If you intend to travel to Kazakhstan for either a short vacation or semester, you must be well versed in the culture and lifestyle of Kazakhs! RocApply dedicates this guide for your information!
The culture of Kazakhstan is vibrant and unique; it was formed over thousands of years, combining the traditions and customs of the peoples who at various times inhabited the territory of modern Kazakhstan.
There are more than one hundred ethnic groups in Kazakhstan, the biggest groups being Kazakhs and Russians. Others include Ukrainians, Germans, Koreans, Tatars, and Chechens.
During the Soviet era, the Communist Party tried to create a different Soviet person with a Soviet culture and ideology. They succeeded a lot on this road but not entirely the result is a creation of a more or less homogenous society with both Russian customs and traditions and Kazakh traditions.
According to oriental culture, you are expected to ask questions not related to business first. The appropriate questions are: How are you? How is your family? How are they doing? How is the health of your family?
One is not expected to ask with all these lines though. One or two questions along these lines will suffice. Only after these preliminaries, it is regarded to be a good time to discuss the business at hand.
Each region of Kazakhstan has its own unique shades as well, which are most clearly manifested in national dress and local dialects.
To get acquainted with such richness and diversity, you must travel around the whole country, but the festivals of Kazakhstan are great events for those who want to see the whole palette of culture in this country in one place.
The festivals attract creative souls from all regions of the country, and here that you can see the full assortment of Kazakh dances, music, applied arts, and many other cultures.
Kazakhstan food may not be the world’s best-known fare, but it has some interesting things going for it, such as a lamb and noodle soup popularly known as Lagman.
Drawing influence from the culinary traditions of Russia, Asia, and the Middle East, Kazakhstan’s other culinary portraits include the national dish of plov, shashlik, sherpa, dimlama, and Samsa. The country is also a carnivore’s dream as meat is often center stage, although noodle and dumpling dishes are also popular.
The applied art of Kazakhstan has a wide variety when it comes to style, materials, and ornamentation. Silk, ceramics and cotton weaving, stone and wood carving, metal engraving, leather stamping, calligraphy, and miniature drawing are some genres passed down from ancient times.
Embroidery, carpet weaving, and miniature painting have also been revived in their traditional form as well as some modern variants. Today, Kazakh craftsmen still practice ancient jewelry crafting techniques for cutting gemstones, grain filigree, granular work, engraving, and enameling. This country is a hub of art!
Etiquette in Kazakhstan
Hospitality has a long history of tradition in Kazakhstan where the guests are treated with deep courtesy and given the best possible treatment from the host. Being proud of this tradition we recommend you to follow some rules that follow:
- You can greet a man shaking his hand but a woman would be enough if you just make a light-bending forward of the head.
- Better not to get inside the Kazakh's house with shoes but if the owner makes it you should follow his step. It is necessary to take off your shoes when you are going to enter some specific places like religious ones.
- No need to wear special cloth but you should cover some open parts of your body including hands and legs.
- Ramadan is a special month for Muslims. It is a time of the act of abstaining from eating. But despite this fact, all restaurants, bars, cafes are working as usual.
- In some areas, the average visitor may appear extremely wealthy to local people. A lavish display of jewelry, bulging handbags and wallets, and a neck full of cameras will make you stand out in a crowd.
- Be discreet, respectful of local culture and traditions, and carry the minimum of valuables.
" Its a place to be" - Martin from Canada
