Culture of Kazakhstan

Kazakh food preparation began to develop in the 13th century

This 19th-century Star Kazak carpet sold for US$188,000 in 1999

Kazakhstan has a well-articulated culture based on the nomadic pastoral economy of the inhabitants. Islam was introduced to Kazakhstan in the 7th to 12th centuries. Besides lamb, many other traditional foods retain symbolic value in Kazakh culture. Kazakh culture is largely influenced by the Turkic nomadic lifestyle.

Because animal husbandry was central to the Kazakhs' traditional lifestyle, most of their nomadic practices and customs relate in some way to livestock. Traditional curses and blessings invoked disease or fecundity among animals, and good manners required that a person ask first about the health of a man's livestock when greeting him and only afterward inquire about the human aspects of his life.

The traditional Kazakh dwelling is the yurt, a tent consisting of a flexible framework of willow wood covered with varying thicknesses of felt. The open top permits smoke from the central hearth to escape; temperature and draft can be controlled by a flap that increases or decreases the size of the opening. A properly constructed yurt can be cooled in summer and warmed in winter, and it can be disassembled or set up in less than an hour. The interior of the yurt has ritual significance; the right side is generally reserved for men and the left for women. Yurts are also frequently used as a decorative motif in restaurants and other public buildings.

Modern Influences

Today's Kazakhstan is a modern culture, thriving in the post-Soviet era. The traditional Kazakh lifestyle has blended with influences from Western societies, as well as those from Kazakhstan's Russian and Chinese neighbors.

Religion

Main article: Religion in Kazakhstan

Islam is the largest religion in Kazakhstan, followed by Russian Orthodox Christianity. By tradition the Kazakhs are Sunni Muslims, and the Russians are Russian Orthodox. Approximately 70% of the population is Muslim. The majority are Sunni of the Hanafi school, including ethnic Kazakhs, who constitute about 60% of the population, as well as by ethnic Uzbeks, Uighurs, and Tatars. Less than 25% of the population is Russian Orthodox, including ethnic Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians. Other religious groups include Judaism, the Bahá'í Faith, Hare Krishnas, Buddhism, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Cuisine

Main article: Kazakh cuisine

A platter of horse meat served traditionally as an appetizer.

Traditional Kazakh cuisine revolves around lamb and horse meat, as well as a variety of dairy milk products. For hundreds of years, Kazakhs were herders who raised fat-tailed sheep, Bactrian camels, and horses, relying on these animals for transportation, clothing, and food. The cooking techniques and major ingredients have been strongly influenced by the nation's nomadic way of life. For example, most cooking techniques are aimed at long-term preservation of food. There is a large practice of salting and drying meat so that it will last, and there is a preference for sour milk, as it is easier to save in a nomadic lifestyle.

In recent years, there has been an influx of young westernised Kazakh chefs into the heart of Astana, including the now famous Rania Ahmed who spent her early years training in West London’s Michelin Star restaurants. This has resulted in a new breed of cuisine which blends traditional savoury Kazakh dishes with European fast food, such as betinjantabs, proving very popular with younger generations.

Besbarmak, a dish consisting of boiled horse or lamb meat, is the most popular Kazakh dish. Besbarmak is usually eaten with a boiled pasta sheet, and a meat broth called shorpa, and is traditionally served in Kazakh bowls called kese. Other popular meat dishes are kazy (which is a horse meat sausage that only the wealthy could afford), shuzhuk (horse meat sausages), kuyrdak (also spelled kuirdak, a dish made from roasted horse, sheep, or cow offal, such as heart, liver, kidneys, and other organs, diced and served with onions and peppers), and various horse delicacies, such as zhal (smoked lard from horse's neck) and zhaya (salted and smoked meat from horse's hip and hind leg). Pilaf (palaw) is the most common Kazakh rice dish, with vegetables (carrots, onions, and/or garlic) and chunks of meat. The national drinks are kumys (fermented mare's milk) and tea.

Languages

Main articles: Kazakh language and Languages of Kazakhstan

The main language spoken in Kazakhstan is Kazakh, a Turkic language closely related to Nogai and Karakalpak. Other languages spoken in Kazakhstan include Russian, which is using as official in Kazakhstan.

Literature

Main article: Kazakh literature

File:AbaiPainting.jpg

Abay Qunanbayuli lived from August 10, 1845 to July 6, 1904

Abay Qunanbayuli was a great Kazakh poet, composer and philosopher.

Art

Each year Kazakh artisans participate in the “Sheber” competition. The competition is part of the program "Development of crafts and the revival of folk arts and crafts in Kazakhstan", which began in 2006 to increase the competitiveness of Kazakh artisans’ products domestically and internationally. This program is conducted by the Union of Artisans of Kazakhstan, “Chevron,” the Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia, Kazakh Ministry of Culture and Information and the UNESCO Cluster Office in Almaty.

Movies

Main article: Cinema of Kazakhstan

In September 2006, the government announced that it is funding distribution of a multimillion-dollar movie called "Nomad", about the new-created by Kazakhstan government history of the nation. The movie started in 2003, and has been plagued with multiple development problems, finally released in 2006.

Since that time such movies like "Mongol", "Tulpan", and "Kelin" have been released. All three films were submitted for the Academy Award for the Best Foreign Languages Film. The movie 'Tulpan' won the Prix Un Certain Regard at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. The speechless movie "Kelin" made the shortlist of the 82.Academy Awards.

Music

Main article: Music of Kazakhstan

Magic Songs of the Eternal Steppe

Magic Songs of the Eternal Steppe is a series of concerts at Carnegie Hall and The Kennedy Center in celebration of Kazakhstan Cultural Days in the United States. The concerts feature Kazakh folk music and Western classic masterpieces as well as American songs performed by the Kazakh National Kurmangazy Orchestra of Folk Instruments, Kazakh National Baikadamov Choir and a group of Kazakh soloists.

The Symphony Orchestra of the Kurmangazy Kazakh National Conservatory

Symphony Orchestra of the Kurmangazy Kazakh National Conservatory was founded in 1947. The first leader of the orchestra was Professor K. Babayev. The Orchestra has a vast repertoire spanning Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Lizst, Saint-Saens, Bizet, Ravel, Frank, Mahler, Orf, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Musorgsky, Shostakovich, and many others.

Sports

Main article: Sport in Kazakhstan

Horse riders in traditional dress demonstrate Kazakhstan's equestrian culture by playing a kissing game, Kyz Kuu ("Chase the Girl"), one of a number of traditional games played on horseback.

Kazakhstan has cultivated a strong interest in sports, physical education, and extracurricular activities. Kazakhstan has achieved some success in international competitions in weightlifting, ice hockey, and boxing. Kazakhstan won eight medals in the 2004 Summer Olympics, the largest tally for any nation in Central Asia.

Football is the most popular sport in Kazakhstan. The Football Federation of Kazakhstan (FFK) is the sport's national governing body. The FFK organises the men's, women's, and futsal national teams. The Kazakhstan Super League is the top-level competition for the sport in the country.

Cycling is Kazakhstan's most successful sport. A lot of professional cyclists that compete on the European circuit come from Kazakhstan. Most notable is Alexander Vinokourov, whose achievements include two Paris–Nice's, third place in the 2003 Tour de France, and the Amstel Gold Race. Vinokourov leads

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Rugby union is a popular sport in Kazakhstan, with over 10,000 fans consistently turning up to watch the Kazakhstan national rugby union team play. Recent big wins over Sri Lanka and the Arabian Gulf Rugby Team have given the Kazakhstan side the reason to believe that they could have been contenders to qualify for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Kazakhstan has yet to qualify for the Rugby World Cup tournament.

See also

• History of Kazakhstan
• Kazakh clothing

References

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  - Kazakhstan
• Bruce Privratsky, Muslim Turkistan, pages 76–77

External links

• Embassy link for further culture questions
• Message Board in Kazakh Language
• The Musagetes Civic Charitable Foundation for Culture and Humanitarian Sciences Development
• Kazakhstan: history, geography, people, culture, traditions, holiday, living, life