Modern Kazakh culture is mainly characterized as a synthesis of Tengrian nomadic and Islamic and European elements. Nomadic elements derived from predecessors, such as the Huns, First Turkic Khaganate, Golden Horde and Kazakh Khanate. Nomadism largely shaped its peculiar music, clothing, jewelry and oral literature. Kazakh culture also seems to be strongly influenced by the nomadic Scythians.
Because animal husbandry was central to the Kazakhs' traditional lifestyle, most of their nomadic practices and customs relate in some way to livestock. Traditional curses and blessings invoked disease or fertility among animals, and good manners required that a person ask first about the health of a man's livestock when greeting him and only afterward inquire about the human aspects of his life.
The traditional Kazakh dwelling is the yurt, a tent consisting of a flexible framework of willow wood covered with varying thicknesses of felt. The open top permits smoke from the central hearth to escape; temperature and draft can be controlled by a flap that increases or decreases the size of the opening. A properly constructed yurt can be cooled in summer and warmed in winter, and it can be disassembled or set up in less than an hour. The interior of the yurt has ritual significance; the right side is generally reserved for men and the left for women. Yurts are also frequently used as a decorative motif in restaurants and other public buildings.
Modern Influences
Today's Kazakhstan is a modern culture, thriving in the post-Soviet era. The traditional Kazakh lifestyle has blended with influences from Western societies, as well as those from Kazakhstan's Russian and Chinese neighbors.
Religion
Islam is the largest religion in Kazakhstan, followed by Russian Orthodox Christianity. By tradition the Kazakhs are Sunni Muslims, and the Russians are Russian Orthodox. Approximately 70% of the population is Muslim. The majority are Sunni of the Hanafi school, including ethnic Kazakhs, who constitute about 60% of the population, as well as by ethnic Uzbeks, Uighurs, and Tatars. Less than 25% of the population is Russian Orthodox, including ethnic Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians. Other religious groups include Judaism, the Baháʼí Faith, Hare Krishnas, Buddhism, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Cuisine
Traditional Kazakh cuisine revolves around lamb and horse meat, as well as a variety of dairy milk products. For hundreds of years, Kazakhs were herders who raised fat-tailed sheep, Bactrian camels, and horses, relying on these animals for transportation, clothing, and food. The cooking techniques and major ingredients have been strongly influenced by the nation's nomadic way of life. For example, most cooking techniques are aimed at long-term preservation of food. There is a large practice of salting and drying meat so that it will last, and there is a preference for sour milk, as it is easier to save in a nomadic lifestyle.
In recent years, there has been an influx of young westernised Kazakh chefs into the heart of Nur-Sultan, including the now famous Rania Ahmed who spent her early years training in West London's Michelin Star restaurants. This has resulted in a new breed of cuisine which blends traditional savoury Kazakh dishes with European fast food, such as betinjantabs, proving very popular with younger generations.
Besbarmak, a dish consisting of boiled horse or lamb meat, is the most popular Kazakh dish. Besbarmak is usually eaten with a boiled pasta sheet, and a meat broth called shorpa, and is traditionally served in Kazakh bowls called kese. Other popular meat dishes are kazy (which is a horse meat sausage that only the wealthy could afford), shuzhuk (horse meat sausages), kuyrdak (also spelled kuirdak, a dish made from roasted horse, sheep, or cow offal, such as heart, liver, kidneys, and other organs, diced and served with onions and peppers), and various horse delicacies, such as zhal (smoked lard from horse's neck) and zhaya (salted and smoked meat from horse's hip and hind leg). Pilaf (palaw) is the most common Kazakh rice dish, with vegetables (carrots, onions, and/or garlic) and chunks of meat. The national drinks are kumys (fermented mare's milk) and tea.
Traditions
Kazakhs are known for their hospitality, and so many Kazakh traditions are based on this ethnic feature. Some traditions have been lost, but some have been rediscovered. Below are some of the traditions that continue to play a role in the modern Kazakh society: