Kazakh food preparation

Kazakh culture began to develop in the 13th century. Kazakh culture is largely influenced by a Turkic nomadic lifestyle and Islam. Kazakhs are typically Sunni Muslims. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (986x720, 86 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Culture of Kazakhstan Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (986x720, 86 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Culture of Kazakhstan Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used... Traditional Kazakh food revolves around mutton and horse meat as well as sour milk products. ... (12th century - 13th century - 14th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. ... Communities of nomadic people move from place to place, rather than settling down in one location. ... For other uses, including people named Islam, see Islam (disambiguation). ... The Kazakhs (also spelled Kazak or Qazaq), (in Kazakh: Қазақ []; in Russian: Казах; English term is the transliteration from Russian) are a Turkic people of the northern parts of Central Asia (largely Kazakhstan, but also found in parts of Russia and China). ... Sunni Islam (Arabic سنّة) is the largest denomination of Islam. ... A Muslim is a believer in or follower of Islam. ...

Before the Russian conquest, the Kazaks had a well-articulated culture based on their nomadic pastoral economy. Although Islam was introduced to most of the Kazaks in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the religion was not fully assimilated until much later. As a result, it coexisted with earlier elements of Tengriism. Traditional Kazak belief held that separate spirits inhabited and animated the earth, sky, water, and fire, as well as domestic animals. To this day, particularly honored guests in rural settings are treated to a feast of freshly killed lamb. Such guests are sometimes asked to bless the lamb and to ask its spirit for permission to partake of its flesh. Besides lamb, many other traditional foods retain symbolic value in Kazak culture. Communities of nomadic people move from place to place, rather than settling down in one location. ... For other uses, including people named Islam, see Islam (disambiguation). ... The picture of tengrist World view on a Shamans Drum [1] [2]. The Worldstree is growing in the centre and connecting the three Worlds Underworld, Middleworld and Upperworld. ...

Because animal husbandry was central to the Kazaks' 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. In a draw in a mountainous region, a shepherd guides a flock of about 20 sheep amidst scrub and olive trees. ...

The traditional Kazak 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 generally is reserved for men and the left for women. A Yurt is a portable felt dwelling structure used traditionally by nomads in the steppes of Central Asia. ...

Although yurts are less used for their original purpose than they once were, they remain a potent symbol of "Kazakness." During demonstrations against Nazarbayev in the spring of 1992, demonstrators and hunger strikers erected yurts in front of the government building in Almaty. Yurts are also frequently used as a decorative motif in restaurants and other public buildings. Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev (Kazakh: Нұрсұлтан Әбішұлы Назарбаев [Nûrsûltan Äbîshûlâ Nazarbayev]; Russian: Нурсултан Абишевич Назарбаев [Nursultan Abishevich Nazarbayev]) (born July 6, 1940 in Chemolgan, Kazakhstan) is the current President of Kazakhstan, and the countrys only leader since independence from the Soviet Union. ... Almaty Former Pioneers palace Russian Orthodox Cathedral Night city. ...

Literature

Kazak literary tradition is rich in oral histories. These histories were memorized and recited by the akyn, the elder responsible for remembering the legends and histories, and by jyrau, lyric poets who traveled with the high-placed khans. Most of the legends concern the activities of a batir , or hero-warrior. Among the tales that have survived are Koblandy-batir (fifteenth or sixteenth century), Er Sain (sixteenth century), and Er Targyn (sixteenth century), all of which concern the struggle against the Kalmyks; Kozy Korpesh and Bain sulu, both epics; and the love lyric Kiz-Jibek. Usually these tales were recited in a song-like chant, frequently to the accompaniment of such traditional instruments as drums and the dombra, a mandolin-like string instrument. President Nazarbayev has appeared on television broadcasts in the republic, playing the dombra and singing. Akyn (Kazakh: ?, Kyrgyz: ?, Russian: акын) is an improvising poet and singer in the Kazakh and Kyrgyz cultures. ... Khan (sometimes spelled as xan, han) is a title meaning ruler in Mongolian and Turkish. ... The Republic of Kalmykia (Russian: Респу́блика Калмы́кия; Kalmyk: Хальм Тангч) is a federal subject of the Russian Federation (a republic). ... The dombra is a long-necked, two-stringed instrument, possessing a resonating chamber, somewhat similar to a banjo or a lute, and especially popular in the Central Asian nations. ...

The Russian conquest wreaked havoc on Kazak traditional culture by making impossible the nomadic pastoralism upon which the culture was based. However, many individual elements survived the loss of the lifestyle as a whole. Many practices that lost their original meanings are assuming value as symbols of post-Soviet national identity.

For the most part, preindependence cultural life in Kazakstan was indistinguishable from that elsewhere in the Soviet Union. It featured the same plays, films, music, books, paintings, museums, and other cultural appurtenances common in every other corner of the Soviet empire. That Russified cultural establishment nevertheless produced many of the most important figures of the early stages of Kazak nationalist self-assertion, including novelist Anuar Alimzhanov, who became president of the last Soviet Congress of People's Deputies, and poets Mukhtar Shakhanov and Olzhas Suleymenov, who were copresidents of the political party Popular Congress of Kazakstan. Shakhanov also chaired the commission that investigated the events surrounding the riots of December 1986.

An even more powerful figure than Shakhanov, Suleymenov in 1975 became a pan-Central Asian hero by publishing a book, Az i Ia, examining the Lay of Igor's Campaign, a medieval tale vital to the Russian national culture, from the perspective of the Turkic Pechenegs whom Igor defeated. Soviet authorities subjected the book to a blistering attack. Later Suleymenov used his prestige to give authority to the Nevada-Semipalatinsk anti-nuclear movement, which performed the very real service of ending nuclear testing in Kazakstan. He and Shakhanov originally organized their People's Congress Party as a pro-Nazarbayev movement, but Suleymenov eventually steered the party into an opposition role. In the short-lived parliament of 1994-95, Suleymenov was leader of the Respublika opposition coalition, and he was frequently mentioned as a possible presidential candidate. The Tale of Igors Campaign (Old East Slavic: Слово о плъку Игоревѣ, Slovo o plÅ­ku IgorevÄ›; Modern Ukrainian: Слово о полку Ігоревім, Slovo o polku Ihorevim; Modern Russian: Слово о полку Игореве, Slovo o polku Igoreve) is an anonymous masterpiece of East Slavic literature written in the Old East Slavic language and tentatively dated to the end of 12th century. ... Pechenegs or Patzinaks, also known as Besenyők, were a semi-nomadic steppes people of Central Asia that spoke a Turkic language. ...

Sports

The Soviet occupation has cultivated a strong interest in sports, physical education and extra-curricular activities. Kazakhstan won 8 medals in Olympics 2004 - the largest tally for any nation in West Asia.

Music

Public holidays

January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... January 7 is the seventh day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... March 8 is the 67th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (68th in Leap years). ... March 22 is the 81st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (82nd in Leap years). ... April 21 is the 111th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (112th in leap years). ... May 1 is the 121st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (122nd in leap years). ... May 9 is the 129th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (130th in leap years). ... August 31 is the 243rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (244th in leap years), with 122 days remaining. ... October 25 is the 298th day of the year (299th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 67 days remaining. ... December 16 is the 350th day of the year (351st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... December 17 is the 351st day of the year (352nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ...

References

• This article contains material from the Library of Congress Country Studies, which are United States government publications in the public domain. - Kazahkstan

The Country Studies are works published by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress ( USA), freely available for use by researchers. ... The U.S. Constitution, adopted in 1789 by a constitutional convention, sets down the basic framework of American government in its seven articles. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...

External links

• Embassy link for further culture questions