The Tradition of Offering a Sheep’s Head in the Culture History of Kazakh Turks

KAZAK TÜRKLERİNİN KÜLTÜR TARİHİNDE KOYUN BAŞINI İKRAM ETME GELENEĞİ
Egamberdiyev M. Akhantaeva A.
2023 Milli Folklor Dergisi

Milli Folklor
2023 #2023 Issue 140 119 - 129 pp.

In the history of Kazakh culture, the tradition of offering the meat and head of small and large cattle to guests is rooted in ancient times, and according to the custom, it is offered to honored guests. When guests come to a Kazakh house, a sheep is slaughtered and the head of the animal is offered to them as a share and fortune. The tradition of offering the head of the sheep, which is considered a part of Kazakh hospitality, has not been thoroughly studied until today. Therefore, in this article, the importance and characteristics of the tradition of serving sheeps head to guests in Kazakh cultural history are tried to be revealed. The tradition of slaughtering a sheep and serving its meat and head to guests has a significant history from the past to the present. There are regional differences in the belief that the head and other parts of the sheep are carefully boiled and then presented to honored guests. By practicing this tradition, Kazakh families pass on their culture to young people, as well as teach national manners to future generations. In the history of Kazakh culture, the head of a sheep and the head of a large (yearling, cattle) animal are cut into two parts and served to guests. This tradition is practiced on major holidays, weddings and days of mourning. While the head of the cattle is skinned, the sheeps head is also specially cleaned. Therefore, care is taken to clean and wash it. The washed sheep head is separated from its jaws, its teeth are removed and the inside of the ear is cleaned. During these procedures, the integrity of the sheeps head and skin is emphasized. At this point, the sheeps eyes are cleaned from the white and the inside is carefully cleaned. This is because the meat around the eyes hardens when boiled and it is considered a shame to serve it to older guests. The forehead of the slaughtered sheep is pierced to resemble a plus sign and one ear is cut off. Cutting the forehead with a knife is also considered a tradition and is meant to “balance the four sides of the guest”. Today, the women who perform this procedure say that they do it to find out how cooked the sheeps head is. The sheeps head is served to the village elders, people who are respected in the community, the elders of the family, in-laws and precious guests coming from afar. The sheeps head should be placed on a separate plate on the table. The aksakal does not eat the whole sheeps head offered to him; after tasting it, he distributes it to the other guests sitting next to him as his kismet. According to the custom, the aksakal who touches a knife to one side of the head does not touch the second side, and the sheeps head with its two eyes gouged out is not moved around the table. This is because there is a Kazakh belief that “the head without two eyes” cannot move around. Also, the nose and neck of the head are not offered to the guest. The handle of the knife is turned inward to the cut ear and the head is presented to the guest with the left forehead. In some regions of Kazakhstan, a new knife is used, and then, at the discretion of the host, the guest may receive it as a gift. Experienced elders carry their own knives with them to prove that the Aksakal is a respected person.

hospitality , Kazakh tradition , sheeps head , table , types of plates

Text of the article Перейти на текст статьи

Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Faculty of Oriental Studies, TURKSOY Department, Almatı, Kazakhstan
Kazakh National Agricultural Research University, Department of General Education, Almatı, Kazakhstan

Al-Farabi Kazakh National University
Kazakh National Agricultural Research University

10 лет помогаем публиковать статьи Международный издатель

Книга Публикация научной статьи Волощук 2026 Book Publication of a scientific article 2026