Traditional Kazakh Weddings on the Beach in Antalya, Turkey
TRADITIONAL KAZAKH WEDDINGS
Kazakhs honor their wedding traditions very much. In special honor of such wedding traditions as to choose the bride (kyz aittiru), to look at the bride (Kyz koru), matchmaking ceremony (kuda tusu),to give the earrings to
the bride (sirga salu), farewell of the bride from home (uzatu), opening the face of the bride in the house of the groom (betashar), that comes from the generation to the generation from the ancestors of the Kazakhs.
We see that in the Soviet period the Kazakhs lost their wedding traditions but after the independence of the Kazakhstan these traditions were revived again.
In the old days, the Kazakhs married the girl who was chosen by the elders of the family and now a man and a woman meet each other, negotiate and with the consent of the parents enter a new life, called the family.
The man, with the consent of his girlfriend, sends his relatives to her house to convince the girl's family of his serious intentions and ask for her hand. This tradition is called "zhaushi zhiberu".
The girl is recognized as betrothed if she’s got earrings
A little later the parents and relatives of men come to woo the girl and wear her earrings, which means that the girl is betrothed. At the same time, during the matchmaking, the groom's side agrees with the girl's parents about the details of the wedding and how much compensation money the girl's parents want to have (kalyn mal).
If earlier the dowry paid to girl's parents in the form of cattle, in modern days, considering the financial situation of parents of the both parties, the dowry pays in money.
On compensation money parents of the girl prepare her dowry and buy clothes.
Recently, the ceremony of farewell of the bride from her home (Kyz uzatu) becomes the main part of the Kazakh wedding and celebrates particularly lively
Farewell song of the bride
According to the customs of the Kazakh wedding, the bride was dressed in a wedding dress in her father's house. This is a particularly solemn ceremony for the bride, when the bride wore a wedding headdress with a veil called "saukele", in which she leaves her house accompanied by the groom, his relatives and friends who arrived at the wedding to pick her up. Saukele is a symbol of the beginning of a new life
Farewell of the girl – Kyz uzatu – an important stage of the Kazakh wedding. Matchmakers usually arrived in the evening. From that moment the celebration begins with the games, songs, dancing and gifts presenting. The girl is leaving her home in the early morning according to custom. Before leaving, the girl said goodbye with relatives under a farewell song – koshtasu zhyry.
When the bride arrives at the groom's house, there is a ceremony "betashar”, where the bride's face is opened. In the house of the groom, where all his relatives and friends gathered together, the bride opens her face covered with a white national scarf under the traditional Kazakh songs performed by the singer-improviser. There are edifications are given in these national songs, explaining that a young wife should respect her husband, her husband's relatives and guests who came to the house.
We must pass on the traditions of our ancestors to new generations
The bride from Astana Aigerim told the correspondent that she and her husband tried to implement the traditional Kazakh marriage ceremonies at her wedding, where she wore a wedding dress in the national style.
"My wedding dress completely concealed my body, which allowed me to feel more comfortable among elder guests. At our wedding, we held all the national ceremonies, such as farewell of the girl, singing a farewell song"- says Aigerim. It should be noted that in recent years Kazakh national wedding dresses have been popular: "I Think it is important that the weddings are held according to Kazakh traditions. We must preserve the traditions and customs of our ancestors and pass them on to the younger generation,"- Aigerim said.
Turkic States have not forgotten their traditions
The expert of the International Turkish Academy Akedil Toyshanuly also commented on the revival of the traditions of marriage as "the development of national sense."
Toyshanuly has also mentioned that the tradition of marriage that were suppressed in Soviet times became widely used after the independence of Kazakhstan. Toishanuly noted that in Soviet times, Kazakhs lived according to Russian and European traditions, for example, they put a toy doll-bride in front of the wedding car, it was forbidden to hold wedding ceremonies according to Kazakh traditions and at weddings Kazakhs drank alcohol in excessive amounts, which is contrary to Kazakh customs.
Toyshanuly said that in the Soviet period, the religious clergy were not allowed to conduct the marriage, the giving of wedding presents were criticized but despite this, the Turkic States have not forgotten about their wedding traditions and customs. "After independence, the traditions of marriage have been revived in Kazakhstan and saved to the present day" - he said.
Toyshanuly has added that after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the traditions got the freedom and it became possible to make the wedding as Kazakh people want.
