Title: A Knife Under Your Pillow

General Information about Item:

• Ritual, Superstition
• Language: Kazakh
• Culture of Origin: Kazakh
• Informant: JN
• Date Collected: 11-05-2021

Informant Data:

JN was born and brought up in Kazakhstan. She is ethnically Kazakh and enjoys learning about different cultures and mastering various languages. She is a junior at Dartmouth College and studies biomedical engineering. She can speak 4 languages: English, Russian, Kazakh and German. In her free time, she enjoys singing and playing piano.

Contextual Data

Cultural Context: Kazakhs are historically nomadic people, so nomadic practices related to livestock have been central to their culture for a long time. Islam arrived in Kazakhstan during the 8th century, and Islamic religious beliefs combined with the animistic beliefs of the local nomadic cultures and shamanic traditions. Kazakhstan was also part of the Soviet Union before gaining independence in 1991, so its culture has been greatly influenced by its neighbor, Russia, as well. Nowadays, Kazakhstan’s modern culture is influenced by the West and all of the above mentioned cultures. The devil, demons and evil spirits are the most popular supernatural creatures that are believed to bring distress in Kazakh culture. 

Social Context: JN learned about this superstition from her parents, who are Muslim and believe in the existence of the devil, demons, evil spirits and other supernatural beings. JN believes that this ritual is pretty common among religious Kazakh people and sometimes does this herself. 

Item: 

In Kazakh culture, it is believed that nightmares are caused by the devil, demons or evil spirits. In order to protect yourself from them and avoid nightmares, you need to put a knife under your pillow or somewhere near your bed. This practice is believed to ward off evil supernatural creatures.

Collector’s name: Amina

Title: Burning Wild Rue

General Information about Item:

• Ritual, Superstition
• Language: Kazakh
• Culture of Origin: Kazakh
• Informant: JN
• Date Collected: 11-05-2021

Informant Data:

JN was born and brought up in Kazakhstan. She is ethnically Kazakh and enjoys learning about different cultures and mastering various languages. She is a junior at Dartmouth College and studies biomedical engineering. She can speak 4 languages: English, Russian, Kazakh and German. In her free time, she enjoys singing and playing piano.

Contextual Data

Cultural Context: Kazakhs are historically nomadic people, so nomadic practices related to livestock have been central to their culture for a long time. Islam arrived in Kazakhstan during the 8th century, and Islamic religious beliefs combined with the animistic beliefs of the local nomadic cultures and shamanic traditions. Kazakhstan was also part of the Soviet Union before gaining independence in 1991, so its culture has been greatly influenced by its neighbor, Russia, as well. Nowadays, Kazakhstan’s modern culture is influenced by the West and all of the above mentioned cultures. The devil, demons and evil spirits are the most popular supernatural creatures that are believed to bring distress in Kazakh culture. 

Social Context: JN learned about this superstition from her parents, who are Muslim and believe in the existence of the devil, demons, evil spirits and other supernatural beings. JN thinks that this practice is pretty common among religious Kazakh people, and she believes in the efficacy of this ritual herself.

Item: 

In order to ward off the devil and other evil spirits, you need to burn a plant called Peganum Harmala, commonly called wild rue. While the plant is burning, you need to walk around a room you are trying to clean and let the smoke disperse.

Collector’s name: Amina O

Title: An Owl Feather

General Information about Item:

• Ritual, Superstition
• Language: Kazakh
• Culture of Origin: Kazakh
• Informant: JN
• Date Collected: 11-05-2021

Informant Data:

JN was born and brought up in Kazakhstan. She is ethnically Kazakh and enjoys learning about different cultures and mastering various languages. She is a junior at Dartmouth College and studies biomedical engineering. She can speak 4 languages: English, Russian, Kazakh and German. In her free time, she enjoys singing and playing piano.

Contextual Data

Cultural Context: Kazakhs are historically nomadic people, so nomadic practices related to livestock have been central to their culture for a long time. Islam arrived in Kazakhstan during the 8th century, and Islamic religious beliefs combined with the animistic beliefs of the local nomadic cultures and shamanic traditions. Kazakhstan was also part of the Soviet Union before gaining independence in 1991, so its culture has been greatly influenced by its neighbor, Russia, as well. Nowadays, Kazakhstan’s modern culture is influenced by the West and all of the above mentioned cultures. The devil, demons and evil spirits are the most popular supernatural creatures that are believed to bring distress in Kazakh culture. 

Social Context: When she was a child, JN had headwear with an owl feather attached to it. Later, she found out the real purpose of this feather from her parents, who are Muslim and believe in the existence of the devil, demons, evil spirits and other supernatural beings. JN has a few Kazakh friends who have had a similar item.

Item: 

In order to protect children from the evil supernatural creatures and the evil eye, a feather or an entire wing of an owl is put near a child’s bed, cradle or is attached to headwear. This feather or wing is believed to ward off demons, evil spirits and keep them away from the child.

Collector’s name: Amina O.

Title: Soot

General Information about Item:

• Ritual, Superstition
• Language: Kazakh
• Culture of Origin: Kazakh
• Informant: AO
• Date Collected: 11-07-2021

Informant Data:

AO was born in the 1990s and grew up in Kazakhstan. She is a violinist and has studied music in Europe for more than 4 years. AO is ethnically Kazakh and is fluent in 3 languages: English, Russian, and Kazakh. In her free time, she enjoys reading books and practicing yoga.

Contextual Data

Cultural Context: Kazakhs are historically nomadic people, so nomadic practices related to livestock have been central to their culture for a long time. Islam arrived in Kazakhstan during the 8th century, and Islamic religious beliefs combined with the animistic beliefs of the local nomadic cultures and shamanic traditions. Kazakhstan was also part of the Soviet Union before gaining independence in 1991, so its culture has been greatly influenced by its neighbor, Russia, as well. Nowadays, Kazakhstan’s modern culture is influenced by the West and all of the above mentioned cultures. The devil, demons and evil spirits are the most popular supernatural creatures that are believed to bring distress in Kazakh culture. 

Social Context: AO’s mom is a religious woman, who believes in various supernatural creatures and the evil eye. The evil eye is a superstitious belief in curse that is cast by a malevolent glare. Young children, especially toddlers are susceptible to the attack of evil creatures and the curse. In order to protect young AO from evil supernatural creatures and the evil eye, her mom used to perform this ritual.

Item: 

In order to protect children from evil supernatural creatures and the evil eye, a tiny amount of soot is applied to a child’s face (often forehead). This is supposed to ward off demons, evil spirits and draw attention away from the curse cast by a malevolent glare and keep the child safe from the evil. 

Collector’s name: Amina O.