Abstract:
This article analyses the problems of the traditional world views and beliefs of
the Kazakh people. The main purpose of the article is to show the features of such cultural
phenomena as ‘religious syncretism’ and ‘hybrid worldview’. The author pays attention to
the cosmogonic and cosmological beliefs, the perception and feeling of place and time,
religious consciousness and national identity, folk customs and traditions, cultural branding.
The farming and cattle-breeding practices in the harsh climatic conditions of wide steppe
spaces influenced the formation of a special type of culture and unique worldview. In the
long history of the nomadic peoples who inhabited the Eurasian steppes, the history of the
development of the religious worldview occupies a special place. Being in the crossroad
of civilization, Central Asia has been a region of interaction between different world
religious traditions, such as Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Christianity (in their earliest forms
as Nestorianism), Maniсhaiesm, and Islam. However, the Kazakh people did not break ties
with nature due to their way of life, so people’s beliefs and superstitions were based on the
animistic, totemistic beliefs and magic. The author concludes that the cornerstone of the
entire system of worldview was the faith in the opportunity to transform the world for the
good of people’s traditions and it was reflected in the special rites, traditions, and practices.
