper harvest in the new year. After cooked, the meat specially prepared for nawurouzi Festival should be brought to the respected elderly to make a speech, wishing the livestock prosperity and abundant milk.

marriage and love

In the old society, Kazak women had the custom of asking for betrothal gifts.

The number of betrothal gifts depends on the status and property of both families. In addition to the betrothal gifts, the man also sends breast-feeding gifts, festive gifts to the woman's parents and clothes (Keith) to relatives. The woman's family buys a dowry according to the number of betrothal gifts. Buy a new house for her daughter, install camels, prepare horses and wear flower hats. Send clothing materials to the man's parents and relatives, and prepare five, seven or nine clothes and dowry according to the number of betrothal gifts. Some families with less financial resources are popular to exchange or call opposite relatives (harse hudaleh), that is, marry their daughter to each other's son and marry each other's daughter as their daughter-in-law. Sometimes when the poor can't afford the bride price, relatives, friends and people help.

Kazak marriage customs especially emphasize lifelong marriage, so there was almost no divorce in the past and it is rare now.

funeral

The Kazakh funeral custom is carried out in accordance with the Islamic Sharia. After being cleansed by the deceased, wrap his head from his chin with a white cloth, face towards Mecca, cover his face with a clean headscarf, wrap his body with cloth, and his close relatives hold a lamp to guard the dead. The people who came to the funeral came in to say goodbye to the body of the deceased, comfort the relatives and friends of the deceased, then facelift and wash the body, wrap the body in white cloth, make atonement, spread some stickers (white handkerchiefs, sugar and other things distributed by the relatives of the deceased to the people attending the funeral), tie several livestock with flower ropes to the door, and the person in charge of atonement held the rope to redeem the debt of fasting, chanting and other lessons owed by the deceased within one year, Pass the rope to the Mullah sitting above the body. The Mullah reads "accept" and returns the rope. How old the victim is, how many times. If a minor child dies prematurely, no atonement ceremony will be performed because of his purity and innocence. After that, these livestock were given to the helpless or to the mullahs. After reading the funeral Sutra, the relatives of the deceased asked the people what kind of person the deceased was. They said with one voice that the dead was kind-hearted. May his faith be firm, live in heaven forever and his soul rest in peace. Then transport the body to the cemetery. If the cemetery is far away, load the body with camels and cover your face with blankets. According to the local conditions, there are two kinds of tombs: straight and side. The body was buried on its back with its head facing south and its feet facing north and facing west (in the direction of Mecca's heavenly house). Before the corpse goes into the tomb, the people who come to bury it pinch a handful of soil and sprinkle it. Then put the body into the cave and bury it.

The Kazak funeral tradition is mixed with early Shamanism relics. In the past, Kazaks tied seven or nine horses or other livestock with fancy threads on the threshold of the house where the bodies were placed. After the ceremony, they were led to the cemetery for slaughter. Kill the dead man's horse and put the horse's head on the grave. At the same time, bows, spears, saddles, utensils, food and drinks are also placed at the head of the grave. I think people have to live after death. According to the rules of Islam, only white cloth and mortuary clothes are buried, so Kazakhs no longer slaughter livestock tied with thread, but give some posts to mullahs and helpless people.