Nuray Nurkhojayeva
The Kazakh nationality initially was shaped within the framework of three ZHUZES. The process of the formation of the Kazakh people was accompanied by the formation of ethnic territory. Because of the realities of the nomadic way of life, three ZHUZES arose on the territory of Kazakhstan on the meridional routes of nomadic migrations - Senior, Middle, and Junior.
What is ZHUZ? ZHUZ is a large tribal association that belonged to the Kazakh nationality and inhabited a part of the common territory, determined by historical tradition. The exact time and mechanism of the formation of ZHUZES have not been established yet.
Each Kazakh ZHUZES had its own historically developed space, territory.
The Senior ZHUZ - in South Kazakhstan, the Middle ZHUZES - in Central, Eastern, and Northern Kazakhstan, the Younger ZHUZES - in Western Kazakhstan. The tribes of the Kazakhs that were part of the same ZHUZES are related to each other and were even considered the descendants of one ancestor.
ZHUZES - clans - tribes in Kazakhstan have never been functional organizational structures, as it was, for example, in medieval Scotland, Africa, or in some Asian countries. In Kazakhstan, this is primarily a way of thinking and interpreting ongoing processes and phenomena through the prism of genealogical origin, explanation and argumentation, and regulation of the processes of social mobilization and consolidation of society.
Despite the fact that the nomadic economy of the Kazakhs was strictly ordered in the sense of the territorial division of lands, precise boundaries, like those that could be drawn on the basis of land in Europe, were not placed. Among other things, the frequent change in the borders of pastures was associated with the inconstancy of the climate, which changed over not only centuries but even years. Therefore, the question of the groundlessness of any political or other territorial speculations on the basis of the genus should be completely removed.
Reasons for the formation of ZHUZES:
1. Economic conditions, nomadic way of life.
2. Natural and geographical (territorial) factors.
3. Military-political factors (for protection).
4. Historical traditions (a division of tribes into western, eastern wings, centre - even from the Huns, Turks, Mongols, etc.).
Incest in the steppe was punishable by death.
The fact that incest leads to grave consequences was well-known even in ancient times. Different civilizations solved this problem in different ways. In ancient Greece, sick newborns were thrown off a cliff into an abyss. The ancestors of today's Kazakhs did their own thing - marriages between close relatives were strictly prohibited. In the steppe, the principle of preserving the seven tribes were strictly observed - marriages committed at an earlier stage of kinship were illegal. According to the code of laws of the Kazakh steppe, "Zheti zhargy", violators of this prohibition were punishable by death.
Indeed, Kazakhs have closer relations between relatives than in the West. Kazakh cousins have the same communication distance as siblings in the United States. This is since Kazakhs have not yet fully completed the demographic transition, as a result of which patriarchal families (with three generations under one roof) disintegrate and give way to nuclear families.
There is even a legend about it: Kalkaman was a batyr from the Argyn clan (a subdivision of Tobykta). He managed to become famous in the wars with the Dzungars. Mamyr was a cousin of Kalkaman (Mamyr's father was the half-brother of Kalkaman's grandfather), but at the same time, she was his contemporaries (this often happened during polygamy, when the difference in years between children was 40-50 years). Kalkaman fell in love with Mamyr, and they had a desire to be together. Kalkaman, realizing that the relatives would not voluntarily marry Mamyr to him, persuaded her to flee, but they were caught. Uncle Anet-baba condemns Kalkaman to a fatal test "ok bailau": a young man must race on his horse through a line of archers who will shoot at him. If not a single arrow hits him, it means that Kalkaman will be found innocent. Kalkaman was able to survive this test. Most likely, because all the shooters were his friends, associates, and relatives. Escaping with a wound in the thigh, Kalkaman migrated to the Bukhara region.
Have there been wars between Kazakh clans?
Kazakh ZHUZES and clans have never fought among themselves. However, land disputes were among society. Since there were no law enforcement agencies and courts in the steppe, the biyes decided everything. In general, the biyes institute played a special role in the Kazakh steppe. Kazakhs are a nation that knows the value of a word and values a word. Bi could stop the warring ones in one word and reconcile them with his decision. The word of the biyes was not questioned, and their decisions were binding. In the oral folk art of the Kazakhs, many legends are telling about the justice of the biyes. There is a proverb “Tura bide tugan jo, tugandy bide iman jo ж!” (a fair biy has no relatives, and a dishonest one has no conscience). In ancient times, each Kazakh clan had its biy at the head of the clan. Bi of each genus resolved intrageneric conflicts and disputes, defended the interests of a kind in intergeneral disputes. In other words, the biyes played the role of police and courts and were the conductors of the Kazakh ideology. It was they who, with their weighty, well-reasoned word, ensured internal political stability in the Great Steppe. And when an external enemy attacked, the bi provided mobilization of its kind, and the Kazakhs as a single nation fought back the aggressor. There are many examples of this in history. It was this kind of management that allowed our ancestors to preserve vast expanses. Each of the Kazakh ZHUZES had its own supreme biy. So, Tole Bi ruled the Senior Zhuz, Kazybek bi - the Middle Zhuz, and Aiteke Bi - the Younger Zhuz.
Three ZHUZES are the most mysterious detail of Kazakh history. It is not known exactly when they appeared, under any circumstances, or even the origin of the word "ZHUZ". On the one hand, all three ZHUZES existed as different states with their khans, but on the other hand, they never forgot that they were one people, did not fight among themselves and, if necessary, united against an external enemy.
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