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Revision as of 20:05, 25 April 2011

Kazakhs
Қазақтар
File:AbaiPainting 140x190.jpgFile:Dinmukhamed Konayev.jpg
File:Aubakirov.jpg
File:Alash-orda.jpg
Total population
approx. 13,800,000
Regions with significant populations
 Kazakhstan10,098,600[1]
 China1,400,000 - 1,500,000[2]
 Uzbekistan800,000 - 1,100,000[3]
 Russia654,000[4]
 Mongolia140,152[5]
 Turkmenistan40,000 - 90,000[6]
 Kyrgyzstan33,200[7]
 Afghanistan21,000[8]
 Turkey19,000-25,000[8]
 Germany890[8]
 Tajikistan900[9]
 Iran10,000-15,000[8]
 Ukraine5,526[10]
 Belarus1,239[11]
Languages
Kazakh, Russian
(and/or languages in country of residence)
Religion
Predominately Sunni Muslim
Related ethnic groups
other Turkic peoples

The Kazakhs (also spelled Kazaks, Qazaqs; Kazakh: Қазақтар [qɑzɑqtɑ́r]; 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).

Kazakhs are descendants of the Turkic tribes - (Argyns, Khazars, Qarluqs; and of the Kipchaks.,[12] Turko-Mongol groups (Kiyat, Dughlat, Naimans, Nogais, Kerait, Onggirat, Manghud, Jalayir, Alshyn) and other Proto Turkic tribes such as the Huns, Kankalis, Wusun origin and Iranian tribes like the Sarmatians, Saka and Scythians.Kazakhs populated the territory between Siberia and the Black Sea and remained in Central Asia when the Turkic and Turko-Mongolic groups started to invade and conquer the area between the 5th and 13th centuries AD [13]

Etymology of Qazaq

The Kazakhs began using this name during either the 15th or 16th centuries.[14] There are many theories on the origin of the word Kazakh or Qazaq. Qazaq was included in a 13th century Turkic-Arabic dictionary, where its meaning was given as "independent" or "freeman".[citation needed]. Some speculate that it comes from the Turkish verb qaz (to wander), because the Kazakhs were wandering steppemen; or that it derives from the Mongol word khasaq (a wheeled cart used by the Kazakhs to transport their yurts and belongings).[15]

In the 19th century, one etymological explanation was that the name came from the popular Kazakh legend of the white goose (qaz means "goose", aq means "white").[15][16] In this creation myth, a white steppe goose turned into a princess, who in turn gave birth to the first Kazakh. This etymological derivation is regarded as flawed because, in Turkic languages, the adjective is put before the noun, and therefore "white goose" would be Aqqaz, not Qazaq.[citation needed]

Another theory 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 who seeks profit and gain.[17]

Qazaq, Kirghiz, Kaisak, Kazakh

Qazaq was a common term throughout medieval Central Asia, generally with regard to individuals or groups who had taken or achieved independence from a figure of authority. Timur described his own youth without directory authority as his Qazaqliq (Qazaqness).[18] At the time of the Uzbek Conquest of Central Asia, the Uzbek khan Abul-Khayr had differences with the Chinggisid chiefs Giray/Kirey and Janibeg/Janibek, descendants of Urus Khan. These differences probably resulted from the crushing defeat of Abul-Khayr Khan at the hands of the Qalmaqs.[19] Kirey and Janibek moved with a large following of nomads to the region of Zhetysu/Semirechye on the border of Moghulistan and set up new pastures there with the blessing of the Moghul Chingisid Esen Buqa, who hoped for a buffer zone of protection against the expansion of the Oirats.[20] It is not explicitly explained that this is why the later Kazakhs took the name permanently, but it is the only historically verifiable source of the ethnonym. The group under Kirey and Janibek are called in various sources Qazaqs and Uzbek-qazaqs (those independent of the Uzbek khans). Later Russian language sources incorrectly termed them Kirghiz and Kirghiz-kaisak.

The word Kazakh stems largely from a Russian convention seeking to distinguish the Qazaqs of the steppes from the Cossacks of the Russian Imperial military.

  • Kazakh - Казах
  • Cossack - Казак

The Cossacks take their ethnonym from the same Turkic etymological root, i.e. wanderer, brigand, independent free-booter.

Physical characteristics

Physical Appearance

Due to their complex history and Eurasian origin, Kazakhs display phenotypical diversity, though they tend to exhibit mixed but predominantly Mongoloid features. Fair to light-brown skin tends to be the norm. Among physical traits are aquiline nose, epicanthic fold and high cheekbones. Hair color among Kazakhs varies from prevalent jet black to many shades of brown, and some even blonde or red. Hazel, green and blue eyes exist among Kazakhs but are uncommon. The occurances of blond and red hair as well as hazel, green and blue eyes are probably inheritted characteristics from the Cumans.

Genetics

A study of mtDNA was carried out in population of Kazakhs. A high genetic diversity was observed in the Kazakh population. It was found out that the main contribution of East Eurasian lines (55% of the total gene pool) to the modern gene pool of mtDNA of the Kazakhs make haplogroups D, C, G and Z (36.2%), A and F (6.9%) and other haplogroups of Asian origin (11.9%). West Eurasian lines (41% of the total gene pool) in the Kazakh gene pool are most frequently represented by the haplogroups H (14.1%), K (2.6%), J (3.6%), T (5.5%), U5 (3%) and others (12.2%).[21]

Culture

Kazakh stamps featuring a traditional bride's dress, groom's clothing and the interior of a kiyiz uy, a traditional Kazakh yurt.

Music

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 notable composer is Kurmangazy, who lived in the 19th century. After studying in Moscow, Gaziza Zhubanova became the first woman classical composer in Kazakhstan, whose compositions reflect Kazakh history and folklore. A notable singer of the Soviet epoch is Roza Rymbaeva, she was a star of the trans-Soviet-Union scale. A notable Kazakh rock band is Urker, performing in the genre of ethno-rock, which synthesises rock music with the traditional Kazakh music.

Approximate areas occupied by the three Kazakh jüz in the early 20th century.

Oral history

Due to their nomadic pastoral lifestyle, Kazakhs kept an epic tradition of oral 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").

Marriage

The Kazakh marriage system was exogamous (a cultural trait possibly coming from the Cumans/Kipchaks as their marriages too were said to be exogamous), with marriage between individuals with a common ancestor within nine generations considered taboo. In intertribal marriage, paternal descent is decisive.

The Three Kazakh Сenturies

In modern Kazakhstan, tribalism is 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 of modern-day Kazakhstan belong to one of the three juzes (juz, roughly translatable as "century" or "hundred"):

Each Century consists of tribal groups (taypa), tribes (ruw) and small family-tied clans. Also considered Kazakhs, but of Chingisid descent, are the tore (direct descendants of Genghis Khan). In addition to these traditionally political leaders, there were religious families outside of the Centuries called Qozha/Khoja (descendants of Arabian missionaries and soldiers). In addition there are also the Tolengit (descendants of Oirat captives), the "Sunak" (like "Qozha" Khoja - descendants of Arabian missionaries and soldiers) and the "Kolegen" (descendants of Ancient Sairam inhabitants).

History of the Centuries

There is much debate surrounding the origins of the Centuries. Their age is unknown so far in extant historical texts, with the earliest mentions in the 17th century. The Turkologist Velyaminov-Zernov believed that it was the capture of the important cities of Tashkent, Yasi, and Sayram in 1598 by Tevvekel (Tauekel/Tavakkul) Khan that separated the Qazaqs, as only a portion of the Century possessed the cities.[22] This theory suggests that the Qazaqs then divided among a wider territory after expanding from Zhetysu into most of the Dasht-i Qipchaq, with a focus on the trade available through the cities of the middle Syr Darya, of which Sayram and Yasi belonged.

During the Barefoot Flight the Three Centuries temporarily united to face the threat of invasion from the Jungars.

In 1746, the English merchants Hogg and Thompson crossed the Kazakh steppe from Imperial Russia en route to Khiva, and stayed with Janibeg Batir, who informed them that the Kazakhs were divided into three Centuries, and that he (Janibeg) was governor of his Century, though his title was Batir, not Khan.[23]

Language

The Kazakh language is a member of the Turkic subgroup, 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 subgroup. Kazakh is characterized, in distinction to other Turkic languages, by the presence of /s/ in place of reconstructed proto-Turkic */ʃ/ and /ʃ/ in place of */tʃ/; furthermore, Kazakh has // where other Turkic languages have /j/.

Kazakh, like most of the Turkic language subgroup 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 western parts of Mongolia (Bayan-Ölgii and Khovd province), where Cyrillic script is in use.

Religion

File:Islamic center 1.jpg
Nur-Astana Mosque in Astana

Islam was brought to ancestors of modern Kazakhs during the 8th century when the Arabs entered Central Asia. Islam initially took hold in the southern portions of Turkestan and thereafter gradually spread northward.[24] Islam also took root due to the zealous missionary work of Samanid rulers, notably in areas surrounding Taraz[25] where a significant number of Turks accepted Islam. Additionally, in the late 14th century, the Golden Horde propagated Islam amongst the Kazakhs and other Central Asian tribes. During the 18th century, Russian influence toward the region rapidly increased throughout Central Asia. Led by Catherine, the Russians initially demonstrated a willingness in allowing Islam to flourish as Muslim clerics were invited into the region to preach to the Kazakhs whom the Russians viewed as "savages" and "ignorant" of morals and ethics.[26][27] However, Russian policy gradually changed toward weakening Islam by introducing pre-Islamic elements of collective consciousness.[28] Such attempts included methods of eulogizing pre-Islamic historical figures and imposing a sense of inferiority by sending Kazakhs to highly elite Russian military institutions.[28] In response, Kazakh religious leaders attempted to bring religious fervor by espousing pan-Turkism, though many were persecuted as a result.[29] During the Soviet era, Muslim institutions survived only in areas where Kazakhs significantly outnumbered non-Muslims due to everyday Muslim practices.[30] In an attempt to conform Kazakhs into Communist ideologies, gender relations and other aspects of the Kazakh culture were key targets of social change.[27]

In more recent times however, Kazakhs have gradually employed determined effort in revitalizing Islamic religious institutions after the fall of the Soviet Union. Some Kazakhs continue to identify with their Islamic faith,[31] and even more devotedly in the countryside. Those who claim descent from the original Muslim soldiers and missionaries of the 8th century command substantial respect in their communities.[32] Kazakh political figures have also stressed the need to sponsor Islamic awareness. For example, the Kazakh Foreign Affairs Minister, Marat Tazhin, recently emphasized that Kazakhstan attaches importance to the use of "positive potential Islam, learning of its history, culture and heritage."[33]

Population

Ethnic Kazakhs in percent of total population of Kazakhstan
1897 % 1911 % 1926 % 1939 % 1959 % 1970 % 1979 % 1989 % 1999 % 2008 % 2009 %
73.9 60.8 59.5 38.0 30.0 32.6 36.0 39.7 53.4 59.8 63.1

Kazakh minorities

Russia

In Russia, the Kazakh population lives primarily in the regions bordering Kazakhstan. According to latest census (2002) there are 654,000 Kazakhs in Russia, most of whom are in the Astrakhan, Volgograd, Saratov, Samara, Orenburg, Chelyabinsk, Kurgan, Tyumen, Omsk, Novosibirsk, Altai Krai and Altai Republic regions. Though ethnically Kazakh, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, these people acquired Russian citizenship.

Ethnic Kazakhs of Russia[34]
national censuses data
1939 % 1959 % 1970 % 1979 % 1989 % 2002 %
356 646 0.33 382 431 0.33 477 820 0.37 518 060 0.38 635 865 0.43 653 962 0.45

China

Kazakh family in Xinjiang, China

Kazakhs, called Hāsàkè Zú in Chinese (; literally "Kazakh people" or "Kazakh tribe") are among 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. After Sheng Shicai expelled 20,000 Kazakhs from Xinjiang to Qinghai, Hui led by General Ma Bufang massacred their fellow Muslim Kazakhs, until there were 135 of them left.[35][36] In China there is one Kazakh autonomous prefecture, the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, 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 Chinese, 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 jaw harp.[citation needed]

Mongolia

Ethnic Kazakhs live predominantly in Western Mongolia in Bayan-Ölgii Province (88.7% of total province population) and Khovd Province (11.5% of total province population, living primarily in the Khovd city, Khovd sum and Buyant sum). In addition, a number of Kazakh communities can be found in various cities and towns spread throughout the country. Some of the major population centers with a significant Kazakh presence include Ulan Bator (90% in khoroo #4 of Nalaikh düüreg[37]), Töv and Selenge provinces, Erdenet, Darkhan, Bulgan, Sharyngol (17.1% of population total[38]) and Berkh cities.

Ethnic Kazakhs of Mongolia[39]
national censuses data
1956 % 1963 % 1969 % 1979 % 1989 % 2000 % 2007[40] %
36,729 4.34 47,735 4.69 62,812 5.29 84,305 5.48 120,506 6.06 102,983 4.35 140,152 5.39

The Kazakh folk music is well known and loved in Mongolia. Most of Mongolian Kazakhs belong to "Middle juz" (Orta juz), the largest among three juzes.

Uzbekistan

400,000 [citation needed] Kazakhs live in Karakalpakstan and 100,000 [citation needed] in the Tashkent province. Since the fall of Soviet Union, vast majority of Kazakh people are returning to Kazakhstan, mainly to Manghistau Oblast'. Most Kazakhs in Karakalpakstan are descendants of one of the branches of "Junior juz" (Kişi juz)-Adai tribe.

Iran

Iranian Kazakhs live mainly in the Golestan province in northern Iran.[41] According to ethnologue.org, in 1982 there were 3000 Kazakhs living in the city of Gorgan.[42][43] Since fall of the Soviet Union number of Kazakhs in Iran decreased due to emigration to their historical Motherland."[44]

See also

Notable Kazakhs

References

  1. ^ Kazakhstan National Census 2009 preliminary results
  2. ^ Census 2000 counts 1.25 mln Kazakhs [1], later the Kazakh population had higher birth rate, but some assimilation processes were present too. Estimations made after the 2000 Cesus are claiming Kazakh population share growth (was 0,104 % in 2000), but even if this share value was preserved at 0.104% level it would be no less than 1.4 mln in 2008
  3. ^ Kazakh population share was constant at 4.1% in 1959-1989, CIA estimates this share declined to 3% in 1996. Official Uzbekistan estimation (E. Yu. Sadovskaya "Migration in Kazakhstan in the beginning of XXI century: main tendentions and perspectives" ISBN 9965-593-01-9) in 1999 was 940,600 Kazakhs or 3.8% of total population. If Kazakh population share was stable at about 4.1% (not taking into account the massive repatriation of ethnic Kazakhs (Oralman) to Kazakhstan) and the Uzbekistan population in the middle of 2008 was 27.3 mln, the Kazakh population would be 1.1 mln. Using the CIA estimate of the share of Kazakhs (3%), the total Kazakh population in Uzbekistan would be 0.8 mln
  4. ^ 2002 Census ethnic composition data, in 2003-2008 Kazakhstan national statistics noted the oralman (ethnic Kazakhs) repatriation to Kazakhstan
  5. ^ Ethnic composition of the Mongolian population in 2007, Mongolian government 2007. Retrieved on 6 April 2009
  6. ^ In 1995 Kazakh poulation was 86,987 [2] or 1.94 % population total. Later was a massive pepartriation of ethnic Kazakh population (oralman) to Kazakhstan: 22,000 before 2001 and 38,000-40,000 in 2001—2007. Press reports are claiming [3],[4],[5] the most part of Kazakhs had left Turkmenistan
  7. ^ In 2009 National Statistical Committee of Kyrgyzstan. National Census 2009
  8. ^ a b c d The Kazakh Diasporas: Kazakh Ministry of Culture and Information Template:Ru icon. Retrieved on 6 April 2009
  9. ^ Results of the 2000 population census in Tajikistan. Retrieved on 6 April 2009
  10. ^ Ukrainian population census 2001: Distribution of population by nationality. Retrieved on 23 April 2009
  11. ^ Belarus population census 1999: National composition of the population. Retrieved on 23 April 2009
  12. ^ Z. V. Togan: The Origins of the Kazaks and the Ozbeks, Central Asian Survey Vol. 11, No. 3. 1992
  13. ^ [6].
  14. ^ Barthol'd, Vasiliĭ Vladimirovich. Four Studies on the History of Central Asia, vol. 3, trans. V. and T. Minorsky. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1962, p. 129
  15. ^ a b Olcott, Martha Brill, The Kazakhs, Hoover Press, 1995, p. 4, ISBN 978-0-8179-9351-1. Retrieved on 7 April 2009
  16. ^ Grodekov, Nikolaĭ Ivanovich. Kirgizy i Karakirgizy Syr-Dar'inskoi oblasti, vol. 1, Tashkent: Iuridicheskii byt, 1889, p. 1
  17. ^ Yudin, Veniamin P. Tsentralnaya Aziya v 14-18 vekah glazami vostokoveda, Almaty: Dajk-Press, 2001, ISBN 9965-441-39-1
  18. ^ Centralizing Reform and Its Opponents in the Late Timurid Period Maria Eva Subtelny. Iranian Studies. Vol. 21, No. 1/2, Soviet and North American Studies on Central Asia (1988), pp. 123-151
  19. ^ Y. Bregel, “Abu’l-Kayr Khan,” EIr, I, pp. 331-332.
  20. ^ V. V. Barthold, “History of the Semirechyé,” in Barthold, Four Studies on the History of Central Asia, tr. V. and T. Minorsky (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1962), vol. I, pp. 137-165.
  21. ^ http://academicpublishingplatforms.com/downloads/pdfs/mhsj/volume6/201103290607_01_V6_MHSJ_KZ_Berezina_Svyatova_et_al_Genetic_Structure.pdf
  22. ^ Russian, Mongolia, China in the 16th, 17th, and early 18th centuries. Vol II. Baddeley (1919, MacMillan, London). Reprint - Burt Franklin, New York. 1963 p. 59
  23. ^ Howorth, Henry. History of the Mongols, From the 9th to the 19th century. Part II: The So-called Tartars of Russia and Central Asia. Burt Franklin, New York. 1880.
  24. ^ Atabaki, Touraj. Central Asia and the Caucasus: transnationalism and diaspora, pg. 24
  25. ^ Ibn Athir, volume 8, pg. 396
  26. ^ Khodarkovsky, Michael. Russia's Steppe Frontier: The Making of a Colonial Empire, 1500-1800, pg. 39.
  27. ^ a b Ember, Carol R. and Melvin Ember. Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender: Men and Women in the World's Cultures, pg. 572
  28. ^ a b Hunter, Shireen. "Islam in Russia: The Politics of Identity and Security", pg. 14
  29. ^ Farah, Caesar E. Islam: Beliefs and Observances, pg. 304
  30. ^ Farah, Caesar E. Islam: Beliefs and Observances, pg. 340
  31. ^ Page, Kogan. Asia and Pacific Review 2003/04, pg. 99
  32. ^ Atabaki, Touraj. Central Asia and the Caucasus: transnationalism and diaspora.
  33. ^ inform.kz | 154837
  34. ^ Ethnic composition of Russia (national censuses)
  35. ^ American Academy of Political and Social Science (1951). The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Volume 277. American Academy of Political and Social Science. p. 152. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
  36. ^ American Academy of Political and Social Science (1951). Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Volumes 276-278. American Academy of Political and Social Science. p. 152. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
  37. ^ Education of Kazakh children: A situation analysis. Save the Children UK, 2006 [7]
  38. ^ Sharyngol city review
  39. ^ "Монгол улсын ястангуудын тоо, байршилд гарч буй өөрчлөлтyyдийн асуудалд" М.Баянтөр, Г.Нямдаваа, З.Баярмаа pp.57-70
  40. ^ State Center for Civil Registration and Information
  41. ^ گلستان
  42. ^ Ethnologue report for Iran
  43. ^ http://www.golestanstate.ir/layers.aspx?quiz=page&PageID=23
  44. ^ قزاق