THE IMAGE AND CULT OF A CAMEL IN THE LIFE OF THE KAZAKHS

Abstract

Camel and camel breeding has an important role in the traditional way of the life of Kazakh people. The camel was considered the wealth for the Kazakhs. The Kazakhs considered the possession of camels (tuye) as a prosperity sign. The place and role of the camel in the life of the Kazakhs is the foundation. Since ancient times, in everyday life of the nomadic population, the camel acted as the main vehicle. Especially in deserts, this animal with its qualities as patients to the water, courage, and strength was the main assistant of man. With the help of camel caravans, they conducted a trading business. The power of the camel was used for the cultivation of land, the extraction of water and for the transport of goods. In particular, during the dragging of gravity people used male camels, his work was very highly effective for people. Among the nomadic population, there were different traditions, folk knowledge, belief associated with a camel. And among the people there is a broad relation to the camel as a kind and helping spirit. Indeed, the traces of the belief associated with the camel as a kind and helping spirit, are still preserved in certain customs. The camel is seen as a spirit, a symbol of death, and therefore in folk legends, there is an interpretation of it related to the appearance of cemeteries and secular places and places of pilgrimage. Attention is drawn to the rituals associated with the camel and its origin in pre-Islamic relics. Problems in camel ethnography are written on the basis of primary sources and field expedition materials.