Kazakh Leading Academy
of
Architecture and Civil Engineering
assoc. prof. Massanov Yerkin
NATIONAL HOLIDAYS
INFLUENCES ON KAZAKH IDENTITY
KEYWORDS: Media, culture, national holidays, Kazakh,
identity.
ABSTRACT
This article reveals the importance and place of media culture and national
holidays and its model as social phenomena. The influence that
media culture exerts on the notion of the national identity and the value
system of the multiethnic society is discussed. Similarly, the importance that
national holidays play in forming cultural and national consciousness is also
emphasized. The establishment of national and cultural identity is one of the
most relevant problems in the modern Kazakh society. In the course of
industrialization and a new round of technological breakthroughs questions of
self-identification become very important.
The problem of personal identity becomes
particularly important in a multi-religious society expressed in diversified
worldviews of its followers. “Identity is greatly influenced by modern civilizational
processes. Many innovational and
self-realized people understand that the role ideology plays in modern society
trails to economic and cultural factors, as
well as questions of formation of culture of spirit and a role of
national values” [1]. The issue becomes even more problematic in light of the continuous impact
of mass media. Today ordinary individual goes through never before experienced
contact with another culture, religion, and its concepts of morality under the
influence of the media cultures. In the last couple of decades of the past
century, our citizen lived in the Soviet space and its nation-state, where
moral and religious identity was supported by the ideology of the Soviet state.
Citizens of newly founded nation-states are
hugely influenced by the modern mass media, experiencing cultural shocks.
Informational culture opens up new vistas for communication, morality, various
models of cultural behavior. The new cultural and social environment makes the
problem of identity very significant for the person from our society. Media (from Latin “media”, “medium” – means, the intermediary) is the
term of the XX-th century entered by the Canadian sociologist of Marshall
McLuhan for a designation of a phenomenon of "mass culture"
(“mass-media”). As to concept "media culture", it is the child of the
modern culturological theory designating special type of culture of an
information epoch, being the intermediary between a society and the state, society
and the power. The media culture can be defined as set of
information-communicative means, material and the intellectual values developed
by mankind in process cultural-historical development, promoting formation of
public consciousness and socialization persons. The media culture includes
culture of information transfer and culture of its perception; it can act and
an indicator of a level of development of the person, capable to perceive,
analyze, estimate the media text, to be engaged in media creativity, to acquire
new knowledge in the field of media [2].
Mediatorial functions of media culture – give the chance to different
social groups to communicate with each other, come into contacts. Thereupon
media culture gets special value as the management tool for society. Media
culture unlike other kinds of culture really carries out political,
administrative functions. It is known, along with journalism, as “the fourth
power”, considering the powerful, multilateral and scale power of media over
feelings and consciousness of people. However it is possible to agree with
S.M.Gurevich asserting that: “mass media – not the power, but force, sometimes
very considerable, expressing public opinion and influencing the real power,
sometimes even limiting its possibilities” [3]. Mediatorial functions of
weights of media amplify in formation of the civil society based on principles
of democracy and pluralism, a political freedom and publicity.
In the modern Kazakh society a new series of
holidays has deep cultural and national and state significance. So, 16th
of December – Independence Day, a new holiday – landmark celebration for the
Kazakh people as a historical and cultural event, a new model of identity
politics. 21-23th of March – Day of Nauryz – one of the oldest holidays of
Kazakh territory’s inhabitants as the New Year celebration, carrying the
meaning of the regeneration. It has remained from Zoroastrism that on that day of Nauryz everyone shares a “nauryz-kozhe”, a ritual soup. People groups visited, received them,
were treated and congratulated in
the beginning of spring and New Year. Especially it is characteristic for the
new independent states of type of Kazakhstan where celebrating of Nauryz has
got already state character” [4]. Nauryz means “a birth of spring”. This
belief explains the abundance of celebratory rituals and customs. With arrival
of a holiday Kazakhs put on celebratory clothes, visit each other and exchange
congratulations and well-being wishes for the coming year.
Celebrating is accompanied by
universal fun, games, horse racing, etc. amusements. The main ritual dish of
this holiday is a “nauryz-kozhe”. “Nauryz-kozhe” should consist of 7 components
symbolizing 7 elements of life: water, meat, salt, fat, a flour, cereals (rice,
corn or wheat) and milk. These components symbolize pleasure, good luck,
wisdom, health, well-being, speed, growth and divine protection. Various
representations and the theatrical sketches representing national traditions
and rituals, involve people and learn them to respect the culture and the
native earth, to aspire to a preservation of peace and mutual understanding
between various nationalities of Kazakhstan. “Nauryz is a tradition of true entertainment,
sports and arts that are devouted to unite and develop relationships among people.
Nauryz is a reason for the competitions
of all sorts and ages, inviting old and young, man and woman, poets and
dancers, country and city people to sport and art competitions” [5]. Arisen considerably after religion borrowed the best traditions and the
spiritual riches, inherent in this holiday, the people to propagandize the new
belief. In century struggle against a natural holiday of Nauryz, “succesor holidays” were established by the mighty
of this world using artificial signs: political,
ideological, religious and etc. which have led to separation of the people.
Conclusion.
The establishment of national and cultural
identity is one of the most relevant problems in the modern Kazakh society. In
the course of industrialization and a new round of technological breakthroughs
questions of self-identification become very important. After the collapse of
communist ideology a certain vacuum has emerged and dynamic process of
indoctrination has begun gradually to move in search of new forms of public
consciousness. If all the former Soviet holidays implement policies
identify us as the Kazakh Soviet people, as part of the Soviet state, the
modern holidays just do not characterize the new policy, national, cultural,
state identity, but also introduces a new dimension to the definition of
religious identity’s model for the individual itself. On the other hand,
new holidays perform such vital function as a socio-cultural integration.
Reference
1 G.Beysenova. “Globalization
and identity problems”.
Almaty, 2009. P. -128
2 Kirillova N.B. «Media culture: from a modernist
style to a postmodern». – Ì: Academic The project, 2005. P. –
8.
3 Gurevich S.M. «The Newspaper: yesterday, today,
tomorrow». – Ì, 2004.P. – 13
4 Tursynbaeva A.O.
"Interrelation of cults of Tengri and Zoroastra" the
Scientifically-methodical grant, Turkestan 1999. P.
– 45
5 Kazakh people philosophy. Twenty volume. 7th volume. Astana: Translations, 2006. P. – 458
SUMMARY. Mass media culture
and national holidays influence to Kazakh identity.
This article reveals the importance and place of media culture and national
holidays and its model as social phenomena. The influence that
media culture exerts on the notion of the national identity and the value
system of the multiethnic society is discussed. Similarly, the importance that
national holidays play in forming cultural and national consciousness is also
emphasized.
Background Information
Massanov Yerkin,
assoc. prof. of Kazakh Leading Academy of Architecture and Civil
Engineering assoc. prof.. E-mail: Massanovezh@mail.ru;
+7 771 445
61 47