Religion Kazakhs
Traditional spiritual culture of the Kazakhs has kept elements of tengrianstvo ana shamanism - ancient beliefs which originated long before Islam. Appearance of the supreme deity Tengri (Tenir), identified with Heaven could become an important stage in transition from pagan beliefs for which attribution of soul to objects and natural phenomena was characteristic to the variant of monotheism. However, this process had stopped on the stage of shamanism, distinctive features of which became a cult of ancestors, belief in spirits (aruak), and also a special role of shaman who appeared to be a mediator between the world of people and spirits, "his" and "alien". In his attempts to influence on natural forces shaman (baksy, duana) used music and a word.
The mythical first shaman Korkyt, a patron of all shamans, was at the same time a singer and a musician. It is considered that he created a bow musical instrument kobyz and for the first time performed a melody kuyi which was performed by his innumerable successors during kamlanie for ages. However, close contacts with the settled neighbours stipulated use in a ritual practice of the Kazakhs such objects as, for example, a tambourine which was not characteristic for the Kazakhs.
Spreading Islam among nomads-Kazakhs took no one age, having completed only after joining Kazakhstan to Russia . The most part of the present Kazakhs are Moslems - Sunnites of the Khanifit persuasion. However, there were times when Islam competed with Nestorianism in Southern regions of Kazakhstan.
But Mongol invasion brought the return to the traditional beliefs with it, archaic belief among people, though officially islamization of the Steppe region began in the epoch of the Gold Horde, under Berke-khan. But gradually Islam penetrated into the depths of the Steppe, though in many respects this penetration remained to be superficial and was limited with performance of main rituals . Together with the usual way of life also was kept mythologicness of consciousness of ordinary members of nomad society.
In the course of time Moslem mythology not only closely interlaced with traditional beliefs, but even transformed them considerably. Just such Islam, which imbibed all the palette of religious traditions and beliefs has remained inseparably linked with history of its people, his achievements and losses, can give an adequate answer to the believers' spiritual needs.
From the book “Kazakh traditional culture in the collections of Kunstkamera”. Almaty. 2008
