The Soil That Remembers Us

Nomadic Kazakhs expressed their profound attachment to the Motherland through sayings that reveal the depth of their worldview: “Бөгде елде сұлтан болғанша, ез еліңде ұлтан бол”- “It is better to be an insole in one’s homeland than a sultan in exile,” and «кіндік қаным тамған жер» “the land sprinkled with the blood of my umbilical cord.”

These expressions reflect the belief that the land of one’s birth is an intimate extension of the self, bound to memory, lineage, and destiny.

For the Kazakhs, there was nothing more precious than the land where a person was born and took their first steps into life. This reverence for one’s native land was embodied in the custom known as tugan zherge aunatu. When a man returned to his birthplace after a long absence, he was laid upon the earth and gently rolled over the grass. Through this ritual, the community reminded him that it was on this soil that his life had begun, and that he carried a moral obligation to his native village: to serve it through deeds and to leave behind an honourable memory among his people.

I first learned about this custom when I read Oralhan Bokeev’s short story “The Orphaned Camel Calf.” A man returns to visit his native aul (village), and his friend begins to roll him over the grass. At the time, I knew nothing about this ritual and thought it was simply “men’s games.” All the stories and novellas in this book are deeply symbolic and filled with intimate realism. I highly recommend reading it.

An equally powerful expression of this bond with the homeland was the tradition of amanat qoyu, a temporary burial performed when a person died far from their native land.

In such cases, the deceased was laid to rest in a nearby cemetery, while the word “amanat” was repeatedly spoken, affirming the temporary nature of the grave. At a later time, the family returned, carefully wrapped the body in a rug, and carried it back to be reburied in the ancestral cemetery.

Even in death, the individual was believed to belong to the land of their forebears, and to find true rest only upon native soil.

These customs reveal a worldview in which homeland is living presence, one that claims loyalty in life and remembrance in death.

#kazakhcustoms #kazakhtradition #nomadiclifestyle #kazakstanihistory

On this foundation of memory, land, and continuity, we extend heartfelt congratulations on the Independence Day of the Republic of Kazakhstan. May the spirit of freedom, ancestral land, and cultural heritage continue to unite and inspire future generations.