Mythologization of History and the Invention of Tradition in Kazakhstan (original) (raw)

This paper is dedicated to the issue of mythologized history andthe invention of traditions in independent Kazakhstan. Every nation state encounters this phenomenon, but it is particularly relevant during the struggle for independent and the process of state building. In this article the author reviews different sources for this in Kazakhstanand reviews often-encountered topics, which are used by mythologizators. First of all, there is the effort to show that the Kazakhs are a very ancient people and tribes and people that were well-known in ancient history like the Sumerians, Sakas, Huns and other ethnic groups were in fact Kazakh tribes. They also often try to prove that Chingiz khan was a Kazakh. Most of those who create these myths are not professional historians, they are mobilizorsof ethnicity, and usually they are physicists, mathematicians, and engineers. They invent traditions too. The mythologized history of Kazakhstan has various functions, one of them to delineate the territory of state. Another is to prove the special claims to authority of some Kazakh tribes. These myths are also used to counter the claims of other peoples to the territory of Kazakhstan.