Decoration of the Bride’s Horse in Qazaq Traditional Culture

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.69567/3007-0236.2024.2.180.203

Keywords:

Qazaqs, wedding rituals, brides horse, items of horse equipment, protective magic

Abstract

In the traditional culture of the Qazaqs, the decoration of the bride's horse was a stable attribute of wedding rituals until the mid-1920s. The girl's dowry included the horse and its equipment, which indicated the property status of her family. Horse decoration items were produced either in the Qazaq environment or on the request of nomads in the craft centers of the agricultural oases of Central Asia, primarily in Tashkent. The reason for the presence of identical embroidered blankets in museum collections is due to this circumstance. Saddles for brides the Qazaqs brought from Bukhara; the most popular type of saddles was qurandy yer / sart yer with a head in the form of two twisted elements. In the eastern regions of Qazaqstan, the influence of local traditions in the design of a wedding saddle was noticeable, namely, the use of silver-plated metal plates with perforated patterns. The features of the Qazaq set of equipment for a wedding horse were using a large three-piece at–turman blanket along with the existence of these parts separately; preference for embroidery in decorating of textile items; the presence of a complex saddle kit, including duffel bags-pillows – boqsha, qus-qalta, qopshik – for transporting valuables from the dowry. One of the universal functions of wedding attributes was the magical protection of the bride. In the items under consideration, protection was achieved by using red cloth and bright floral and solar patterns in embroidery and appliqué, decorative elements of a triangular shape (the image of a tumar amulet), bunches of eagle owl feathers, silver overlays on leather harness straps, beads of assorted colors, silk tassels and fringes. The article introduces into scientific circulation rare museum monuments from the collections of the largest ethnographic museums in Russia - the Russian Ethnographic Museum and the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Kunstkamera) (St. Petersburg). We provide comparative data on the cultural practices of various peoples in Central Eurasia to complete and objectively illustrate the existence of wedding horse equipment among the Qazaqs.

Author Biography

  • Larisa F. Popova, Russian Ethnographic Museum

    Head of the Department of Ethnography of the Caucasus, Central Asia and Kazakhstan

References

Alekseev, N. Romanova, E., Sokolova, Z. (ed.). 2012. Jakuty [Yakuts]. Moscow: Nauka (in Russian).

Asankov, A., Brusina, O., Zhaparov, A. (ed.). 2016. Kyrgyzy [Qyrgyz]. Moscow: Nauka (in Russian).

Baldaev, S. 1959. Burjatskie svadebnye obrjady [Buryat wedding rites]. Ulan-Ude: Buryat book publishing house (in Russian).

Burnakov, V. 2023. Kon' v svadebnoj obrjadnosti hakasov (konec XIX – seredina XX veka) [Horse in the wedding ceremony of the Khakases (late XIX – mid XX centuries)]. In: Bulletin of Novosibirsk State University. Series: History, philology, 22 (3), 140–154 (in Russian).

Divaev, A. 1900. O svadebnom rituale kirgizov Syr-Dar'inskoj oblasti. O svadebnom rituale kirgizov Syr-Dar'inskoj oblasti [On the wedding ritual of the Kyrgyz of the Syr-Darya region. About the wedding ritual of the Kyrgyz of the Syr-Darya region]. Qazan: Printing and Lithography of the Imperial University (in Russian).

Dobrosmyslov, A. 1895. Skotovodstvo v Turgajskoj oblasti [Cattle breeding in the Turgai region]. Orenburg: Turgai Regional Statistical Committee (in Russian).

Do-y, D. 1871. Pjat' nedel' v Kokane [Five weeks in Kokand]. In: Russkij vestnik [Russian Bulletin], 91, 244–318 (in Russian).

Emelianenko, T. (ed.). 2021. Otchjot S.M.Dudina o poezdkah v Srednjuju Aziju v 1900–1902 gg. [Report of S.M. Dudin on trips to Central Asia in 1900–1902]. Moscow: Marjani Foundation (in Russian).

Fedorov, D. 1903. Opyt voenno-statisticheskogo opisanija Ilijskogo kraja [Experience of military-statistical description of the Ili region]. Part I–II. Tashkent: Printing House of the Headquarters of the Turkestan Military District (in Russian).

Ibragimov, I. 1872. Jetnograficheskie ocherki kirgizskogo naroda [Ethnographic essays of the Qyrgyz people]. In: Russkij Turkestan [Russian Turkestan], vol. 2. Moscow: University Printing House (in Russian).

Karakhanov, S. 2017. Brak i svadebnaja obrjadnost' lezgin-kargachcev v XIX-XX vv. [Marriage and wedding rites of Lezgin-Kargachtsev in the XIX–XX centuries]. In: Bulletin of the Adyghe State University, 3 (204), 47–57 (in Russian).

Karutz, R. 1911. Sredi kirgizov i turkmenov na Mangyshlake [Among the Qyrgyz and Turkmens on Mangyshlaq]. St. Petersburg: Publishing House of A.F. Devrien (in Russian).

Khadirbekov, N. 2009. Svadebnye obrjady narodov Juzhnogo Dagestana v proshlom i nastojawem (XIX–XX vv.) [Wedding ceremonies of the peoples of Southern Dagestan in the past and present (19th–20th centuries)]. Abstract of the dissertation for the degree of candidate of historical sciences. Makhachkala. URL: https://new-disser.ru/_avtoreferats/01004267253.pdf (access date: 11.05.2024) (in Russian).

Kislyakov, N. 1969. Ocherki po istorii sem'i i braka u narodov Srednej Azii i Kazahstana [Essays on the history of family and marriage among the peoples of Central Asia and Qazaqstan]. Leningrad: Science (in Russian).

Kislyakov, N., Pisarchik, A. 1976. Tadzhiki Karategina i Darvaza [Tajiki Karategin and Darvaz]. Issue 3. Dushanbe: Donish (in Russian).

Kustanaev, Kh. 1894. Jetnograficheskie ocherki kirgiz Perovskogo i Kazalinskogo uezdov [Ethnographic essays of the Qyrgyz Perovsky and Qazaly districts]. Tashkent: O.A. Portsev Publishing House (in Russian).

Nanzatov, B., Sodnompilova, M. 2013. Tradicionnye obrjady zhiznennogo cikla mongol'skih narodov v uslovijah sovremennosti: torgoutskaja svad'ba [Traditional rites of the life cycle of the Mongolian peoples in the conditions of modernity: Torgout wedding]. In: Vlast' [Power], 8, 148–151 (in Russian).

P. 1878. Obychai kirgiz Semipalatinskoj oblasti [Customs of the Qyrgyz of the Semipalatinsk region]. In: Russkij vestnik [Russian Bulletin], 137, 22–66 (in Russian).

Petrova, S. 2010. Tradicija i sovremennost' v hudozhestvennom shit'e konskogo ubranstva [Tradition and modernity in artistic sewing of equestrian decoration]. In: Gramota, 2 (6), 58–64 (in Russian).

Popova, L. 2023. Muzhskie vyshitye sharovary v kul'ture narodov Srednej Azii i Kazahstana [Male embroidered bloomers in the culture of the peoples of Central Asia and Qazaqstan]. In: Evrazija — dialog kul'tur [Eurasia – dialogue of cultures]. Proceedings of the Twenty-second St. Petersburg Ethnographic Readings. St. Petersburg: Russian Ethnographic Museum, 73–80 (in Russian).

Radlov, V. 1989. Iz Sibiri. Stranicy dnevnika [From Siberia. Diary pages]. Moscow: Science (in Russian).

Rudenko, S. 1955. Bashkiry. Istoriko-jetnograficheskie ocherki [Bashkirs. Historical and Ethnographic Essays]. Moscow; Leningrad: Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences (in Russian).

Sergeeva, G. 1988. Odezhda v sovremennom svadebnom obrjade narodov Dagestana [Clothing in the modern wedding rite of the peoples of Dagestan]. In: Brak i svadebnye obychai narodov sovremennogo Dagestana [Marriage and wedding customs of the peoples of modern Dagestan]. Makhachkala: Institute of History, Language and Literature, 20–34 (in Russian).

Shaniyazov, K. 1964. Uzbeki-karluki [Uzbeks-karluks]. Tashkent: Fan (in Russian).

Toktabay, A. 2022. Konnyj mir kazahov [The equestrian world of the Qazaqs]. Almaty: Almatykitap (in Russian).

Uskenbay, Q. (ed.). 2021. Kul'tura i byt kazahov. Al'bom risunkov V.N. Plotnikova 1859–1866 godov. Iz sobranija Rossijskogo jetnograficheskogo muzeja. [Culture and life of Qazaqs. Album of drawings by V.N. Plotnikov 1859–1866. From the collection of the Russian Ethnographic Museum]. Almaty: ABDI Company (in Russian).

Yudakhin, K. (comp.). 1985. Kirgizsko-russkij slovar' [Qyrgyz-Russian dictionary]. In two books. About 40,000 words. Frunze: Main edition of the Qyrgyz Soviet Encyclopedia, Vol. 1–2 (in Russian).

Yushkov, S. (ed.). 1948. Materialy po kazahskomu obychnomu pravu [Materials on Qazaq customary law]. Vol. I. Alma-Ata: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the Qazaq SSR (in Russian).

Downloads

Published

2024-06-25

Issue

Section

Статьи

How to Cite

Decoration of the Bride’s Horse in Qazaq Traditional Culture. (2024). Qazaq Historical Review, 2(2), 180-203. https://doi.org/10.69567/3007-0236.2024.2.180.203

Similar Articles

11-20 of 20

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.

Most read articles by the same author(s)

1 2 3 4 5 > >>