Jüz
Encyclopedia
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
. Variably, a jüz is believed to be a confederation or alliance of Kazakh
Kazakhs
The Kazakhs are a Turkic people of the northern parts of Central Asia ....
nomad
Nomad
Nomadic people , commonly known as itinerants in modern-day contexts, are communities of people who move from one place to another, rather than settling permanently in one location. There are an estimated 30-40 million nomads in the world. Many cultures have traditionally been nomadic, but...
s. Kazakh legends tell that ancestry of the three main Kazakh jüzes derived from three brothers.
Contemporary Kazakh clans
The meaning and origins of the jüz formations have been subject to different interpretations. Some researchers argued that originally jüz corresponded to tribal, military alliances of steppe nomads that emerged around mid-16th century after the disintegration of the Kazakh Khanate. Others proposed that jüz are geographical ecological zones separated by natural boundaries. Nomads adopted to these geographical zones and developed nomadic migration routes within the natural boundaries. According to Kazakh legends, the three jüzes originated from the children and grandchildren of the three sons of the mythical forefather of Kazakhs. Another version of the legend asserts that the three jüzes were the territorial inheritances of the three sons of the mythical founder father. In Kazakh language, "jüz" means "hundred" or "face"; in Arabic, "jüz" refers to "section", "division".Historically, the Great jüz or Senior Century nomads inhabited the northern lands of the former Chagatai Ulus
Chagatai Khanate
The Chagatai Khanate was a Turko-Mongol khanate that comprised the lands ruled by Chagatai Khan , second son of the Great Khan Genghis Khan, and his descendents and successors...
of the Mongol Empire
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...
, in the Ili River
Ili River
thumb|right|300px|Map of the Lake Balkhash drainage basin showing the Ili River and its tributariesThe Ili River is a river in northwestern China and southeastern Kazakhstan .It is long, of which is in Kazakhstan...
and Chu River
Chu River
"Chui River" redirects here. For the South American Chuí or Chuy River, on the Brazil-Uruguay border and Brazil's southernmost point, see Chuí River. For the Nam Sam River or Chu River, on the Lao-Vietnam border, see Nam Sam River....
basins, in today's South-Eastern Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
and China's Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture
Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture
Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture , in northernmost Xinjiang, is the only Kazakh autonomous prefecture of the People's Republic of China.-Geography and coordinates:The following figures excludes both Tacheng Prefecture and Altay Prefecture....
(northern Xinjiang
Xinjiang
Xinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2...
). It was also called Uysun jüz. The Great jüz representatives were known for their skills in governing and uniting all other nomadic tribes into one country. Kazakhstan's ruling elite, including current president Nursultan Nazarbayev
Nursultan Nazarbayev
Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev has served as the President of Kazakhstan since the nation received its independence in 1991, after the fall of the Soviet Union...
, former First Secretary of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan
Communist Party of Kazakhstan
The Communist Party of Kazakhstan is a political party in Kazakhstan. -Origin:The Communist Party of Kazakhstan was founded 1936 when Kazakhstan was granted a Union Republic status within the Soviet Union...
Dinmukhamed Konayev, as well as famous poet Jambyl Jabayev are representatives of the Great juz.
The Middle jüz
Middle Juz
Middle jüz is one of three main traditional divisions of the Kazakh nation. The other two are Great jüz and Little jüz.Middle jüz consists of six tribes. The tribes, in turn, are subdivided into clans, creating a hierarchical pyramid of affiliations. Some historians claim that Middle Juz have...
or Middle Century nomads nomadized in the eastern lands of the former Jochi's Ulus
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...
, in Central, Northern and Eastern Kazakhstan. It was also known as Argyn jüz. Kazakhstan's famous poets and intellectuals, including Abay Qunanbayuli, Akhmet Baytursinuli, Shokan Walikhanuli and Alikhan Bokeikhanov
Alikhan Bokeikhanov
Alikhan Nurmukhameduli Bokeikhanov was a Kazakh writer, political activist and environmental scientist. He is famous for advocating the idea that Kazakhs should learn Russian culture and simultaneously preserve Kazakh customs and law.Bokeikhanov's early education took place in a Russian-Kazakh...
were born in the Middle jüz territories.
The Junior jüz or Junior Century nomads occupied the lands of the former Nogai Khanate in Western Kazakhstan. It was also called Alshyn jüz. They were known for their fierce warriors.
Each jüz contains a number of clans, which share a presumed genealogy of forefathers going back to the presumed ancestor. Each clan is divided into smaller groups down to the smallest lineage. As Kazakhs practice exogamy, each individual is expected to know his ancestors up to the seventh forefather ("Byr Ata"). Marriage within Byr Ata was considered to be incest taboo.
Great jüz
There have been several attempts to determine the exact names and nature of top level clans throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. However, different studies created vastly different names and population numbers for the steppe clans. Although disputed, generally accepted names of the first order Great jüz or UisunWusun
The Wūsūn were a nomadic steppe people who, according to the Chinese histories, originally lived in western Gansu in northwest China west of the Yuezhi people...
clans are:
- Jalair 100-110,000
- Alban 100,000
- Dulat 250,000
- Sary-Uisyn 10,000
- Sergeli 40,000
- Shaprashty 50-60,000
- Suan 30,000
- Oshaqty 20,000
- Ysty 40-45,000
- Qangly and Shanyshqyly 50,000
Middle jüz
- ArgynArgynsArgyn tribe is one of the main constituents of the Kazakh people, of possibly Mongol descent , and a main component in the Middle jüz sub-confederation in Kazakhstan, which historically consisted of three tribal conglomerations of Great jüz, Middle jüz, and Little jüz.Present Argyns in the Kazakh...
500,000 - Kerei 100-110,000
- NaimanNaimansThe Naimans, also Naiman Turks or Naiman Mongols, was a Mongolian name given to a group of people dwelling on the steppe of Central Asia, having diplomatic relations with the Kara-Khitan, and subservient to them until 1177...
600,000 - Qonyrat 40-45,000 in Kazakhstan, and more than 100,000 in Central Asia
- Qypchak 140-150,000
- Taraqty 10,000
- Waq 55-60,000
Little jüz
The Little jüz consisted of three groups:- Baiuly: 540-550,000
- Adai 80-90,000
- AlashaAlasha (tribe)Alasha is one of the most powerful and oldest of the Kazakh tribes. Alasha is a member of the Bai-Uly tribe confederation, which is a part of Kishi Zhuz . Bai-Uly includes 12 tribes – Alasha, Bersh, Adai, Taz, Alt’n, Baibakty, Zhappas, Kzylkurt, Esentemir, Maskar, Sherkesh, Tana. The battle cry of...
40,000 - AltynAltyn (disambiguation)Altyn may refer to:*Altyn, a historical currency of Russia*altın, the word for "gold" in several Turkic languages**Altyn Kyran , an order of the Republic of Kazakhstan...
30,000 - Baibaqty 40,000
- Berish 40,000
- Esentemir 20,000
- Masqar 20,000
- Qyzylqurt 40,000
- Sherkesh 45,000
- Shyqlar 70,000
- Tana 25,000
- TazTaz peopleThe Taz primarily live in Russia. They formed in 1880s, from intermarriages between Udege, Nanai and Chinese. The Taz speak Russian and the Taz language...
20,000 - Ysyq 20,000
- Zhappas 50,000
- Alimuly: 270-315,000+
- Kete 50-60,000
- Qarasaqal 10-15,000
- Shekty 60-80,000
- Shomekey over 100,000
- Totqara 50-60,000
- Jetyru: 265-275,000
- Kerderi 20,000
- Kereit 30-35,000
- RamadanRamadan (disambiguation)Ramadan can refer to:* Ramadan, the Muslim religious observance* Ramadan * a minor Kazakh Jüz "horde", numbering ca. 5,000...
5,000 - Tabyn 80,000
- TamaTama peopleTama is an ethnic group in Chad and Sudan. They speak Tama language, a Nilo-Saharan language. They likely number more than 50,000.Most Tama people in Sudan are settled in Kabkabyia, in Northern Darfur....
40-45,000 - Toleu 20,000
- Jagabaily 70,000
See also
- Қазақтар (этногенез) (Kazakhs (ethnogenesis)) in Kazakh Wikipedia.
- List of medieval Mongolian tribes and clans
- Orda (structure)