Kazakh wedding customs
The Kazakh marriage customs were mainly formed in the unique environment of grassland nomadic nomads, and some were marriage phenomena left over by the ancient Turkic people. Later, after the Kazakh nation believed in Islam, some religious customs were also incorporated. Kazakh marriage is monogamy, and polygamy has also occurred in history, but these phenomena mainly exist among aristocrats and rich households.
Most of the Kazakh marriages in the past were arranged by their parents, which was an obvious sale marriage. Therefore, women are the most important and family status is paid attention to. The betrothal price is also very different due to the disparity in family status. The rich are given hundreds of camels, which is equivalent to 500 horses or 1000 sheep. In poor families, the man also has to give the woman a "sucking gift", a "wedding ceremony", clothes, etc. The success of a marriage often depends on the amount of gifts. In the past, there was a saying among Kazakh people that "a beautiful girl is worth eighty horses. If a person gives birth to a few daughters, he can become a big Bayi (that is, a big landlord and a rich man)." Therefore, poor families have the habit of "changing relatives" to offset the betrothal gifts.
Nowadays, this unhealthy customs and concepts have changed a lot. Kazakh people still pay great attention to the choice of a suitable spouse for marriage. In addition, the man's family also pays special attention to the woman's mother. They have a proverb: "The mother is the shadow of the daughter. If the mother is good, the daughter must be right."
According to Kazakh customs, people from the same tribe are generally not allowed to marry. If the marriage must be more than seven garments, the consent of the tribe's elders must be obtained. The two families who are married must also be separated by seven rivers. No matter whether they are born to the same parents or not, as long as they have eaten the milk of the same woman, they are like biological siblings and cannot get married. Therefore, the Kazakh people attach great importance to intermarriage outside the tribe, which is a natural eugenic system formed by the Kazakh people to reproduce the population.
The Kazakh marriage system is generally lifelong and divorce is usually not allowed. In the old days, there was also the "Amminger" marriage system, which was a very ancient legacy. After a woman died of her husband, if she asked to remarry, she had to marry the brother or close relative of her deceased husband, or choose one for her in the tribe. If the person disagreed to marry her, she could freely remarry. Usually, most middle-aged women did not remarry after losing their husbands. Widows who do not want to remarry are regarded as virtuous and are respected by people and praised by society.
Before the founding of New China, Kazakh families implemented a feudal family system, and the father enjoyed all power in the family and controlled the family's cattle and sheep property. Adopted sons are very common among Kazakhs. According to custom, adoptive fathers must establish a family for their adopted sons and distribute their inheritance. No one can discriminate against them because of their adopted sons. This is a characteristic that distinguishes the Kazakh people from other Muslim peoples.
Among the Kazakh people, the love style of young Kazakh men and women is full of poetic meaning. For example, in various gatherings, in production and labor, we get to know each other, or gradually establish feelings through interesting cultural activities such as "Girl Chasing". Pairs of pairs gallop on the grassland with their reins, looking for a small world where they can date. When a young Kazakh man and woman chose a quiet place, they dismounted and crossed the whip of both men and women in a place where people could easily see it. As a result, the place with this unique mark has become a "Eden Paradise" for Kazakh young men and women to pour out their passionate feelings and pursue happiness and love. When Kazakhs passing by saw it, they all took a detour and silently wished another blooming flower of love on the grassland.
Kazakhs also attach great importance to the marriage of their descendants. Parents must conduct strict and thorough investigations and understanding of both young men and women. After testing, the parents of both parties allow a marriage before a marriage can be determined. Generally speaking, marriages in Kazakhstan go through three major procedures: engagement, betrothal gifts, and wedding. However, it is not the same in various places. Some also add many procedures, such as truthful visits, observation, door-to-door visits, betrothal gifts, food delivery, viewing betrothal gifts, celebrating betrothal gifts, weddings, etc. These rituals are usually decided by the woman and whether not to do them.
There is no specific regulation on the age of betrothal for Kazakh people. Generally, betrothal can be obtained from childhood to the age of seventeen or eighteen. However, it is more common for parents to arrange betrothal when they are young. Once a marriage contract is concluded, it cannot be terminated at will. After marriage, if the man and the woman agree to enter into a marriage contract, a day will be chosen and the man's parents and close relatives will bring a horse and other gifts to the woman's home for the engagement. On this day, the woman also invited relatives and friends to meet, and slaughtered sheep and warmly entertained the man who came to be engaged.
The second place for the
is the "Giltis" ceremony. The so-called "Giltis" refers to various wedding supplies given by the man to the woman. After "Giltis" is ready, invite relatives and neighbors to come to the house for a party to comment on whether "Giltis" is suitable. Relatives also brought gifts to make up for the lack of preparation by the master. Afterwards, the man sent the prepared "Giltis" to the woman. On this day, the woman will also hold a ceremony, called the son-in-law's "door-to-door ceremony", or the "door-recognition ceremony". At this time, the man and the woman met, and the "son-in-law" met with the "father-in-law" and "mother-in-law". After this point, the son-in-law can go openly to his father-in-law's house.
Kazakh weddings are generally divided into two steps, namely, the bride's home ceremony and the in-law's home welcome ceremony. Most of the ceremonies are held in accordance with the rules of Islam, and some ancient customs that have been established for a long time by the people.
The bride's home sends a wedding gift, that is, the bride holds a wedding ceremony. During this ceremony, the owner had to slaughter oxen, horses, and sheep and entertain relatives and people from the same tribe. Then the host and guest gathered together happily and sang to their heart's content, sometimes singing all night long. On the day of her marriage, a group of young people gathered outside the girl's yurt and sang the song "Gal, Gal" to bid farewell to the girl who was about to be married. Before leaving, the bride or her relatives sang the song "Sensma" to bid farewell to the villagers. During the marriage ceremony, some also held activities such as wrestling, sheep hunting, girl chasing, and horse racing.
The in-law's family welcome ceremony is the wedding ceremony held by the groom's home when the bride arrives at the groom's home. When the bride was sent to her parents-in-law's house, a man with various cloth tied around his arms and holding a tender branch sang the song "Beath Shire"(The Song of Unveiling). After singing the song, he lifted the bride's veil, introduced it to everyone, and gave the bride advice and advice.
then the bride accompanied by bridesmaids into the in-laws felt room, to the in-laws salute, and held a "worship fire" ceremony, that is, by two women will support the bride in front of the fire, a woman stretched out her hands on the flame roast, in their own face a few times, and then into the bride's veil, in the bride's face a few times. At this time, the women who came to the wedding all wished auspicious greetings such as "Happy Wedding" and "Let the souls of our ancestors bless the bride". This is the inheritance of the Kazakh people's fire-worship custom before believing in Islam.
The wedding ceremony, like the marriage ceremony, requires many activities and sings all night long. Kazakh weddings must be held five such ceremonies in succession to complete the wedding event.
Summary of
: Kazakh marriage customs cover Kazakh history, culture, life etiquette and customs, aesthetic taste, value orientation, etc., with strong grassland cultural characteristics, are the most prominent expression of Kazakh traditional culture, involving Kazakh clothing, food, housing and transportation and other aspects. Strong local characteristics and unique national characteristics are important carriers of Kazakh traditional culture and have important academic value for the study of Kazakh culture, history, folk customs, etc.
At present, the number of older generations who master the original Kazakh wedding customs, rituals and ceremonies is decreasing, while the younger generation is keen on "modern" wedding ceremonies. Therefore, there is a lack of successors in inheritance, making the inheritance and development of traditional Kazakh wedding customs facing a crisis.