Here are 10 unique habits that people in Kazakhstan often do, blending tradition, daily lifestyle, and cultural quirks:
- Welcoming Guests with Bread and Salt 🍞🧂
Hospitality is huge — offering bread (baursak) and salt is a symbolic and warm welcome to visitors. - Drinking Fermented Mare’s Milk (Kumys) 🐎🥛
This slightly sour, lightly alcoholic drink is a traditional staple, especially in rural areas. - Greeting with a Hand Over the Heart 🤲❤️
Many Kazakhs place their right hand over their heart as a respectful greeting or farewell. - Long, Lavish Feasts for Celebrations 🍖🎉
Whether it’s a wedding, birth, or national holiday, expect hours-long meals with endless dishes like beshbarmak. - Sitting on the Floor for Meals or Gatherings 🪑⬇️
In traditional homes (yurts or rural houses), meals are often enjoyed seated cross-legged on the floor around a low table (dastarkhan). - Telling Epic Oral Stories & Poetry 🎤📜
Storytelling through aitys (improvised poetic duels) remains a treasured art form. - Riding Horses from a Young Age 🐎
Horsemanship is a deep part of Kazakh identity — kids often learn to ride before they can properly walk. - Offering the Eldest Guest the Sheep’s Head 🐏
In a traditional feast, the sheep’s head is given to the most respected elder, who then distributes pieces according to custom. - Wearing Felt or Fur Hats in Winter 🎩❄️
Tyubeteika (embroidered skullcaps) and fur hats are common, both for tradition and survival in freezing winters. - Celebrating Nauryz in March 🌱🔥
This spring equinox festival marks the Kazakh New Year with street events, horse games, and special dishes like nauryz kozhe.
Welcoming Guests with Bread and Salt 🍞🧂
In Kazakhstan, welcoming guests with bread and salt is more than just offering food — it’s a symbolic gesture of hospitality, respect, and goodwill.
- Bread (often baursak) represents prosperity, life, and abundance.
- Salt symbolizes friendship and a long-lasting relationship, as salt does not spoil.
When visitors arrive — whether to a home, a village, or even at official events — the host may present a small tray or cloth with bread and a pinch of salt. Guests take a little piece, taste it, and are warmly invited inside.
It’s considered impolite to refuse because it’s not just food, it’s a blessing and welcome ritual that goes back centuries in nomadic culture, where sharing food meant survival on the steppe.
Drinking Fermented Mare’s Milk (Kumys) 🐎🥛
In Kazakhstan, drinking fermented mare’s milk — known as kumys — is both a traditional drink and a cultural symbol.
- What it is: Kumys is made by fermenting fresh mare’s milk for about 1–3 days in a special leather bag or wooden barrel.
- Taste & texture: Slightly sour, fizzy, and creamy, with a mild alcohol content (usually 1–2%).
- Cultural significance: For centuries, nomadic Kazakhs valued kumys as a source of nutrition, especially on long journeys across the steppe. It was believed to boost energy, strengthen the immune system, and even improve mood.
- How it’s served: Traditionally, kumys is poured into wooden cups (tostagan) and shared among guests during special occasions or in the summer season.
- Social aspect: Drinking kumys together is a way to honor guests and connect with heritage. It’s often part of large gatherings, festivals, and family celebrations.
Interestingly, in the warmer months, some Kazakhs still go to “kumys resorts” (kumysny kurort) in rural areas, where they spend a few days drinking fresh kumys daily for health.
Greeting with a Hand Over the Heart 🤲❤️
In Kazakhstan, greeting with a hand over the heart is a warm and respectful gesture deeply rooted in tradition.
- How it’s done: You place your right hand over your heart, slightly bow your head, and smile.
- Meaning: This says “I greet you sincerely, from my heart” and conveys honesty, respect, and friendliness.
- When it’s used:
- Meeting elders or respected people
- During formal events or ceremonies
- When saying thank you or goodbye
- Even as a non-verbal “hello” to acquaintances in passing
- Cultural roots: The gesture comes from nomadic etiquette, where physical touch (like shaking hands) wasn’t always possible, especially in cold winters or when hands were occupied. It’s also linked to the idea of honoring the soul of the person you meet.
Sometimes, men will combine it with a handshake, but the hand-over-heart gesture alone is common, especially for women or in more traditional settings.
Long, Lavish Feasts for Celebrations 🍖🎉
In Kazakhstan, long, lavish feasts are a cornerstone of social life — especially for major events like weddings, births, anniversaries, and national holidays.
- The concept: These banquets, called toy (той), can last several hours or even all day. They’re not just about eating — they’re about honoring guests, showing generosity, and strengthening relationships.
- The setting: Guests gather around a low table (dastarkhan) that overflows with food. Even before the main course arrives, there’s an abundance of appetizers, salads, dried fruits, nuts, and breads.
- Main dishes: Traditional favorites like beshbarmak (boiled meat with noodles), roasted lamb, kazy (horse sausage), and kuirdak (meat and organ stew) are served in multiple rounds.
- Hospitality rule: Your plate is never left empty — hosts continually refill dishes to show abundance and respect.
- Entertainment: Between courses, there may be live music, aitys (improvised poetry duels), dancing, and speeches praising the hosts and guests.
- Symbolism: A lavish feast is a public display of honor, respect, and community spirit — the more plentiful the table, the greater the host’s reputation for hospitality.
In some rural areas, these celebrations can last two or three days, with different groups of guests coming in shifts.
Sitting on the Floor for Meals or Gatherings 🪑⬇️
In Kazakhstan, sitting on the floor for meals or gatherings is a tradition that reflects the country’s nomadic heritage and emphasis on closeness in hospitality.
- The setup: People gather around a low table called a dastarkhan, which is usually placed on a carpet or felt mat. Cushions or folded blankets serve as seating.
- Why it’s done: Nomadic Kazakhs lived in yurts, where furniture was minimal and space needed to be flexible. Sitting on the floor kept gatherings intimate and practical.
- How it feels: Being close to the food and each other encourages conversation and makes serving dishes easier.
- Etiquette:
- Elders and honored guests get the most comfortable spots.
- Men and women may sit in separate groups at formal events.
- The host sits where they can serve everyone easily.
- Symbolism: The dastarkhan isn’t just a table — it represents abundance, family unity, and respect for guests.
Even today, in modern homes, many Kazakh families still keep a low table for special occasions, even if they also have Western-style dining furniture.
In Kazakhstan, sitting on the floor for meals or gatherings is a tradition that reflects the country’s nomadic heritage and emphasis on closeness in hospitality.
- The setup: People gather around a low table called a dastarkhan, which is usually placed on a carpet or felt mat. Cushions or folded blankets serve as seating.
- Why it’s done: Nomadic Kazakhs lived in yurts, where furniture was minimal and space needed to be flexible. Sitting on the floor kept gatherings intimate and practical.
- How it feels: Being close to the food and each other encourages conversation and makes serving dishes easier.
- Etiquette:
- Elders and honored guests get the most comfortable spots.
- Men and women may sit in separate groups at formal events.
- The host sits where they can serve everyone easily.
- Symbolism: The dastarkhan isn’t just a table — it represents abundance, family unity, and respect for guests.
Even today, in modern homes, many Kazakh families still keep a low table for special occasions, even if they also have Western-style dining furniture.
In Kazakhstan, telling epic oral stories and poetry is a treasured tradition that goes back centuries, rooted in the country’s nomadic lifestyle and rich folklore.
- The tradition: Storytelling is often performed by akyns (poet-singers) who recite or improvise long poems, historical tales, or moral stories — sometimes lasting hours or even days.
- Famous format: Aitys — a poetic duel between two akyns — is a popular form where performers exchange witty, rhymed verses, often accompanied by the dombra (a two-stringed lute).
- Content: Stories may tell of heroic warriors (batyrs), love legends, family honor, and moral lessons, often mixing real history with myth.
- Performance style: It’s not just spoken — it’s sung or chanted, with emotional delivery, gestures, and music to draw the audience in.
- Cultural role: In nomadic society, this was a way to preserve history, pass down values, and entertain during long winter nights.
Even today, aitys competitions are broadcast on TV, and storytelling is celebrated at festivals like Nauryz.
Riding Horses from a Young Age 🐎
In Kazakhstan, riding horses from a young age is more than a skill — it’s a vital part of cultural identity, tied deeply to the country’s nomadic heritage.
- Historical roots: For centuries, Kazakhs lived as horse-riding nomads on the vast steppe, relying on horses for travel, herding, hunting, and even warfare.
- Early start: In rural areas, children may begin learning to ride as early as 3–5 years old, often starting with gentle ponies before moving to larger horses.
- Skills taught: It’s not just basic riding — kids learn herding techniques, racing, and traditional games like kokpar (a fast-paced sport involving a goat carcass) or kız kуу (“girl chasing” game).
- Cultural meaning: Horses are considered a symbol of freedom, pride, and status. In old Kazakh sayings, “A Kazakh is born on a horse.”
- Special breeds: The Kazakh horse is prized for endurance and toughness, able to withstand extreme steppe weather.
Even in cities today, many families send their children to equestrian clubs or countryside relatives to keep this tradition alive.
Offering the Eldest Guest the Sheep’s Head 🐏
In Kazakhstan, offering the eldest guest the sheep’s head is a deeply symbolic act of respect and honor during traditional feasts.
- When it happens: This ritual usually takes place during big celebrations (toys) like weddings, births, or national holidays, when a whole roasted sheep or lamb is served.
- The meaning: Giving the head to the most respected elder shows gratitude, trust, and recognition of their wisdom and status.
- What happens next:
- The host presents the head on a platter.
- The elder makes a short blessing or well-wish for the family.
- They cut specific parts of the head and distribute them to guests according to tradition:
- Tongue → to the most eloquent person (for good speech skills)
- Ears → to children (to listen to elders)
- Eyes → to someone who should be perceptive and wise
- Cheeks → to close family members or dear friends
- Why it matters: This practice connects people to ancestral customs from nomadic times, when nothing from a slaughtered animal was wasted and every part had meaning.
Even today, at modern Kazakh weddings or nauryz celebrations, this ritual remains a proud moment in the feast.
Wearing Felt or Fur Hats in Winter
In Kazakhstan, wearing felt or fur hats in winter is both a practical necessity and a nod to cultural heritage.
- Why it’s needed: Winters on the Kazakh steppe can drop below -30°C (-22°F), with fierce winds. A good hat isn’t just fashion — it’s survival gear.
- Traditional styles:
- Malakhai — a large fur hat with long ear flaps and neck covers, perfect for extreme cold.
- Tyubeteika — an embroidered skullcap, often worn under a hood or lighter hat.
- Börik — a round fur hat, usually made from fox, mink, or lamb fur, traditionally worn by men.
- Materials: Locally sourced sheepskin, fox, rabbit, or wool felt are common because they trap heat effectively.
- Cultural meaning: In nomadic times, hats also signified status, age, and occasion. For example, special decorative hats were worn at weddings or festivals.
- Modern use: While urban Kazakhs might wear down-filled beanies, traditional fur hats are still popular in rural areas and during cultural celebrations.
In Kazakh etiquette, a hat should never be placed on the ground — it’s considered disrespectful, since headwear is linked to dignity and honor.
Celebrating Nauryz in March 🌱🔥
In Kazakhstan, celebrating Nauryz in March is one of the most important and joyful traditions — it marks the New Year and the arrival of spring according to the ancient Persian calendar.
- When: Celebrated on March 21–23, during the spring equinox, when day and night are equal.
- Meaning: Nauryz symbolizes renewal, prosperity, and harmony. It’s a time to forgive past grievances, visit relatives, and wish each other a good year ahead.
- Preparations:
- Homes are cleaned top to bottom (spring cleaning) to remove bad energy.
- People prepare special clothes, often in bright colors.
- Communities decorate public spaces with yurts, carpets, and flower displays.
- Festive activities:
- Traditional horse games like kokpar and kiz kuu.
- Folk concerts, dances, and aitys (poetry duels).
- People greet each other with warm hugs and blessings.
- Special dish: Nauryz kozhe, a soup made from seven ingredients (symbolizing the seven virtues: joy, success, wisdom, health, wealth, growth, and protection). Ingredients often include meat, grains, milk, salt, butter, and water.
- Symbolism: Sharing food and participating in games reflects the Kazakh values of unity, generosity, and hospitality.
Even in modern Kazakhstan, Nauryz is a public holiday with nationwide celebrations, blending ancient nomadic customs with modern festivities.