Traditional and contemporary art of Kazakhstan

It is conventionally accepted in the history of Kazakh culture to link the formation of the culture of the Kazakh Khanate with the primary form of dwelling – the yurt, the most perfect engineering structure of steppe civilisation. Although, of course, in addition to the yurt, the Kazakhs built permanent dwellings, mosques, mausoleums and other structures. Mazar (mausoleums), which were erected from stone, adobe bricks and other local materials, play a special role in Kazakh culture. These structures are important elements of the sacred landscape, embodying religious and philosophical beliefs and signifying the social status of the deceased.

Stone gravestones known as kulpytas, which were used by the Kazakhs until the mid-20th century, represent a unique synthesis of architecture, sculpture and stone carving. Such monuments are characteristic of many regions of the Eurasian steppe belt. In the Kazakhstani region, the monuments of the Aral-Caspian region have gained renown; A.Medoev described them as the apotheosis of stone architecture and monumental stone sculpture. He traced the origins of the latter to the ‘deer stones.

S. Azhigali links the development of the ‘kulpytas’ tradition in this region (Mangystau, Ustyurt, Northern Aral and Caspian regions) to the Oguz-Kipchak period (11th–13th centuries). The main material used is local limestone-sandstone. Several types are known: ‘koitas’ grave markers (sculptural depictions of mouflons), ‘sandyktas’ sarcophagus boxes, and ‘ferta’ stelae. The latter date from the 13th–17th centuries. Anthropomorphic kulpytas in seven styles, ranging from realistic to bas-relief depictions of humans, date from antiquity to the 19th century. Kulpytas in the form of flat epigraphic monuments have been known since the early 18th century, whilst structures with a tiered composition date from the mid-18th century.

The craftsmen of Mangystau and Ustyurt sought to geometrise volumes, generalise forms and preserve the texture of the stone as much as possible. Grave structures are found in Central and Southern Kazakhstan, and even in wooden versions. The stone gravestones of the Karnak settlement (Turkestan Region) come in several types: large boulders without any markings (the earliest form), small-scale gravestones with an upper section ornamented with triangles, parallelepiped-shaped ones with three-dimensional rounded carvings and inscriptions (the ‘Turkestan’ type), as well as koitas with ornamentation and the image of the Sun-Star, and two-tiered ones with small upper sections.

Scholars’ opinions differ regarding the semantics of the kulpytas. According to one version, it embodies and celebrates the idea of the menhir, symbolising male creative power (phallic significance). According to another, the kulpytas is the embodiment of the World Pillar or the World Tree. S. Azhigali, expanding on the second version, considers kulpytas to be the embodiment of a ritual horse-tying post like the Yakut serge.

Attention is drawn to the artistic decoration of the walls and vaults of a number of domed mausoleums with murals reproducing the interior decoration of a yurt. To create these, Kazakh craftsmen typically used mineral pigments, which were applied either to the smooth surface of sawn stone (predominantly in Western Kazakhstan) or to walls that had been previously plastered and whitewashed. Multicoloured murals have been recorded in the mausoleums of Naurzbay (Ulytau District, Tortkara), Kulsary (lower reaches of the Emba), Syrly-tam and Syrly-tam II in the Jilanchik Valley of the Turgai Steppe, at the Korkut-Ata necropolis (Syr Darya), as well as in Mangystau and Ustyurt — at the Karaman-Ata, Kamysbay and others, dating mainly from the 19th to the early 20th centuries. According to A. H. Margulan, the oldest example is the painting on a large tombstone of one of the mausoleums in Zhezkazgan (without specifying the exact monument). It is executed in tempera and depicts a warrior and his horse. These images, created in defiance of Islamic canons, reflect remnants of ancient beliefs that have been preserved among the Kazakhs.

A. H. Margulan goes on to discuss the murals in three mausoleums in the Zhambyl Region—Baytymbet, Zhantai and Ak-Tepe—the first two of which date from the mid-19th century, and the last from the early 20th century. The scholar compares their composition with the decoration of yurt baskurs, pointing to the presence of narrative scenes: caravans of camels, hunting scenes, summer encampments with tethered foals, horsemen in military attire, as well as depictions of household objects, clothing and jewellery. Each composition is ‘read’ as a symbolic metaphor: the caravan is interpreted as the flow of life, the jailau as an image of a pastoral paradise, and the horsemen as the embodiment of valour and honour.

A virtually complete imitation of a yurt’s interior can be seen in the Zhantay Mausoleum (Merke District, Zhambyl Region), whose vault is covered in frescoes. The central motif is a large caravan moving from right to left. The composition is characterised by rich polychromy: the outermost camels and three horses are painted blue, the remaining camels yellow, the wild goats green, and the saddlecloths red. It is likely that the colour differentiation has symbolic significance, and the direction of the caravan’s movement is interpreted as a journey to the ‘other world’: the left side is associated with the realm of the dead, whilst the right is associated with the realm of the living, the south and the east.

Analysing the murals of the mausoleums of Western Kazakhstan, K. Ibraeva notes that the ornamental compositions, executed as broad friezes encircling the room along its perimeter, structurally correspond to the arrangement of the kyzyl-baskur. Above this, an akbaskur (ceremonial band) was sometimes placed, distinguished by a freer composition featuring motifs of curling plant stems.

Ornaments in the form of curling stems, their interlacing and palmettes (zhaukyzyn), which are widespread in Kazakh art, convey the ideas of eternal renewal, rebirth, unity and continuous development. They are represented in a multitude of variations — from tree-like compositions with a vertical axis of symmetry to mesh-like and centric structures. Tree-like motifs are, likely, associated with conceptions of the World Tree, connecting the heavenly, earthly and subterranean levels of the cosmos.

Among the rich ornamental repertoire, there are also stylised two-dimensional depictions of objects: samovars with tea sets, footwear, musical instruments (dombra), whips, weapons, jewellery, and so on. These elements reflect the belief in the animacy of objects and their significance in the afterlife. At the same time, each object acts as a symbol: footwear symbolises the path, a musical instrument symbolises the sound that connects worlds, and so on.