This paper is a continuation of the previous article entitled "The
first day of the Cultural Exchange of STEKOM University part 1".
If you haven't read part 1 on the discussion of the same event,
please click the following link
https://international.stekom.ac.id/en-news-and-event/.the-first-day-of-the-cultural-
exchange-of-stekom-university-part-1 to read it first.
The
next presenter in the event “Culture exchange day 1 (culture and
cullinary that you would like to recommend to foreigner)” comes
from the country of Kazakhstan, Central Asia. Kazakhstan is known for
its nomadic tribal traditions. Kazakhstan, officially known as
Respublikası Qazaqstan Federalsan is a transcontinental country with most of its
territory included in the Central Asia region and a small part
included in the Eastern Europe region. Its territory that stretches
from the Altai Mountain range in the east, to the Caspian Sea in the
west, makes this country the 9th largest country in the world and the
2nd largest in the former Soviet Union after Russia. Kazakhstan is
often referred to as the "Virgin lands", because some of
its territory has not been touched at all. Most of its territory is
directly adjacent to Russia, especially in the north and west. In the
east, it is directly adjacent to the People's Republic of China
(Xinjiang province). To the south it is bordered by Uzbekistan,
Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and the Caspian Sea. In this country there
are many ethnic Russians. Russia's space rocket launch site Baikonur
is also located in Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan is bordered by
Russia to the north, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and
Turkmenistan to the south, and to the west the Caspian Sea and
Russia. Most of Kazakhstan's territory is geographically located in
the southwestern part of the Asian continent, and a small part of its
territory is on the European continent.
Kazakhstan's area
is 2,717,300 sq km which makes it the largest country in Central
Asia, and the second largest after Russia among the former Soviet
Union countries. The plains of Kazakhstan are dominated by deserts
and steppes or grasslands, although the borders of Kazakhstan in the
East and South regions are mountains.
Kazakhstan is one of
two landlocked countries in the world that has territory between two
continents (the other being Azerbaijan). At 2,700,000 square
kilometers (1,000,000 sq mi), equivalent in size to Western Europe,
Kazakhstan is the ninth largest country and the largest landlocked
country in the world.
The country has 6,846 kilometers
(4,254 miles) of borders with Russia, 2,203 kilometers (1,369 miles)
with Uzbekistan, 1,533 kilometers (953 miles) with China, 1,051
kilometers (653 miles) with Kyrgyzstan, and 379 kilometers (235
miles) with Turkmenistan. the largest cities there are Nur Sultan,
Almaty, Karagandy, Shymkent, Atyrau and skemen. The country is
located between latitudes 40 ° and 56 ° N, and longitudes 46 ° and
88 ° E. In Kazakhstan there is the Charyn gorge, this canyon is
located in Almaty, southeastern Kazakhstan in the north of the Tian
Shan mountains. This 80 km long canyon was formed due to erosion of
the Charyn river.
The presenter's name from the country of
Kazakhstan is Akbayan Kalym, a beautiful and elegant woman. At the
beginning of his presentation, Kalym tried to attract participants by
telling about the nomadic tribes in his country. The presentation
continued with an explanation of the traditional kazakh house called
"kazakh yurt". From the outside the traditional Kazakh
house looks like a tent. But when you see the inside, it looks very
luxurious and artistic. The tent-like shape of the house also makes
it easier for the Kazakh nomadic tribe to move around because the
house is a portable concept or easy to assemble and disassemble. In
Kalym's explanation, the yurt house for the Kazakhs has a symbol of
comfort and connection to the world and the universe, as well as a
reminder of the nomadic path.
Kalym's presentation
continued by explaining about the popular game in Kazakhstan. Among
the popular games is "Kyz Kuu". The game has become an
integral part of the nomadic Kazakh tradition. In this game, the
horseman will demonstrate his ability to stand on the saddle of a
horse running over the steppes. Then a boy should be able to catch
and kiss a girl. A game that looks very interesting and attractive.
Other games that were presented by Kalym were "asyks" and
"saka". In his explanation, "asyks" are made of
goat bones, while saka is also made of the same material but given a
bright color. The game is done by tapping each other's "asyks"
from other players.
Next Kalym tells
about the music of Kazakhstan. The interesting part about the
explanation of traditional kazakh music from Kalym is, kazakh music
has no musical notation. Where the musical traditions of Kazakhstan
are taught from teacher to student, from generation to generation.
The most popular traditional instruments are string instruments.
First of them is the dombra (домбыра), the most popular and
the oldest Kazakh music instrument. Some argue that nomads have used
similar two-string instruments more than two thousand years ago. The
dombra is a long-necked lute with two strings tuned in the interval
of a fourth or sometimes a fifth. The strings are plucked or strummed
by the right hand without a plectrum.
The other instrument
playing an important role is the Qobyz, which is a bowed instrument
held between the legs. It is made of carved wood for the body, animal
skin for the resonator, and horse hair for the strings, and the bow.
The Qobyz is said to have been invented by the legendary shaman
Qorqyt, long before the medieval ages. The "Zhetigen"
("Seven strings") could be seen as a member of the cither
family, finding equivalents in China, with the strings being divided
each in two parts of different lengths, the bridge being movable and
consisting of small bone. There is also a plucked lute called sherter
(шертер).
The next explanation about the
traditional kazakh clothing. In Kalym's explanation, the traditional
kazakh dress for centuries has always been simple and rational.
Traditional materials used in Kazakh clothing include fabric, skin,
felt, and fur. Embroidery, fur, jewelry, and ornamentation may also
be used for decoration. Traditional materials, such as horsehair, fox
fur, sheep's wool and rabbit hides, are used in the production of
clothing. Kazakhs often use white wool, and consider wool from the
neck of a sheep valuable. The hair of the Bactrian camel is also used
for more luxurious clothing. An undercoat, collected after the camel
has molted, it is considered particularly valuable.
The
last explanation of the kalym presentation is the most tantalizing.
That is about traditional kazakh food. The name of the traditional
food is "besh barmak". The term "Beshbarmak"
means "five fingers", as nomads traditionally eat this dish
with their hands. Beshbarmak is usually made from finely chopped
potatoes, boiled meat, mixed with noodles and chyk, an onion sauce.
It is usually served in a large, round dish, after shorpo, which is
the first mutton dish served in a tea bowl called kes. This is also
followed by a broth called ak-serke (shorpo mixed with kymyz or
ayran), which is thought to help soothe the stomach.