Kazakhs

Kazakh Beys
Total population
c. 18 million[1]
Regions with significant populations
Kazakhstan 12,212,645 (2018)[2]
China	1,800,000[3]
Uzbekistan	800,000[4]
Russia	647,732[5]
Mongolia	201,526[6]
Kyrgyzstan	33,200[7]
United States	24,636[8]
Turkey	10,000[9]
Canada	9,600[10]
Iran	3,000-15,000[11][12]
Czech Republic	5,639[13]
Ukraine	5,526[14]
United Arab Emirates	5,000[15]
Austria	1,685[16]
Belarus	1,355[17]
Germany	1,000[18]
Spain	900[18]
Languages
Kazakh Russian (in Russia) and Chinese (in China) (widely spoken as an L2)[19][20]
Religion
Predominantly Islam,[21][5][22][23][24]Christianity,[25]Tengrism, Buddhism, Atheism or Folk religion[26]
Related ethnic groups
Other Turkic peoples and Mongols

The Kazakhs (also spelled Kazaks, Qazaqs; Kazakh: singular: Kazakh: , Qazaq, , plural: , Qazaqtar, ; the English name is transliterated from Russian) are a Turkic ethnic group who mainly inhabit the Ural Mountains and northern parts of Central Asia (largely Kazakhstan, but also parts of Russia, Uzbekistan, Mongolia and China), the region also known as the Eurasian sub-continent. Kazakh identity is of medieval origin and was strongly shaped by the foundation of the Kazakh Khanate between 1456 and 1465, when several tribes under the rule of the sultans Zhanibek and Kerey departed from the Khanate of Abu'l-Khayr Khan.

The Kazakhs are descendants of the Turkic and medieval Mongol tribes - Argyns, Dughlats, Naimans, Jalairs, Keraits, Qarluqs and of the Kipchaks.^[27]

Etymology of Kazakh

Kazakh central asian horseman. The Russian Museum of Ethnography, 1910

The Kazakhs likely began using that name during the 15th or the 16th century.^[28] There are many theories on the origin of the word Kazakh or Qazaq. Some speculate that it comes from the Turkish verb qaz ("to wander"), because the Kazakhs were wandering steppemen; or that it derives from the Proto-Turkic word khasaq (a wheeled cart used by the Kazakhs to transport their yurts and belongings).^[29]

Another theory on the origin of the word Kazakh (originally Qazaq) is that it comes from the ancient Turkic word qaz?aq, first mentioned on the 8th century Turkic monument of Uyuk-Turan.^[30] According to Turkic linguist Vasily Radlov and Orientalist Veniamin Yudin, the noun qaz?aq derives from the same root as the verb qaz?an ("to obtain", "to gain"). Therefore, qaz?aq defines a type of person who seeks profit and gain.^[31]

Kazakh

Kazakh 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 direct authority as his Qazaqliq ("Qazaq-ness").^[32] At the time of the Uzbek nomads' Conquest of Central Asia, the Uzbek Abu'l-Khayr Khan had differences with the Chinggisid chiefs Giray/Kirey and Janibeg/Janibek, descendants of Urus Khan.

Kazakh family inside a Yurt, 1911/1914

These differences probably resulted from the crushing defeat of Abu'l-Khayr Khan at the hands of the Qalmaqs.^[33] 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.^[34] It is not explicitly explained that to be the reason for later Kazakhs taking 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). The Russians originally called the Kazakhs 'Kirgiz' and later Kirghiz-Kaisak to distinguish them from the Kyrgyz proper.

In the 17th century, Russian convention seeking to distinguish the Qazaqs of the steppes from the Cossacks of the Imperial Russian Army suggested spelling the final consonant with "kh" instead of "q" or "k", which was officially adopted by the USSR in 1936.^[35]

• Kazakh -
• Cossack -

The Ukrainian term Cossack probably comes from the same Kypchak etymological root: wanderer, brigand, independent free-booter.

Oral history

Their nomadic pastoral lifestyle made Kazakhs keep 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 Kazakhs to know their genealogical tree for no less than seven generations back (known as ?ejire, from the Arabic word shajara - "tree").

Three Kazakh Zhuz (Hordes)

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

Junior juz

Middle juz

Great juz

In modern Kazakhstan, tribalism is fading away in business and government life. Still it is common for Kazakhs to ask each other the tribe they belong to when they become acquainted with one another. Now, it is more of a tradition than necessity, and there is no hostility between tribes. Kazakhs, regardless of their tribal origin, consider themselves one nation.

Those modern-day Kazakhs who yet remember their tribes know that their tribes belong to one of the three Zhuz (juz, roughly translatable as "horde" or "hundred"):

• The Senior Horde (also called Elder or Great) (Uly juz)
• The Middle (also called Central) (Orta juz)
• The Junior (also called Younger or Lesser) (Kishi juz)

History of the Hordes

There is much debate surrounding the origins of the Hordes. 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 they possessed the cities for only part of the 17th century.^[36] The 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, to which Sayram and Yasi belonged. The Junior juz originated from the Nogais of the Nogai Horde.

Language

Kazakh eagle hunter in Altai Tavan Bogd National Park, Mongolia.

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

Kazakh, like most of the Turkic language family 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 a 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 native Latin alphabet was in turn replaced by the Cyrillic alphabet in 1940 by soviet interventionists. Today, there are efforts to return to the Latin script.

Kazakh is a state (official) language in Kazakhstan. 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. European Kazakhs use the Latin alphabet.

Religion

Kazakh bride in traditional wedding dress

Ancestors of modern Kazakhs believed in Shamanism and Tengrism, then Zoroastrianism, Buddhism and Christianity including Church of the East. Islam was first introduced to ancestors of modern Kazakhs during the 8th century when the Arab missionaries entered Central Asia. Islam initially took hold in the southern portions of Turkestan and thereafter gradually spread northward.^[37] Islam also took root because of the zealous missionary work of Samanid rulers, notably in areas surrounding Taraz^[38] where a significant number of Turks accepted Islam. Additionally, in the late 14th century, the Golden Horde propagated Islam among Kazakhs and other 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.^[39][40] However, Russian policy gradually changed toward weakening Islam by introducing pre-Islamic elements of collective consciousness.^[41] 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.^[41] In response, Kazakh religious leaders attempted to bring religious fervor by espousing pan-Turkism, though many were persecuted as a result.^[42] During the Soviet era, Muslim institutions survived only in areas that Kazakhs significantly outnumbered non-Muslims by everyday Muslim practices.^[43] In an attempt to conform Kazakhs into Communist ideologies, gender relations and other aspects of Kazakh culture were key targets of social change.^[40]

In more recent times however, Kazakhs have gradually employed a determined effort in revitalizing Islamic religious institutions after the fall of the Soviet Union. Some Kazakhs continue to identify with their Islamic faith,^[44] 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.^[45] 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."^[46]

Pre-Islamic beliefs, such as worship of the sky, the ancestors, and fire, continued to a great extent to be preserved among the common people, however. Kazakhs believed in the supernatural forces of good and evil spirits, of wood goblins and giants. To protect themselves from them and from the evil eye, Kazakhs wore protection beads and talismans. Shamanic beliefs are still widely preserved among Kazakhs, as well as the belief in the strength of the bearers of that worship, the shamans, which Kazakhs call bakhsy. Unlike the Siberian shamans, who used drums during their rituals, Kazakh shamans, who could also be men or women, played (with a bow) on a stringed instrument similar to a large violin. At present both Islamic and pre-Islamic beliefs continue to be found among Kazakhs, especially among the elderly.^[23] According to 2009 national census 39,172 Kazakhs are Christians.^[25]

Genetic studies

According to mitochondrial DNA studies^[47] (where sample consisted of only 246 individuals), the main maternal lineages of Kazakhs are: D (17.9%), C (16%), G (16%), A (3.25%), F (2.44%) of Eastern Eurasian origin (58%), and haplogroups H (14.1), T (5.5), J (3.6%), K (2.6%), U5 (3%), and others (12.2%) of western Eurasian origin (41%). An analysis of ancient Kazakhs found that East Asian haplogroups such as A and C did not begin to move into the Kazakh steppe region until around the time of the Xiongnu (1st millennia BCE), which is around the onset of the Sargat Culture as well (Lalueza-Fox 2004).^[48]

Gokcumen et al. (2008) tested the mtDNA of a total of 237 Kazakhs from Altai Republic and found that they belonged to the following haplogroups: D(xD5) (15.6%), C (10.5%), F1 (6.8%), B4 (5.1%), G2a (4.6%), A (4.2%), B5 (4.2%), M(xC, Z, M8a, D, G, M7, M9a, M13) (3.0%), D5 (2.1%), G2(xG2a) (2.1%), G4 (1.7%), N9a (1.7%), G(xG2, G4) (0.8%), M7 (0.8%), M13 (0.8%), Y1 (0.8%), Z (0.4%), M8a (0.4%), M9a (0.4%), and F2 (0.4%) for a total of 66.7% mtDNA of Eastern Eurasian origin or affinity and H (10.5%), U(xU1, U3, U4, U5) (3.4%), J (3.0%), N1a (3.0%), R(xB4, B5, F1, F2, T, J, U, HV) (3.0%), I (2.1%), U5 (2.1%), T (1.7%), U4 (1.3%), U1 (0.8%), K (0.8%), N1b (0.4%), W (0.4%), U3 (0.4%), and HV (0.4%) for a total of 33.3% mtDNA of Western Eurasian origin or affinity.^[49] Comparing their samples of Kazakhs from Altai Republic with samples of Kazakhs from Kazakhstan and Kazakhs from Xinjiang, the authors have noted that "haplogroups A, B, C, D, F1, G2a, H, and M were present in all of them, suggesting that these lineages represent the common maternal gene pool from which these different Kazakh populations emerged."^[49] In every sample of Kazakhs, D (predominantly northern East Asian, such as Japanese, Okinawan, Korean, Manchu, Mongol, Han Chinese, Tibetan, etc., but also ?aving several branches among indigenous peoples of the Americas) is the most frequently observed haplogroup (with nearly all of those Kazakhs belonging to the D4 subclade), and the second-most frequent haplogroup is either H (predominantly European) or C (predominantly indigenous Siberian, though some branches are present in the Americas, East Asia, and eastern and northern Europe).

In a sample of 54 Kazakhs and 119 Altaian Kazakh, the main paternal lineages of Kazakhs are: C (66.7% and 59.5%), O (9% and 26%), N (2% and 0%), J (4% and 0%), R (9% and 1%).^[50]

In a sample of 3 ethnic Kazakhs the main paternal lineages of Kazakhs are C, R, G, J, N, O, Q.^[51]

According to a large-scale Kazakhstani study (1294 persons) published in 2017, Kazakh males belong to the following Y-DNA haplogroups :

The distribution was inhomogeneous for some Y-DNA haplogroups: because of that lack of homogeneity among Kazakhs in regard to Y-chromosome DNA, the real percentage of present-day Kazakhs who belong to each Y-DNA haplogroup may differ from the percentages found in the study, depending on the proportion of each tribe in the total population of Kazakhs.

Population

Rauan Isaliyev is captain for the ethnic Russian-dominated Kazakhstan national bandy team

Kazakh woman at the Caspian Sea

Historical population of Kazakhs: ^[53]

Kazakh minorities

Russia

Muhammad Salyk Babazhanov - Kazak anthropologist, a member of Russian Geographical Society.

Shoqan Walikhanov and Fyodor Dostoyevsky

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, those people acquired Russian citizenship.

China

Kazakh family in Xinjiang, China, c. 1970

Kazakhs migrated into Dzungaria in the 18th century after the Dzungar genocide resulted in the native Buddhist Dzungar Oirat population being massacred.

Kazakhs, called H?sàkè Zú in Chinese (? ? ? ?; literally "Kazakh people" or "Kazakh tribe") are among 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. Thousands of Kazakhs fled to China during the 1932-1933 famine in Kazakhstan.

In 1936, after Sheng Shicai expelled 30,000 Kazakhs from Xinjiang to Qinghai, Hui led by General Ma Bufang massacred their fellow Muslim Kazakhs, until there were 135 of them left.^[55][56][57]

From Northern Xinjiang over 7,000 Kazakhs fled to the Tibetan-Qinghai plateau region via Gansu and were wreaking massive havoc so Ma Bufang solved the problem by relegating Kazakhs to designated pastureland in Qinghai, but Hui, Tibetans, and Kazakhs in the region continued to clash against each other.^[when?][58] Tibetans attacked and fought against the Kazakhs as they entered Tibet via Gansu and Qinghai.^[][when?] In northern Tibet, Kazakhs clashed with Tibetan soldiers, and the Kazakhs were sent to Ladakh.^[when?][59] Tibetan troops robbed and killed Kazakhs 400 miles east of Lhasa at Chamdo when the Kazakhs were entering Tibet.^{[when?][60][61]}

In 1934, 1935, and from 1936-1938 Qumil Eliqsan led approximately 18,000 Kerey Kazakhs to migrate to Gansu, entering Gansu and Qinghai.^[62]

In China there is one Kazakh autonomous prefecture, the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and 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. "In that place wholly faraway", based on a Kazakh folk song,^[] is very popular outside the Kazakh regions, especially in the Far Eastern countries of China, Japan and Korea.^[]

At least one million Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other ethnic Muslims in Xinjiang have been detained in mass detention camps, termed "reeducation camps", aimed at changing the political thinking of detainees, their identities, and their religious beliefs.^[63][64][65]

Mongolia

Kazakh hunters with eagles

In the 19th century, the advance of the Russian Empire troops pushed Kazakhs to neighboring countries. In around 1860, part of the Middle Jüz Kazakhs came to Mongolia and were allowed to settle down in Bayan-Ölgii, Western Mongolia and for most of the 20th century they remained an isolated, tightly knit community. Ethnic Kazakhs (so-called Altaic Kazakhs or Altai-Kazakhs) live predominantly in Western Mongolia in Bayan-Ölgii Province (88.7% of the total population) and Khovd Province (11.5% of the total population, living primarily in 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 Ulaanbaatar (90% in khoroo #4 of Nalaikh düüreg,^[66]Töv and Selenge provinces, Erdenet, Darkhan, Bulgan, Sharyngol (17.1% of population total)^[67] and Berkh cities.

Uzbekistan

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

Iran

Iran bought Kazakh slaves who were falsely masqueraded as Kalmyks by slave dealers from the Khiva and Turkmens.^[69][70]

Iranian Kazakhs live mainly in Golestan Province in northern Iran.^[71] According to ethnologue.org, in 1982 there were 3000 Kazakhs living in the city of Gorgan.^[72][73] Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the number of Kazakhs in Iran decreased because of emigration to their historical motherland.^[74]

Afghanistan

Afghan Kypchaks are Aimak (Taymani) tribe of Kazakh origin that can be found in Obe District to the east of the western Afghan province of Herat, between the rivers Far?h Rud and Hari Rud. There are approximately 440,000 Afghan Kipchaks.

Turkey

Turkey received refugees from among the Pakistan-based Kazakhs, Turkmen, Kirghiz, and Uzbeks numbering 3,800 originally from Afghanistan during the Soviet-Afghan War.^[75] Kayseri, Van, Amasya, Çiçekda?, Gaziantep, Tokat, Urfa, and Serinyol received via Adana the Pakistan-based Kazakh, Turkmen, Kirghiz, and Uzbek refugees numbering 3,800 with UNHCR assistance.^[76]

In 1954 and 1969 Kazakhs migrated into Anatolia's Salihli, Develi and Altay regions.^[77] Turkey became home to refugee Kazakhs.^[78]

The Kazakh Turks Foundation (Kazak Türkleri Vakf?) is an organization of Kazakhs in Turkey.^[79]

Culture

Kazakh wedding

Music

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, both 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.

Notable Kazakhs

See also

• Chala Kazakh
• Kazakh Americans
• Kazakhs in Canada
• Kazakhs in Russia
• Turkic peoples
• List of Kazakhs

References

External links

• World Association of the Kazakhs
• Kazakh tribes
• 'Contemporary Falconry in Altai-Kazakh in Western Mongolia'The International Journal of Intangible Heritage (vol.7), pp. 103-111. 2012. [2]
• 'Ethnoarhchaeology of Horse-Riding Falconry', The Asian Conference on the Social Sciences 2012 - Official Conference Proceedings, pp. 167-182. 2012. [3]
• 'Intangible Cultural Heritage of Arts and Knowledge for Coexisting with Golden Eagles: Ethnographic Studies in "Horseback Eagle-Hunting" of Altai-Kazakh Falconers', The International Congress of Humanities and Social Sciences Research, pp. 307-316. 2012. [4]
• 'Ethnographic Study of Altaic Kazakh Falconers', Falco: The Newsletter of the Middle East Falcon Research Group 41, pp. 10-14. 2013. [5]
• 'Ethnoarchaeology of Ancient Falconry in East Asia', The Asian Conference on Cultural Studies 2013 - Official Conference Proceedings, pp. 81-95. 2013. [6]
• Soma, Takuya. 2014. 'Current Situation and Issues of Transhumant Animal Herding in Sagsai County, Bayan Ulgii Province, Western Mongolia', E-journal GEO 9(1): pp. 102-119. [7]
• Soma, Takuya. 2015. Human and Raptor Interactions in the Context of a Nomadic Society: Anthropological and Ethno-Ornithological Studies of Altaic Kazakh Falconry and its Cultural Sustainability in Western Mongolia. University of Kassel Press, Kassel (Germany) ISBN 978-3-86219-565-7.