Material culture of the kazakh aul from the field diary of a soviet ethnographer

Based on an analysis of the field diary of ethnographer Elena Makhova, this article addresses the scarce representation of the findings from mid-twentieth-century ethnographic expeditions in exploring the nature and specificity of Kazakh material culture during the Soviet period. The diary in question was compiled during research conducted in the Chui (Shu) district of the Dzhambyl (Zhambyl) region from 1949 to 1950. The collection of materials was carried out in accordance with a program aimed at the ethnographic study of contemporary Kazakh aul. New data were obtained that illuminate various methodological aspects of working with informants, the characteristics of cultural contexts, and the practices of scientific generalization employed by Soviet ethnographers. This article not only makes a theoretical contribution to the understanding of the ethnographic heritage of the Soviet period but is of particular interest to those engaged in the study of twentieth-century material culture.