KAZAKHSTAN'S
CULTURE

Kazakh culture is the culture of nomads. The people managed to preserve it despite years of persecution and oblivion. For thousands of years, nomadic tribes have walked the Kazakh steppes, forming their own unique worldview, creating unique customs and traditions, and cooperating with neighboring peoples and cultures.The culture of modern Kazakhstan is intensively developing, absorbing and transforming elements of the globalized world. In the 19th and 20th centuries, many Kazakhs began to change their nomadic lifestyle to a sedentary one, and new cultural aspects of the Kazakh people developed.Today, the culture of Kazakhstan is a huge layer of various types of art, traditions and everyday life, imbued with the spirit of the nomadic past.

The peculiarities of Kazakh culture were determined by the nomadic way of life. People sought to arrange their entire life in such a way that it was easy to change their place of residence, while maintaining a certain comfort. Therefore, the traditional Kazakh dwelling, the yurt, is a rapidly erected structure, and many food products are made in such a way as to preserve their nutritional properties during long marches. The spiritual culture of the Kazakhs developed under the influence of nomadic life in the close contact with nature. There is a Kazakh saying, "If you cut down one tree, plant ten instead."

The Kazakh language belongs to the Altai group of languages. It is the heir of the ancient Turkic language, which was one of the first written languages. The Kazakh language is characterized by the addition of suffixes and endings. Unlike, for example, Russian and English, suffixes and postpositions perform the function of prefixes and prepositions. The Kazakh language has a rather complicated pronunciation, especially for specific sounds. The stress in the Kazakh language is fixed, almost always falls on the last syllable. Only in borrowings and words with an emotional connotation (or in interjections) can the stress change. The Kazakh language has a strict word order. The predicate is at the end of the sentence. The question word, if there is no predicate, stands at the end of the sentence. There are no dialects in the Kazakh language, but there are a lot of synonyms. For example, 63 words can be used to refer to a man of short stature.

Kazakhs are big fans of verbal art. Kazakh literature and poetry date back thousands of years – various legends and tales, epics have been retold over the centuries. Kazakh culture highly values improvisational poets, or aityskers in Kazakh, who compete with each other during aitys, a public poetry competition, in the art of sparkling words to the accompaniment of the national instrument dombra.

Aitys is a song dialogue on a specific topic. From time to time, aityskers take over each other's turn, picking up on the opponent's words. The winner is chosen based on musicality and rhythm, and ingenuity in picking up the opponent's arguments also plays an important role. The main idea of aitys is a rivalry between two or more poets who present their arguments and ideas in the form of poems and songs. They use different styles and rhymes to convince the audience of their point of view. Poets can discuss different topics, from love and nature to politics and religion. Aitys has its own characteristics and structure. It usually begins with a greeting and a blessing. Then the poets introduce themselves and their intentions, and then the poems and the exchange of arguments begin. Every poet should be ready to respond to the opponent's arguments and continue the discussion. The Aitys ends with a blessing and a wish for a good ending.

The official language of the Republic of Kazakhstan is Kazakh. The State language is the language of public administration, legislation, judicial proceedings and record keeping, operating in all spheres of public relations throughout the territory of the state. Since Kazakhstan is a multinational state, with over a hundred ethnic groups living in the republic, according to the Constitution, Russian can be used in official situations along with the official language. Russian is also the language of international communication. The language policy in Kazakhstan is aimed at preserving the diversity and peaceful coexistence of different languages and their speakers in the country. Every language in the country is a national treasure. Taking into account the geopolitical, cultural and geographical factors, the republic adheres to the principle of trilingualism: knowledge of Kazakh, Russian and English languages.

Teaching in three languages helps introduce students to the culture and traditions of different nations. Every citizen of the Republic of Kazakhstan has the right to use his native language, to freely choose the language of communication, upbringing, education and creativity. The state takes care of creating conditions for the study and development of the languages of the people of Kazakhstan. Infringement of the rights of citizens on the basis of language is not allowed in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The Republic of Kazakhstan is a state with a modern Constitution and modern legal norms. Along with the laws, the Kazakh people honor and observe their traditions. Kazakh traditions originate in the depths of centuries, in the customs of nomadic tribes. One of the main traditions of the Kazakhs, which has now become a feature of the national character, is hospitality. In Kazakh society, hospitality is considered the main duty – to receive guests with an open heart and open arms. A guest is the most important and most welcome person in the house. It is customary to feed him the most delicious food and do everything to make him feel safe and comfortable.

It was considered the duty of every Kazakh to receive a traveler, warm and feed him. Since ancient times, not accepting a traveler was a disgrace for the family and the whole family, therefore, our ancestors went on a long journey without fear: they knew that even if difficulties arose, they would not be left in trouble.

Kazakh music encompasses a wide range of genres and styles, including folk music, classical music, and contemporary genres. Kazakh music was based on folklore for most of its history and had no musical notation. Music was passed down from teacher to student, from generation to generation, and quite often there was a place for improvisation. In the XV-XVIII centuries, the formation of the Kazakh musical genre – kuy took place. The musician performed an epic piece on the dombra (a Kazakh plucked musical instrument) and sang stories from epics, legends and fairy tales. At the beginning of the 20th century, academic classical music was formed and developed, using the knowledge of Russian and European music schools.

Since ancient times, music and its main bearers, folk instruments - kobyz, dombyra, sybyzgy, dauylpaz, kosyrnai, sherter, zhetygen, kerey, asatayak - have occupied a significant place in traditional Kazakh culture. Traditional Kazakh folk music includes various forms of vocal and instrumental music. Kazakh folk music is deeply influenced by the nomadic lifestyle and traditions of the Kazakh people. Many songs and melodies reflect themes of nature, the open steppe, and the nomadic way of life. Instruments such as the dombra and kobyz were historically portable and well-suited to accompany nomadic herders on their journeys across the steppe.

Musician and ethnographer Alexander Zatayevich made an invaluable contribution to the Kazakh musical culture. The collector of Kazakh folk songs recorded many songs and kuys, thus he saved them from oblivion. Kazakh folk music today is a cultural asset of Kazakhstan, and composers and musicians continue to create new works and develop this field.

At the beginning of the 20th century, academic classical music was formed and developed, which uses the knowledge of Russian and European music schools, weaving traditional Kazakh motifs into the works. The formation of professional musical art began in the 1930s. The Union of Composers of Kazakhstan was founded in 1939. In 1944, a conservatory was opened in Alma Ata. After Kazakhstan gained independence in 1991, musical development continued. In 2013, the Astana Opera, the largest theater in Central Asia, was opened in the capital of the country.

Of the modern composers, we would like to mention the so-called "Kazakh Mozart" Rakhat-bi Abdysagyn. The young musician's worldwide fame came to him early, before he was 20 years old. Rahat-Bi became a student at the age of 13, a master's student at 17, brilliantly defended his master's thesis at the age of 18, and completed doctoral programs at three prestigious universities in Italy at the age of 20. At the age of 10, Rahat-bi was writing music that mature composers could be proud of. His large-scale symphonic canvases and chamber works are performed in famous concert halls in Italy, Austria, France, England, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, South Korea, Turkey, Ukraine, Russia, Romania, Egypt, Jordan, China and the USA. Rahat-bi is the author of a number of scientific articles and books, at the age of 14 he published a unique work "Mathematics and Modern Music".

Modern composers of Kazakhstan are known not only in the field of classical music. Today in Kazakhstan, many composers create musical works in a variety of directions, styles and genres.
In recent years, Kazakh music has undergone modernization and fusion with contemporary styles and genres. Imanbek Zeikenov, known professionally as Imanbek, is a Kazakh DJ and record producer who gained international recognition for his remix of the song "Roses" by the American duo Saint Jhn in 2019. The remix went viral on the social media platform TikTok, propelling it to the top of the charts in several countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. It became a global hit and earned Imanbek a Grammy Award for Best Remixed Recording in 2021.

Kazakhstan has long been famous for its singers. Kazakhstan has produced several renowned singers who have made significant contributions to the country's music industry and gained international recognition. Amre Kashaubayev became the first voice of Kazakhstan to be heard all over the world. In 1925, Amre took second place in the song contest at the World Fashion Exhibition in Paris, performing the popular compositions "Agash ayak", "Kanapiya", "Ush dos", "Zhalgyz arsha". The Parisian Week newspaper and Le Musical magazine noted the brilliant talent of the performer. So Amre Kashaubayev went down in history as the first Kazakhstani singer to represent the country abroad.

Dimash Kudaibergen is one of the most well-known Kazakh singers of contemporary times. He gained widespread fame after participating in the Chinese singing competition show "Singer" in 2017, where he impressed audiences with his vocal range and versatility. Dimash's powerful countertenor voice and ability to sing in multiple languages have earned him a global fanbase. He has released several albums and singles, performed in numerous concerts around the world, and received numerous awards for his music.

Kazakh literature and poetry date back thousands of years – various legends and tales have been retold over the centuries. The primary sources of Kazakh literature are the dastans "Alyp Er Tonga", “Shu Batyr", created in the 11th-3rd centuries BC. Scientific research has proved that the events described in them are closely related to the ancient history of the Kazakh people. Poets of the Middle Ages in Kazakhstan usually narrated their works to the accompaniment of dombra or kobyz (plucked musical instruments). In the XV century, a genre such as "tolgau" was formed - this is a poetic form of reflection, which contained some kind of wisdom or edification on some occasion. Tolgau was performed by the author and singer, who was called "zhyrau". At the same time, performing educational, educational and educational functions in this way, zhyrau had weight in the political life of the country, and could influence society.

In the 19th century, the development of written literature began, which was influenced by Russian and European writers. At the end of the 19th century, the names of such authors as Ibrai Altynsarin, Shokan Valikhanov, and especially Abai Kunanbayev, who is considered a classic of Kazakh literature, became widely known in Kazakhstan. In the 20th century, the culture of Kazakhstan began to enrich itself with translations of world-famous works, Kazakh writers mastered new genres and forms of writing, and the collection and recording of rich Kazakh folklore began.

Mukhtar Auezov is a famous writer, a classic of Kazakh literature, one of the first playwrights of the country. The writer devoted his main works to the life of the national poet Abai Kunanbayev. The novels "Abai" and "The Way of Abai" were named the encyclopedia of Kazakh life for creating paintings of the life of society in the second half of the 19th century. Drama plays a significant role in Mukhtar Auezov's legacy. Mukhtar Auezov also is known as a brilliant researcher of native literature and culture of other nations.

Mukhtar Magauin has been actively studying Kazakh history since he was 20 years old, despite Soviet censorship. He left a total of 27 volumes of work. Among all Kazakh writers, no one has created such a volume of work, not only in quantity, but also in quality. He was a novelist, historian, researcher, essayist and publicist who studied all spheres of Kazakh life. Mukhtar Magauin as a researcher expanded the history of Kazakh literature by 300 years. As a writer he brought world-class examples of plot construction to Kazakh literature.

The famous Kazakhstani writer Turysbek Sauketayev according to the results of the popular vote of the Mecenat literary Award.kz won a lifetime achievement award of $500 for his novel "The Dead Will Return."

Kazakhs are proud of their rich national cuisine. Dishes made from simple products, which were at the disposal of the nomads, have been formed for centuries. Beshbarmak, bauyrsaks, and kazy became popular. The abundance of meat, sour milk products, flour products are the distinctive features of Kazakh cuisine. Many recipes in the preparation of national dishes are passed down from generation to generation, and serving the dish itself is a real ritual.

Since people of more than 130 nationalities live in Kazakhstan, you will find here a huge variety of national cuisines and the most diverse taste preferences.

Kurt occupies a special place in the life of every Kazakh. Kurt is a specially prepared high–calorie balls made from sheep, goat, mare, cow or camel milk. Previously, no shepherd or warrior set out on a journey without a kurt in his pocket.The nomadic Kazakh people made kurt in large quantities. During the great famine in the Kazakh steppes, Kurt became a real salvation for the people.

Gertrude Platais, a prisoner of the Akmola camp of wives of of the repressed, which was located in the Kazakh steppes, called kurt a precious stone of the Kazakhs: "The wives and close relatives of the repressed revolutionaries were kept in the camp. There were a lot of us. One day we were walking along the riverbank, dragging reeds, and saw local Kazakhs. Small children started throwing stones at us. We were very offended, the guards laughed at us and said that we were even disgusting to children. One of the prisoners fell down and smelled milk. It turned out that the locals wanted to save us from starvation in this way. We quickly collected these stones, brought them to the barracks, and the Kazakh prisoner told us that it was Kurt. It was a real salvation for us....".

It is better to get acquainted with the cuisine of the country not in restaurants that have adapted national dishes in accordance with modern trends, but at the Toykazan Kazakh food festival, which takes place every autumn in the vicinity of Almaty city. The festival hosts contests for cooking the best dishes of Kazakh cuisine. These are beshbarmak, baursak, kuyrdak and other dishes included in Kazakh and Kazakhstani cuisine. The festival attracts several thousand guests every year.

Kazakhs have long created everything necessary in nomadic life themselves. Among the applied arts, weaving and the creation of felt products were developed. In the harsh climate of the steppe, where it is very hot in summer and unbearably cold in winter due to the winds, Kazakhs have developed crafts for sewing warm fur coats and hats made of leather, fur and animal hair. Blacksmithing and jewelry were also widespread.

In the past, representatives of all classes wore approximately the same clothes, differing only in the quality of decoration and the presence of various ornaments. Kazakh national clothes are an important and integral attribute of Kazakh culture. The main materials from which Kazakh clothes were sewn were cotton, wool and felt. Being nomads, Kazakhs often made garments from hides, leather, and furs, as they were best suited to the harsh conditions of the steppe. Boots served as shoes: in summer they wore light boots made of thin leather, and in winter they wore high boots made of coarse leather, which protected them from the cold. Women's models were distinguished by their green or red color, they were embroidered with silk and decorated with small patterned plaques.In the past, representatives of all classes wore approximately the same clothes, differing only in the quality of decoration and the presence of various ornaments.

The Kazakh men's costume consists of a shapan (a robe with a belt) and a headdress, which can be a skullcap, a cap or a fur hat (it all depends on the weather and circumstances). The women's costume consists of dresses and a saukele wedding headdress, which is replaced after the birth of a child by a kimeshek, a white shawl tied on the head in a special way.

The jewelry art of the Kazakhs developed on the basis of the ancient traditions and was predetermined by the specifics of production, and the skill of jewelry making was passed down exclusively by inheritance, from father to son. Jewelers most often worked with materials such as gold and silver. Silver was especially appreciated, and was in use. More expensive jewelry was silver and gold–plated jewelry, which representatives of noble families could afford. Craftsmen used various techniques in the manufacture of jewelry: casting, cold forging, stamping and stamping, silver notching on iron, etc. Kazakh jewelers worked individually and passed down their skills from generation to generation. For the most part, they were engaged in the creation of women's jewelry, as jewelry for women was popular due to its diversity and functional features associated with various rituals and customs.

Modern Kazakhstani designers continue to develop national traditions and enjoy international recognition. Kazakh designer Nazim Paltashev founded the Soul of Nomad clothing brand in 2016. A year later, the brand was ranked as a luxury brand by Forbes magazine. Soul of Nomad jeans are worn by Elon Musk, Keanu Reeves and many famous American billionaires.The brand was also chosen by Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and former Apple vice president Kenji Yamamoto.
Nazim has assembled a team of designers, developers and craftsmen with experience working for True Religion, Guess, Gap, Diesel and other famous brands. The spirit of adventure and perseverance associated with the culture and traditions of the Kazakh people is embedded in the Soul of Nomad. The company is included in the Forbes rating of luxury brands, which are innovators in men's fashion.

Architecture is a source of rich information about the culture of a particular nation. For many centuries, Kazakhstan has been a link between east and west, absorbing the culture of different peoples, but at the same time was able to preserve its national traditions. This is especially noticeable in architecture, where the trends of time and tradition are closely intertwined.

The Kazakh yurt is a portable frame dwelling with felt covering, which appeared in the 12th century BC. It was finally formed in the early 19th century and is recognized by UNESCO as a masterpiece of nomadic civilization.The evidence of the yurt's antiquity is the rock carvings discovered in the East Kazakhstan region, as well as later images on Central Asian miniatures. A yurt is an easily transported, disassembled dwelling that is quickly assembled in a new location. It does not allow rain, wind, or cold to pass through, and it regulates lighting and ventilation. Just like many years ago, a yurt is an indispensable element in the life of modern livestock farmers in Kazakhstan. The main secret lies in convenience, simplicity and practicality.

One of the most outstanding architectural monuments of Kazakhstan is the Babaji-Khatun Mausoleum (late 10th – early 11th century). With its compositional construction, the mausoleum marked the beginning of a centric type of structures with a tent roof. The monument is simple in its design and composition. The slimness and completeness of the mausoleum is given by an unusual dome for Kazakhstan – a cone-shaped dome with 16 faces, located on a prismatic drum. The umbrella ribbed dome cover has no analogues in Central Asian architecture.The building is characterized by strict simplicity of forms, limited decoration and high quality of construction work, which has led to its centuries-old preservation.

In total, there are about seventy mausoleums in Kazakhstan, some of them have gained worldwide fame, and the mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The majestic mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi stands proudly at 37.5 meters. It is one of the most significant and well-preserved buildings of the Timurid era, which was built at the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries on the grave of the great poet and philosopher Khoja Ahmed Yasawi. Its construction was completed in 1405, more than 2 centuries after his death. There are thirty-six different rooms and halls inside the mausoleum. In the central hall there is a huge cauldron made of an alloy of seven metals with a diameter of 2.45 m and a weight of about two tons. There is also the tomb of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, a Large palace with a khan's throne and a scepter, and a Small Palace where the pantheon of Kazakh khans is located.

The Zharkent Mosque is a unique historical and cultural object, a monument of the nineteenth century, one of the brightest sights of the Almaty region and the only survived work of the Chinese architect Hong Pique, whom the residents of Zharkent hired for construction. According to legend, the master was executed immediately upon his return to China. Some say that the reason was the fact that he used "secret" Chinese construction technologies that could not be disclosed to anyone, other say that he was punished for having built his most beautiful building not on Chinese soil.

In the late 1920s and early 1930s, construction began in Almaty, which became the capital of Kazakhstan in 1929. In those years, the principles of constructivism became widespread in the architecture of Kazakhstan. A striking example of this trend is the House of Communication in Almaty (architect G. Gerasimov, 1931-34).

The 102-meter 25-storey building of the Kazakhstan Hotel for 32 years was considered the tallest in Almaty. In the 70s of the last century, the construction of "high-rises" in Almaty was banned due to the seismic danger of this region. But the architects of Kazakhstan defended this project thanks to an innovative construction method based on Japanese technology. When the hotel was being tested for durability, vibration machines simulating an eight-magnitude earthquake were delivered by helicopters to the roof of the building. And then the head of the project personally climbed onto the roof to demonstrate the guarantees of the hotel safety. Later, the hotel withstood a real earthquake. The Kazakhstan Hotel still remains the most earthquake-resistant building in Almaty. and the hallmark of the city.

In the southeastern part of the city of Alma Ata, the Koktobe television and radio broadcasting tower stands, resting against the sky. The tower is 371 m above ground and almost 1.5 thousand m above sea level, making it one of the tallest TV towers in the world.Considered one of the most earthquake-resistant structures in the world, the Koktobe Tower has already withstood earthquakes.

The architecture of the capital of Kazakhstan is the product of the work of many prominent architects, among whom, along with Kazakhstanis, there are recognized foreign architects such as Norman Foster. The capital attracts with its monumental and majestic structures with a bold design, one of which is Khan Shatyr, the largest shopping and entertainment center in Central Asia, which Forbes Magazine has included in the top ten global eco-buildings.