Kazakhs
Қазақтар

Total population
approx. 14,000,000
Regions with significant populations
Kazakhstan 10,098,600 [1]  China 1,400,000 - 1,500,000 [2]  Uzbekistan 800,000 - 1,100,000 [3]  Russia 654,000 [4]  Mongolia 101,526 [5]  Turkmenistan 40,000 - 90,000 [6]  Kyrgyzstan 33,200 [7]  Poland 21,000  Turkey 19,000-25,000 [8]  Germany 57,203  USA 12,400  Iran 10,000-15,000 [8]  France 9,650  Japan 6,000  Ukraine 5,526 [9]  Belarus 1,239 [10]  Canada 1000  Tajikistan 900 [11]
Languages
Kazakh, Russian
Religion
Sunni Islam
Related ethnic groups
Nogais, Karakalpaks

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 and Cumans (the Kipchaks and Cumans being one of their major ancestors)^[12][13] Proto-Tatar groups (Kiyat, Dughlat, Naimans, Kerait, Onggirat, Manghud, Jalayir) and other Proto Turkic tribes such as the Kankalis, 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-Tatar groups started to invade and conquer the area between the 5th and 13th centuries AD.^[14]

[edit] Etymology of Qazaq

The Kazakhs began using this name during either the 15th or 16th centuries.^[15] 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 prototurk word khasaq (a wheeled cart used by the Kazakhs to transport their yurts and belongings).^[16]

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").^[16][17] 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.^[18]

Qazaq, Kirghiz, Kaisak, Kazakh[link]

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).^[19] 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.

Kazakh family inside a Yurt, 1911/1914

These differences probably resulted from the crushing defeat of Abul-Khayr Khan at the hands of the Qalmaqs.^[20] 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.^[21] 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.

Genetics[link]

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%).^[22]

Culture[link]

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

Music[link]

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.

Junior juz

Middle juz

Great juz

Oral history[link]

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[link]

The Kazakh marriage system was exogamous (a cultural trait possibly coming from the Cumans/Kipchaks^{[citation needed]} 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 Hordes[link]

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 "horde" or "hundred"):

• The Elder, Senior, or Great Horde (Ulı Juz)
• The Junior, Younger, or Lesser Horde (Kişi juz)
• The Middle Horde (Orta juz)

Each Horde 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 Hordes called Qozha/Khoja (descendants of Arabian missionaries). In addition there are also the Tolengit (descendants of Oirat captives), the "Sunak" (like "Qozha" Khoja - descendants of Arabian missionaries) and the "Kolegen" (descendants of Ancient Sairam^{[clarification needed]} inhabitants).

History of the Hordes[link]

Under the leadership of Abul Khair Khan, Kazakh Ghazis defeated the Dzungar invaders at Battle of Anrakay in 1729.

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 only a portion of the Century possessed the cities.^[23] 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 Hordes 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 Hordes, and that he (Janibeg) was governor of his Horde, though his title was Batir, not Khan.^[24]

Language[link]

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 */ʃ/ and /ʃ/ in place of */tʃ/; furthermore, Kazakh has /dʒ/ where other Turkic languages have /j/.

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 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. In present days Kazakh government tries return Kazakh Latin as world wide Kazakh iso-standart.

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 Latin alphabet.

Religion[link]

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.^[25] Islam also took root due to the zealous missionary work of Samanid rulers, notably in areas surrounding Taraz^[26] 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.^[27][28] However, Russian policy gradually changed toward weakening Islam by introducing pre-Islamic elements of collective consciousness.^[29] 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.^[29] In response, Kazakh religious leaders attempted to bring religious fervor by espousing pan-Turkism, though many were persecuted as a result.^[30] During the Soviet era, Muslim institutions survived only in areas where Kazakhs significantly outnumbered non-Muslims due to everyday Muslim practices.^[31] In an attempt to conform Kazakhs into Communist ideologies, gender relations and other aspects of the Kazakh culture were key targets of social change.^[28]

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,^[32] 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.^[33] 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."^[34]

Pre-Islamic beliefs—the cults of the sky, of the ancestors, and of fire, for example—continued to a great extent to be preserved among the common people, however. The Kazakhs believed in the supernatural forces of good and evil spirits, of wood goblins and giants. To protect themselves from them, as well as from the evil eye, the Kazakhs wore protection beads and talismans. Shamanic beliefs were widely preserved among the Kazakhs, as well as belief in the strength of the bearers of this cult—the shamans, which the Kazakhs call bakhsy. In contradistinction to the Siberian shamans, who used drums during their rituals, the 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 the Kazakhs, especially among the elderly.^[35]

Population[link]

Kazakh minorities[link]

Russia[link]

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.

China[link]

Kazakh family in Xinjiang, China

Kazakhs, called Hāsàkè Zú in Chinese (哈萨克族; literally "Kazakh people" or "Kazakh tribe") are among 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. 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.^[37][38] 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]} "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.

Mongolia[link]

In 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 the most of 20th century they remained an isolated, tightly knit community. 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 Ulaanbaatar (90% in khoroo #4 of Nalaikh düüreg,^[39] Töv and Selenge provinces, Erdenet, Darkhan, Bulgan, Sharyngol (17.1% of population total)^[40] and Berkh cities.

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[link]

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[link]

Iranian Kazakhs live mainly in the Golestan Province in northern Iran.^[42] According to ethnologue.org, in 1982 there were 3000 Kazakhs living in the city of Gorgan.^[43][44] Since fall of the Soviet Union number of Kazakhs in Iran decreased due to emigration to their historical Motherland."^[45]

Gallery of Famous Kazakhs[link]

See also[link]

• Cuman people - one of the ancestors of the Kazakhs
• Demographics of Kazakhstan
• Kipchak people - one of the ancestors of the Kazakhs
• List of Kazakhs

Notable Kazakhs[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kazakh people

• Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan
• Kazakh Language Courseware from University of Arizona Critical Languages Series
• Ethnographic map of Kazakhstan
• Kazakhs in France - AKFT
• World Association of the Kazakhs
• http://sana.gov.kz/showarticle.php?lang=eng&id=342
• Massagan.com (The largest web site in kazakh language)
• Suhbat (Atameken Toby)
• Secrets of the Dead: Amazon Warrior Women (PBS)
• Turk monument of Uyuk-Turan mentioning the word "qazğaq"
• Kazakh tribes

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