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Kazakhstan has a rich, strong and unquestionable heritage of the nomadic tradition that becomes a living tradition today. Eagle hunting, yurt making and horseback archery bear the history of a nation deeply connected to the land and livestock. Despite the increased level of development of Kazakhstan, preserving these traditions is essential – not only to strengthen national identity but also to pass on the experience of our ancestors to future generations. Positive strategies in Kazakhstan can allow the country to revive its nomadic culture while advancing in a modern context.
Photo credit: World Nomad Games.
Recently I got a unique opportunity to visit the annual kokpar – traditional horse riding game – in a relatively small village in the south of Kazakhstan. Remembering the concept of our heritage was a reminder of how beautiful and valuable it is when we watched riders compete with each other and showed their skills and teamwork. Families, young and old were gathered on the field to celebrate not just the game but the spirit of strength, agility, and unity. This experience made me realize that the traditional nomadic lifestyle of Kazakhstan is not merely about specific practices but a way of life that shapes one’s character and relationship with nature. These lessons remain relevant in today’s world.
Preserving our culture goes beyond tourist parades. It requires embedding the values of our traditions into society. It is all too often that these traditions may be forgotten in the wake of an evolving Kazakhstan’s cities and industries. But tournaments such as World Nomad Games prove that people around the world care about our tradition and have a certain amount of respect for it. Generally, the beautiful and exotic image of Kazakh culture attracts people, and this attention gives Kazakhstan a chance to become a cultural bridge, linking the past and present in ways few nations can.
A key strategy of preserving our national heritage is education. Introducing young people to their living nomadic lifestyles during classwork or activities in school can help them develop pride for their roots. Hands-on activities of such aspects of Kazakh culture as yurt assembling, horse riding, or training birds of prey can be initiated at the workshops. Moreover, focusing on collaboration with non-profit organizations, for example the Kazakh Geographic Society which seeks to develop appreciation of the Kazakh heritage, can contribute to the development of new practices which will support the constant revival of these traditions.
Another promising aspect is to create responsible tourism so that people will not misuse their cultural and historical significance. As many countries embrace tourism as an enabler of culture promotion to other societies and nations, there is a need to promote the process in a culturally sound and sensitive manner. Small family businesses which make authentic yurts, Kazakh costumes, and other accessories, and sell leather goods might also receive desirable economic returns from tourism and not lose their expertise. The government should provide grants for these artisans or help to establish cultural heritage zones where such activity could be developed more and made a real living-cultural economy for these villages.
The same applies to our nomadic culture where modern technology provides approaches to reach as well as immortalize the culture. Preserving expertise includes creating records in web resources, videos, and online exhibitions so that key materials are not lost. Kazakhstan can also work with tech platforms to build realistic experiences – a virtual tour of living in the yurt, online classes for people who are interested in mastering the basics of Kazakh traditions around the world. In this manner, using technology, we can share our heritage, with the locals more, and with the outside world, creating appreciation of our heritage and history by other people.
The maintenance of these traditions is not only highly useful for Kazakhs but also is useful for the people all over the world. The nomadic lifestyle teaches sustainability, efficient resource use, and respect for nature. When the world is congested more than ever the lessons of nomadic life such as using little of the environment, applying efficient resource utilization and cherishing the relationships within the community are noble lessons indeed. To give an example, eagle hunters teach their birds to hunt patiently and regard; the hunters never take advantage of their eagles in a way typical for an environmentally destructive modern person. In the same way, building yurts, with natural materials that people do not affect the environment, represent a sensible way of living that other countries can learn from.
As for the future, Kazakhstan has the extraordinary opportunity to show that modernization and tradition are not opposites but complementary forces. Modernization should not steal our roots; instead, it should become a contrarian and let our traditions develop, while they do not change their substance. For Kazakhs, this means taking the best of what our forefathers left us and adding value to it and then offering it to the world unabashedly.
Kazakhstan’s nomadic legacy is that kind of strength which is deep in people and in the very essence of our nation. Education, responsible tourism and technology are the means of making this heritage vibrant in the 21st century. In doing so, we not only honor the past but also inspire future generations to continue these traditions.
The author is Alima Salykova, a graduate student at the Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Public Policy.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of The Astana Times.
