Enjoy the two videos from the Kazakstan Video Encyclopedia

KAZAKSTAN Historic Monuments - QAZAQSTAN Tarïxï Eskertkişteri

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn1RcyRI154



KAZAK People - QAZAQ Xalqı

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zR-JffqGh1g

1954 National Geographic article about Kazaks

Download PDF file: http://www.kyrgyz.ru/images/elfiles/kazakhs_in_ng1954.pdf (4 MB)

Download original archive: http://www.filefactory.com/file/3cb92d (71.5 MB)

Read the unique 50-years old NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC article "How the Kazakhs Fled to Freedom", which tells a story of the Kazaks who fought the Chinese communists and eventually fled into Kashmir as refugees.

Kazaks ride into the mountain for hunting
The last rider have scooped up a little passenger. Even the fiercest fighters find time to play with and fondle their children


Kazak chief Qalïbek robed in magnificent snow leopard
Qalïbek was one of the leaders who fought against the Chinese communists and led the Kazak refugees to Kashmir



Kazak wrestlers lock heads in combat



Kazak chiefs give a party

Kazak male hats - Qazaq erkek bas kïimderi


Taqïya or Töbetey - most basic hat worn by itslef or under other hats.



Qalpaq - typical nomadic felt hat.



Ayır qalpaq - more sophisticated type of felt hat.



Börik - round fur hat, probably called after the wolf - böri.



Tımaq or Malaqay - winter hat, very popular among the qusbegi eagle hunters



P.S.
Various tımaq's in one of the souvenier shops of Almaty - Qazaqstan's "southern capital":

Kazak games on horseback

A famous Kazak stamina-testing long-distance race is the Alaman Bäyge.



Qız qww, which translates as "Cathing the Girl", is a form of horseback kiss chase. The girl is given a two-horse length head start and the boy's aim is to try and catch up with her and steal a kiss. They race along a straight line of some 400 metres. As the boy gets closer the girl flails out with a whip to hinder her pursuer.



In the game of Teñge alw or Kümis alw ("pick up the coin"), the rider attempts to pick up a silver coin while moving at a swift gallop. Galloping at full speed, a competitor bends to pick up a coin or handkerchief.



Awdarıspaq gives an equine flavour to another favourite Kazak sport, wrestling, as the two contestants grapple on horseback aiming to unseat the other. Wrestling on horseback requires skill both in fighting and in trick riding. The one who succeeds in throwing his opponent off his horse is the winner.



Kökpar, or fighting for a headless goat's carcass, is one of the most popular game. Two teams of players compete to carry a headless goat carcass into a goal.

Kazak weapons – Qazaq qarwları




Kazak weaponry in the yurt


Kazak helmet dulığa


16-18-century Kazak warrior (batır)


Kazak warrior, 1910





Kazak warriors (batır) - modern reconstruction


18-19-century Kazak militia (European drawing)


19-century Kazak hunter drawn by Russian painter V.Vereshagin

Traditional Kazak bridal hat - säwkele








Ancient Saka golden figure of woman wearing high headdress (3 century BC):




Kazak family, early 20th century

All of the people wear different types of the traditional robes called "şapan".
The lady and the boy on the right wear the round fur hat "börik", the old and young men wear the "malaqay" (or "tımaq") fur hat, the lady in the middle wears the bridal "säwkele" hat, and the old lady in the left wears the married woman's "kïmeşek" head-dress.




Kazak horseherd , early 20th century

This lasso-pole called "qurıq" is used to catch the horses.




Kazak wrestling (Qazaqşa küres), early 20th century

Qazaqşa küres is a traditional Kazak sporting event that is conducted on all festivals.
It is similar to the freestyle wrestling, but without the weight classes. Qazaqşa küres is distinguished by the absence of the parterre wrestling, the athletes wrestle only standing and by holding the belts.

The ancient Kazak tradition of qusbegilik eagle hunting


Kazak people call the eagle hunters - "qusbegi", which literally means "lord of the birds".

Falconry developed in Central Asia and for centuries Kazak men have hunted from horseback with trained golden eagles, the largest and most powerful of raptors. Fox, rabbit and even wolf are hunted for their fur and for the challenge they present, pursued across the snowy mountains and steppes.

http://www.elisena.com/Berkut.htm

Thanks for taking the time to share these impressive photographs with us. Much appreciated. I especially enjoy the ones on falconry.

These are amazing!

I especially like the hats.

Yeah... really amazing photos... central Asians/ Euroasians are so mysterious.

Thx a bunch!

yes .. they are great pics.... let s have more of these if possible

Wow ! Fantastic photos !
Very impressive indeed !
They look like the mongols out for war.

My dear friend, you surely represent your culture very well, you should be awarded

Thanks BAWIRSAQ


I know this photo. He is from Mongolia

Possibly one of the best threads I've read, regarding a specific ethnicity. Thank you for sharing! This is a delightful read.

Şapan – richly decorated traditional Kazak robe

This is an authentic şapan from 19 century. Note the high diversity of design and color, which is rarely found in today's şapans.

Wow!

Beautiful amazing pics. Please post more. So little is known about Kazakhs. They are so mysterious.

Kazakhs in Western Mongolia and Xinjiang are more traditional than those in Kazakhstan.

kISS YOU ! Suren Happy to see you here!

Tigin, happy to see you here.
I just wonder if Saran were here? If she were here, I will kiss her.

Kazak is world number one

those are great photos of Central nomads! Gives us a taste of the nomadic warriors and tradition.

I've got a sneaky feeling that these folks have something to do with the Huns/Xiongnu.

They say the Huns just disappeared... I don't buy that.

Kazakhs and Mongols are actually like one. Genghisid nobles established roots of Kazakhstan and Nursultan Nazarbayev invited 33 descendants of Jochi, Genghis Khan's eldest son to honot the state's flag where 33 rays on the flag are representing those akburals or aksakals. BAWIRSAQ, which horde or juz are you from, Ulu, Orta, or Kishi?

As far as I know, there are Kazakh Christians adhering to the Russian Orthodox Church but are there any Kazakh Buddhists left?

^Uh... I'm not sure, but Islam is the most predominant religion among Kazakhs.

Does anyone know how they train their eagle? And what they are used for specifically?

Interesting photos

you look central asian. are you?

^My father's ancestors from there.

so are you a chinese kazak? or an american kazak? where are you from?

I think her father is from Xinjiang, either Bortala or Bayinbolin Mongol areas. She is a Mongol. Suren are you Mongolian?

^Yeah I am. My father's family from around Western Inner Mongolia. They moved around quite a bit so I can't exactly tell you where my paternal side of the family originated. Such is the life of a Mongol. My father was born at Ituli in Inner Mongolia, however.

Mıne too came from Eastern Inner Mongolıa and we are now ın Mongolıa. Hey anyway where is Ituli? Are you from Alaxan or Ejine? U Oirad alright?

Kazaks look like Mongolian. I once met a Kazak couple in Beijing foreign book store, I saluted them with "Sain Bai nuu because I wrongly regarded them as my countryman, but their response is motionless. They don't understand Mongolian.(my Mongolian is very poor. shame on it) Fortunately, gal spoke English and very simple Chinese, beside her mother language(Russian).
I talked with them for a long time, gal is a Kazak with Mongolian origin( Kalkha MG), his husband is Kulie tribe origin.
Both of them are muslim believers. Though her husband is a Kazak, but he looks like a typical Mongolian with a typical Mongol face.

Oh you're Eastern Mongol? Which tribe? I wish I knew more about my Mongolian side. Unfortunately, folks on the Mongolian side all went to the cities to study and neglected their background. Only a few of my uncles and aunts know Mongolian (Ovor Mongolian). I'm not exactly sure which Mongolian tribe I'm from. Mostlikely, I am a mix. I was told that my grandma looks very much like an Eastern Mongol (she looks kind of Native american) and my grandpa is from the West so I'm not entirely sure. He was adopted by an Inner Mongolian woman and I think he spoke Ovor Mongolian as well, besides what he knew from before. Ituli is a river, it's a really remote area and probably isn't even on the map since my dad's family lived a really simple life in nature. Now, most of my Mongolian family members are near the area Tongliao in Inner Mongolia.
You probably can't see very well but almost all of the store signs are bilingual. Uigarjin and Chinese characters.


Now that I'm of legal age, I've been dying to try this haha. It's alcohol. Nermel I think?



Sorry for going off topic, mods! I had to connect with a fellow Mongol hahaha

Hello Suren! Thanks for your reply! I am a Harchin or Kharachin Mongol originally from Halaqin Left County of Liaoning. My ancestors they moved to Mongolian Hüree in beginning of the 1900s. You are living im Tongliao so you are living near my hometown, you must be meeting a lot of Kharachin Mongols.

What do you mean your grandfathers is from West? You mean from Qinghai or Xinjiang? You must be of one of the Oirad tribes in the paternal side if he is from Qinghai or Xinjiang. You said your grandfather had been adopted my an Inner Mongolian, or is the grandfa Shanghairen?

I've been to Inner Mongolia (this September last time), so I know the signs are bilingual. Unfortunately, I never had time to go to Eastern prefectures. I really wish I could.

I tried the 'nermel' and it is fantastic I recommend. It won't slice your throat when it enters but it surely is strong and you will feel hot in your stomach. hehe.

^Hey I guess it's possible that I am at least 1/4 Harchin Mongol then. My grandfather is from the west meaning he's from the western most part of Inner Mongolia, right around the border near Xinjiang. I can show you pictures of my grandpa and grandma. He was adopted as a kid by an Inner Mongolian lady who mostly spoke Mongolian to him. The Eastern prefectures are very nice. The roads are cleared up now and easier for traveling. Summers are very nice and breezy and not hot at all - just the way I like my summers. The further north you get, the more flat the area gets. It's like an ocean of grassland! I love riding the train and enjoying the view. You often meet Mongol travelers going from place to place. There's a place in Inner Mongolia called "Da-ban" which are the same characters for Osaka in Japan. I found it amusing haha.

I've always been a big fan of traditional Asian wines, but I'm sure Nermel is quite different. I'll definitely try it one day :-)

Paul Nazaroff "Hunted Through Central Asia" Oxford University Press 1993
First published 1932

http://www.us.oup.com/us/catalog/general/s...DE5MjgwMzY4OQ==

pp.286-288
Over an immense area in Asia where the wandering Kazakhs ("Kirghiz" in the text - old pre-revolutionary name used by Russians for Kazakhs - A.) have scattered, their manner of life and their peculiar culture, developed through millenia of existence in the free open steppe, is the same, identical in space and identical, too, in time. These nomads were free to move about the plains at their own sweet will, as though upon an open sea, and there was nothing to prevent the Kazakhs of the Tian Shan from wandering away to steppes of Siberia, of the Ural or the Volga, except, of course, nowadays the Bolshevik Government.

This freedom and the mobility of the nomads of the steppe has evolved their own peculiar culture, character and manner of life, and has played a very important part in the history of Asia, which has not yet been properly appre­ciated by historians nor sufficiently studied. It has reacted profoundly on the fate of Russia, and even Western Europe has by no means escaped its influence. The burning sands of Egypt, the valleys of Mesopotamia and of Palestine (the myriad horsemen of Gog and Magog), and of India and the valleys of Russia and of Central Europe and even Chalons, the Catalaunian plains of France, Hellas, too, and Rome, all have seen the forbears of our Kazakh of to-day, though under various names - as Scythians or Massagetae, Huns, Polovtsi, Kipchaks, Kumans, Pechenegs, Alans, Tartars and so on. On every side their invasions have left their mark, not only destructive, for sometimes they have altered the course of historical development and affected the blood, language, character, manners and customs of the people with whom they have come into contact. Just as the Nor­mans in their day made use of their mobility upon the seas to spread their influence and culture throughout the West, so these nomads of the steppes of Asia have done the same in the East. The broad belt of grassy plains across the old continent, which has given rise to the peculiar type of nomad Turki and his inseparable comrade, the horse of the steppe, has had enormous influence on the destinies of the settled nations and of civilisation itself.
All distant invasions and the ` migration of peoples' have been possible owing to one single factor, hitherto ignored by historians, and that is the horse of the steppes. This animal is endowed with most valuable qualities of supporting fatigue and of endless endurance and the power of keeping up prolonged hard work on green food only, on mere grazing, of which other races of horse are quite incapable, being dependent on corn. These outstanding qualities of the steppe horse were fully appreciated and widely used by the great military leaders of Asia, conquerors, Jenghiz Khan, Tamerlane and the others [1], which explains the secret of their success.
The limits of attainment and conquest of the countless hordes of Asia depended not upon the powers of resistance of the subject peoples nor upon their armies, but were defined by the moist meadow grazing, by the cold damp of the north and by the tropical heat of the valleys of India, which were fatal to the horse of the Kazakhs.

1 See Ivanoff, ' On the Art of War of the Mongol-Tartars' (in Russian), a little known but extremely interesting work. Also two papers by me, " The Scythians Past and Present" ('Edinburgh Review,' July 1929, pp. 108-122), and " The Sons of Gog " (' English Review,' March 1930).

So what is the difference between these Kazakhs and the present day Kirghiz? They are obviously related by culture and language...my understanding is a fluent Kirghiz speaker can understand almost everything a Kazakh says and they also have the hawk training culture, horseback culture, drink kumis, I'm sure there are some differences but they have to be marginal to outsiders.