The Socio-Cultural Functions of Kazakh Kinship Terms

Abstract

This paper reports the results of a study of the Kazakh kinship structure, classification and the socio-cultural functions of the Kazakh kinship terms. The Kazakhs have developed at first glance very complex and many branched kinship bonds with the moral codes, family relationship etiquette, the patterns of rights , duties and responsibilities thus being one of the strongest binding forces. The first and foremost principle of the Kazakh kinship system is the principle of "the seven ancestors"-a particular kind of chain of parent-child links between ancestors and descendants. The principle of 7 ancestors defines marriage rules, sex regulation, and incest taboo. For Kazakhs kinship was one of the strongest survival strategies thanks to which they could save integrity of their country. Every terminologically identified kinship category is associated with a culturally distinctive pattern of behavior which should be followed in relation to EGO.