Traditional Headwear in Kazakh Culture
KAZAK KÜLTÜRÜNDE GELENEKSEL BAŞ GİYİMİ
Montanay E. Akhmetbekova A.
2023Milli Folklor Dergisi
Milli Folklor
2023#18Issue 139141 - 156 pp.
Each nation has its own distinct cultural values that have evolved over generations to represent its views, thinking and living styles, as well as their traditions and customs. Kazakh Turks, who have historically embraced a largely nomadic lifestyle, are also rich of treasures that must be discovered, such as their cultural history, both physical and intangible, which stretches back to ancient times. Clothing culture has a significant role in the history of humanitys concrete cultural heritage studies. Clothes, which also carry the tastes and delicacy of the eras in which they are worn, has taken on the role of portraying and reflecting changes in the cultural worlds of the countries to which mankind belongs in particular. It is an evident truth that studying dress culture will make significant contributions to decoding national and worldwide cultural rules. In this context, this study attempts to provide information about the use and functions of traditional headdress, which serves an important part of the Kazakh Turks clothing culture. In addition to being an essential part of the body, the head has a unique value in the Turkic world, as seen by expressions like bas tacım, bas köşe, başım gözüm üstüne in Türkiye Turkish and examples like bastik, bas kuda, baseke in Kazakh Turkish. Headdresses are also of great importance for the Kazakhs who bless the head. Kazakhs always keep their headscarves in high places, and they do not give their own headdresses as gifts. Animal skin and bird feathers, from which headdresses are made for consecration, also have special meanings. In other words, no animal skin or bird feathers are used. In the production of headwear, sacred and expensive animal skin and feathers of birds with special meanings are chosen as materials. For example, the wolf, which is called böri in Kazakh, is one of the most important and symbolic animals for all Turkic tribes and people. Böriks were made with the skin of the böris. Börik is mostly used as a headdress in winter, as well as for decoration on special occasions. The article consists of sub-headings as Introduction, Traditional Headwear of Men in Kazakh Culture, Traditional Headwear of Women in Kazakh Culture, Traditional Headwear of Kazakh Children and Conclusion. In the Introduction section, after focusing on the definition, history and philosophy of clothing, explanations were made about why this subject was chosen, why such a study was carried out, and what deficiency this study would fill in the field. Under the subheading of “Mens Traditional Headwear in Kazakh Culture”; headwear, caps and hats known as Börik, Jalgabay, Kalpak, Kulakşın, Külapara, Malakay, Murak, Takiya, Tımak, from which materials and how they are made, which age groups wear them, and the historical background and symbolic meanings of the headgear are emphasized. Under the subtitle of “Womens Traditional Headwear in Kazakh Culture”; Börik, Jaulık, Jırga, Karkara, Kasaba, Kimeşek, Oramal, Saukele, Soraba, Takiya headwears and reasons for preferring such headwear are mentioned. Under the sub-heading of Traditional Headwear of Kazakh Children, which has fewer options than womens and mens headwear, the headwear called Telpek is mentioned. In the conclusion part, the data obtained from the study such as the relationship of headwear with geography and climate, similar and different aspects, frequency and reasons for use, classification according to age, social status and gender, relations with folk beliefs, and symbolic meanings were brought together. Considering the fact that traditional clothing can change and reshape throughout history, the authentic and modern aspects of headwear, if any, passed down from generation to generation were tried to be seen and shown within the scope of the study. Document analysis method and descriptive scanning model were used in the article, in which the traditional scientific approach of tidying up and bringing together the found data was adopted. In addition, the data obtained through field research and literature review were examined within the framework of contextual and functional theories of folklore and supported by visuals obtained from the field..
clothing , Kazakh headwears , Kazakh traditions , Kazakhstan , Turkish beliefs
Text of the article Перейти на текст статьи
Al Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Al Farabi Kazakh National University
10 лет помогаем публиковать статьи Международный издатель
Книга Публикация научной статьи Волощук 2026 Book Publication of a scientific article 2026