Traditions are alive in todays’s Kazakhstan (Photo: iStock)
Szabolcs Veres
15/02/2023 05:00
However, the question arises, what is the European clan concept? How is it structured? Does the zhuz system influence the modern politics of Kazakhstan?
Put simply, Zhuz (or Jüz) confederation means the historically formed alliance of Kazakh clans. The term is also translated as horde. According to some interpretations, the zhus are one of the three main territorial and tribal divisions in the territory of Cummania, which is located in the greater part of present-day Kazakhstan. It represents the main tribal division within the Kazakh ethnic group. Kazakh historiography places the origin of zhuzeks at the beginning of the 18th century, Russian sources at the middle of the 16th century and at the beginning of the 17th century.
Over the centuries, three tribal confederations were formed on the territory of modern Kazakhstan. These were: the Senior, Middle and Young zhuz. Each "alliance" occupied vast territories and consisted of clans. This begs the question, why were they named that way?
At first glance, it may seem that this is due to the size of the shingles. However, this is not entirely true. The central one was the largest, occupying the territory of Central, Northern, Eastern and partly Southern Kazakhstan. According to some Kazakh historians, the zhuz got their name from their location along the Syr Darya River. According to this theory, the Senior zhuz lived along the upper reaches of the river, the Middle zhuz along the middle, while the Young zhuz lived along the lower reaches of the Syr Darya.
The zhuz was a specific form of socio-political organisation of the Kazakh people. Scientists do not have a definite and accepted opinion about the causes of the formation of bruises. Moreover, in the process of Kazakh historical ethnogenesis, there are genera (clans) that are outside the class of the zhuz. Kazakh zhus had the following characteristics: internal regional unity; ethnic unity, cultural and economic community, joint political leadership.
Today, however, that has changed. In Kazakhstan, groups within the elite are formed not on the basis of the zhuz or tribal principle, but on the principle of loyalty. Many believe that for a modern Kazakh, belonging to one or another clan is just "folk nostalgia".
Although it is also true that the current president of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Zomart Tokayev, comes from the clan of Senior zhuz Zhalajir. Kazakhstan’s first president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, is also a Senior zhuz, but from the Shapyrashty clan. Previously, the opinion was expressed in the foreign expert community that the Zhalaiyr clan is considered a "poor relative" in the system of Kazakh clans. Allegedly, this explains the January 2022 events that took place in Kazakhstan. Today, it turned out that this is not entirely true. In Kazakhstan, the social status of the zhus is still alive today in the common language, but it is built on loyalty instead of historical traditions.The author is a researcher at the Eurasia Center of John von Neumann University.