SARKYT TRADITION IN KAZAKH CULTURE AS AN EXAMPLE OF INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE

An examination of the historical process reveals that nations sharing common characteristics such as religion, language, and ethnicity have, over time, adopted unwritten rules and behaviors transmitted orally from generation to generation. These rules and behaviors eventually evolved into traditions that have been passed down and preserved to the present day. Among these societies, the Kazakh people possess a particularly rich repository of traditions. The intangible cultural heritage of the Kazakhs, who have a deep-rooted history, has been maintained for centuries thanks to the strength of their oral tradition, which has played a significant role in the formation and preservation of their customs. Rituals associated with major life events—such as birth, marriage, weddings, death, and funerals—along with the practices performed before and after these ceremonies, contain a variety of traditions. Among these is the sarkyt tradition, which appears in various ceremonies as one of the Kazakh customs. This study aims to provide information about the sarkyt tradition and also includes examples from Kazakh epics that reflect traces of their deep-rooted cultural past.