"Bata Beru" in Kazakh Culture - Traditions and Innovations

Abstract

Purpose. The article explores the evolutionary processes of the Kazakh tradition “bata beru” – a blessing. Results. The origins of this tradition date back to the era of the Early Middle Ages. Runic texts on stelae of Orkhon memorial complexes of the aristocracy of the Second Turkic khanate – Bilge Kagan, Kul-Tegin, Tonyukuk contain language that is typologically close to the later “bata” of the Turkic peoples. Gradually, this tradition institutionalized in Kazakh society; there were certain types of “bata” and structure. Despite the revolutionary transition of the traditional nomadic society to an industrial one, and then the post-industrial society, the “bata” has not lost its value by performing, in our opinion, the magic-application function. The consequence of the revolutionary transformation of the Kazakh traditional society began to change in the semantic content of the “bata”. For example, requests relating to the nomadic way of life, the presence of Kydyr ata in the house, mentioning the senior wives and 12 children are currently archaisms and are hardly used. The emergence of the national movement of “Ata Zhol” (Ancestral path) and the appearance of mediums that transmit “bata” on behalf of a saint, indicates, in the authors’ opinion, a new stage of evolutionary processes in the Kazakh tradition of “bata beru”. The structure and content of the “bata” have undergone some modifications, which allows to identify this type of “bata” as the special – “Aulie bata”. Conclusion. All of this suggests a persistent existence of ancestor worship in modern Kazakh society.