Unit 3 Country Porfolio Kazakhstan by

2. Kazakh comes from ancient Turkic tribes that resided in Eastern Europe and northern parts of Central Asia. While some tribes were stationary, some were nomadic and populated between Siberia and the Black Sea between the 5th and 13 century. Thus, spreading the language into it's most populated countries of Kazakhstan, China, Uzbekistan, Russia, and Mongolia.

Kazakh comes from the Altaic language family and belongs in the Turkic language branch. It is closely related to Kyrgyz and comes from the extinct Turkic language of Chagatai.

Kazakh doesn't have specific branches that break off from it. However, it was 3 dialects that are spoken in the respective areas that describe each dialect. The dialects include:

Northeastern Kazakh

Southern Kazakh

Western Kazakh

Below is a picture of a member of a Turkic tribe that was responsible for diffusing Kazakh into the area between Siberia and the Black Sea.

Religion

pjszczesny — 2013-11-19 02:43:05 UTC

1. The vast majority of citizens in Kazakhstan practice Islam.

Of the population, 70.2% are Muslim. The majority of people practice Sunni.

2. Islam diffused into Kazakhstan. The Arabs first brought Islam into Kazakhstan during the 8th century. The religion first dominated southern Turkestan and gradually diffused northward and into Kazakhstan.

3. Islam would be considered a universalizing religion because it is practiced all around the world, not just in Kazakhstan and appeals to everyone.

4. Islam is considered monotheistic believing in one God or "Allah." The worship style of Islam consists of "Worship is an all inclusive term for all that God loves of external and internal sayings and actions of a person." This overall includes, "rituals as well as beliefs, social activities, and personal contributions to the welfare of one's fellow human-beings. Islam looks at the individual as a whole. He is required to submit himself completely to Allah, as the Quran instructed the Prophet Muhammad to do." Islam is divided into two groups called the Sunni and Shia. The holy book of Islam is the Koran. The place of worship is known as a Mosque. The architecture of Islam consists of Minarets and domes. Mosques tend to have an open courtyard, Allan Calligraphy, and geometric patterns.

Below is a Mosque located in Kazakhstan.

Ethnicity

pjszczesny — 2013-11-19 20:24:00 UTC

The top two ethnicities that are present in Kazakhstan are Kazakh and Russian.

The Kazakhs are the indigenous people. They practice Islam and mainly speak the native language of Kazakh. The history of the Kazakhs include the migration of Turkic tribes between the 5th and 13th century to modern day Kazakhstan. They spoke their native language of Kazakh and were practicing Muslims.

The Russians held the title of largest ethnicity in Kazakhstan up until the 1990's when the Soviet Union broke up. In the 1990's Russians and Germans emigrated from Kazakhstan, making Kazakh the most popular ethnicity in Kazakhstan. The Russians predominately speak Russian and practice Russian Orthodox.

Women

pjszczesny — 2013-11-19 20:52:00 UTC

Women enjoy full rights in Kazakhstan. They are active in all fields of work and enjoy full privileges in a society that is independent and progressive, and values the ambitions of women. In the past, women were removed from public lives in Kazakhstan but Salima I. Sadybekova is a living example that times have changed and things are truly different. She has a Ph. D in philology and practices as an associate professor of foreign languages at Kyzylorda State University.

Below is a picture of the successful Salima I. Sadybekova.

Folk Culture

pjszczesny — 2013-11-19 21:04:33 UTC

Kazakhstan posses many different examples of folk culture that have descended from the ancient nomadic natives. Some examples include:

The way of the nomadic life. Although Kazakhstan is experiencing urbanization, it still has traditional nomads that live off the land in the great steppes, mountains, and valleys of Kazakhstan.

Along with the nomadic life comes the yurta. This is a traditional house that can be used by nomads as they move and can be carried along by horses and camels. It can be assembled and disassembled easy which is convenient for nomadic people.

Traditional instruments are also examples of folk culture. They come from ancient tribes and still exist today. One example of an instrument would be the dombra. The dombra has been passed down and used century after century in Kazakh culture.

Below is a yurta.

Pop Culture

pjszczesny — 2013-11-19 21:22:24 UTC

Kazakhstan is a country that is growing more towards a western society and has multiple examples of pop culture:

In 1995 The United States help write the Constitution of Kazakhstan and form their own government. Multiple things became the same in Kazakhstan as they are in The United States. For example they have a president that has all the same responsibilities as Obama does in the US. This is an example of pop culture because it is the way of western society and it was done based on popular trends from other countries around the world.

Another example of pop culture would be the increasing use of cell phones and the internet in Kazakhstan. In 2005 out of 100 people, on average 35 people had cellular subscriptions. In just five years the number of people out of 100 that has cellular subscriptions soared to 118 (meaning people had multiple cellular subscriptions).

In 2005, only 2 out of 100 people had internet. In 2010, 6 out of 100 people had internet. Now, I know this may seem like not much of a jump but it does prove with the increase in internet subscriptions that slowly but surely, Kazakhstan is taking in the ways of the western societies and pop culture.

Not only does the government structure relate to America, so does their "white house". Shown below

Ethnic Tension

pjszczesny — 2013-11-19 22:17:26 UTC

Ethnic tensions are on the rise between the Kazakhs and the Russians who are the two largest Ethnic groups that are in Kazakhstan. Recently, the Kazakhs have arrested a prominent Russian journalist that writes in northern Kazakhstan about the perceived better treatment of the Kazakhs over other Ethnic groups. This has riled up the ethnic tension between the Russians and Kazakhs. Already existing tension based on what ethic group controls the country has been sparked to a new level.

Current Event

pjszczesny — 2013-11-19 22:24:27 UTC

The current event of the arrest of Boris Suprunyuk relates to our unit of study in many ways. Ethnic tension is caused by the differences in two ethnic groups. They both possess different forms of pop and folk culture, practice different religions, and speak different languages that make them unique and different from one other. This causes the ethnic tension and unfortunately has the ability to escalate into ethnic conflict. This relates right into our unit of culture and ethnicity.