Religious Beliefs of the Kazakhs in the XVIII – early XX centuries as a Phenomenon of “Lived Religion”
Религиозные верования казахов XVIII – начала XX вв. как феномен «проживаемой религии»
Nurgaliyeva A. Yernazarov Z. Zhaksygaliyev Z. Kurmanalin S.
2023Cherkas Global University Press
Bylye Gody
2023#18Issue 31110 - 1121 pp.
In methodological terms, the provisions and conclusions of the article correlate with the subject field of the concept of “lived religion”, aimed at transmitting the specifics of the manifestation of religion in peoples daily lives. Considering the religious beliefs of the Kazakhs from the standpoint of this concept allows, in our opinion, to go beyond the “either-or” dichotomy: Islam/pre-Islamic beliefs, official Islam /popular Islam values. The purpose of the work is to show that publications of different origin of the XIX – early XX centuries can serve as a basis for determining the nature of the religious beliefs of the Kazakhs of this period. Despite the presence of polemical discourses focused on different values in modern historiography, the authors of the research do not deny the existence of a synthesis of pre-Islamic and Islamic cultures, even those who stand on the positions of the long-standing historical tradition of Islam on the territory of Kazakhstan. Results. The publications of the XVIII – early XX centuries, which we took as the basis of the analysis, we divided into five groups. Most of them were created by outside observers. Of particular importance are the works of Kazakh authors, who can be called ethnic, linguistic and religious insiders who had the opportunity to see hidden social connections that are not obvious to an outside observer. It is shown that the publications of contemporaries help to form a complete picture on the issue of the peculiarities of the religious beliefs of the Kazakhs. They allow us to talk about the syncretism of the religious views of the Kazakhs. It was a harmonious synthesis of the traditional complex of ideas about the world with Islam, because for all its inconsistency with orthodox requirements, it was present in the national consciousness of the Kazakhs. Everyday practices, habits and models of social life of Kazakhs were determined by both Islam and pre-Islamic views, and they can be defined by the term “lived religion”. Copyright
external observers , Islam , Kazakh steppes , Russian Empire , syncretism , “either-or” dichotomy , “Kazakh mediators” , “lived religion”
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West Kazakhstan University, Kazakhstan
West Kazakhstan Innovation and Technology University, Kazakhstan
West Kazakhstan University
West Kazakhstan Innovation and Technology University
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