HOW NOMADS CELEBRATED NAURYZ:

Encircling these two figures are four bulls, which symbolize the turning of the seasons. Below them, twelve figures move in a circular dsance, representing the müshel, the traditional twelve-year calendar cycle that has long shaped the lives of steppe nomads. Through this carefully structured composition, the scene depicts the spring equinox—the moment of renewal, when the year is reborn and cosmic harmony is restored.

Archaeologists date the main layer of the Tamgaly complex to the Bronze Age, specifically the second millennium BCE. This suggests that Nauryz, in one form or another, has been observed for at least 3,000 to 4,000 years.

To better understand how Nauryz was celebrated in the past, we turn to the works of the Roman historian Quintus Curtius Rufus, who lived in the first century BCE. In describing Alexander the Great's military campaigns, he recounts, with evident admiration, how the ancient Persians welcomed the beginning of the yeariКвинт Курций Руф. Поход Александра. VII-VIII тараулар. Хрестоматия по истории древней Греции. Москва.1951:

While describing events from roughly the same period, ethnographer Jağdа Babalyqūly noted that Nauryz was already being celebrated at the state level:

Another early researcher of the NauryznamaiThis was the ten-day traditional celebration of Nauryz in Kazakh culture. tradition, Toqtasyn Ömirzakov, noted that although there is a widespread belief that Nauryz is a Persian holiday brought by the Zoroastrian tradition, the underlying meaning of Nauryz is nonetheless inseparable from the world of the nomads.

It was within the steppe culture that Nauryz gradually became imbued with a whole system of symbols, rituals, and social practices. The holiday evolved into more than just a calendar date; it became a complex ceremony of renewal in which every action carried its own meaning. On this day, the Turks wore new clothes as a symbol of ritual renewal along with the world. For the next six days, warriors practiced archery. In Tengrian mythology, the bow symbolized space, while the arrow represented time. On the seventh day came the main contest, the jamby atu, or shooting at a target. The first person to hit the target earned the right to rule the people, symbolically for the most part, for one day.

Taste (Nauryz köje): The defining flavor of the holiday was Nauryz köje, a traditional Kazakh festive soup. Its seven ingredients—water, meat, salt, dairy, fat, cereals, and grains—are deeply symbolic, forming a mythological model that unites the concept of the jeti qazyna (the seven material and spiritual treasures considered essential for a prosperous life in Kazakh culture and nomadic tradition) and the seven levels of the universe in a single bowl. Nauryz köje illustrates how the vast diversity of existence can come together in harmony. Of particular significance is the combination of dried sür et (meat) and uyz (colostrum). In this culinary metaphor, sür et represents the past—a preserved resource—while uyz embodies the energy of the present, the very genesis of life.

Sound (ün): In the Turkic worldview, sound was not merely an accompaniment to celebration but a means of tuning the cosmic order itself. The noisy auliThe word aul means ‘village’ in Kazakh, and typically encompasses 100–200 yurts. ritual of awakening the dawn—described by the ethnographer Akseleu Seidimbek as a living custom preserved until the 1950s—involved driving an untamed calf through the village with loud shouts. An effigy was strapped to its back and a leaky bucket tied to its tail, creating noise and commotion. This was not folk entertainment, but a moment of ritual proclamation: Nauryz had arrived.

Appearance (öñ) or visual aesthetics: In the nomadic system of meaning, every color carried its own significance. For example, white was associated with the fading chill of winter, while the seven-color rainbow served as a manifesto of renewal, newness, and vigorous growth. Bright, multicolored tekemets (felt rugs), syrmaqs (ornamented quilted felt carpets), patchwork quilts known as quraq körpe, and vivid festive clothing were all ritual ways of visualizing the transformation of nature. Remarkably, in the nineteenth century, Kazakhs in the southern regions of the country also had a custom of dyeing chicken eggs during spring festivities. Although this rite was later lost, its traces can still be clearly discerned in the most ancient cultural layers, reminding us of the shared roots of the broader Altaic world.

Aroma (iıs): Scent always held special significance in the Turkic worldview, and it was believed that the right aromas could purify a space, drive away dark forces, and welcome in the new. From this came the practice of ritual fumigation with using archa (juniper) and the regular use of incense. Along with these, the custom known as iis shygaru (meaning ‘releasing fragrance’) was also popular. This involved the spreading of the fragrance of hot oil while frying shelpeks (traditional flatbreads). The smoke of the archa was thought to cleanse a space, while the aroma of fresh shelpeks symbolized abundance and blessing.

Games carried a special symbolism in the celebration of Nauryz.

KökpariKökpar is a traditional mounted contest in which riders compete over a goat carcass, for instance, was not merely an equestrian game. Encoded within it was the symbolic struggle of the twelve months for possession of the sun and the conflict between the moon and the sun. The sacrifice of the ‘moon-horned’ goat served as a metaphor for the triumph of day over night—a victory of light over darkness, reenacted again and again at full gallop.

The altybákanaiThe altybákana, meaning ‘six-pillared’ in Kazakh, is a traditional swing structure and is usually associated with festive gatherings. symbolized the six days of the creation of the universe. The seventh crossbeam represented the sun, whose rays unite all things. The games began at sunset and continued until dawn. Their purpose was to keep Inir, a mythical patron of chaos and darkness, from gaining power. The steady swinging of a girl and a young horseman on the altybaqan was not only an expression of romance but also a symbol of harmony and balance.

Jamby atuiThe jamby atu is a traditional mounted archery contest in which a target is shot with an arrow., originally a ritual in which participants had to shoot a baqyr (a copper vessel shaped like the moon), symbolized the defeat of the moon as a symbol of night. Through the symbolic striking down of the moon, the main Nauryz festivities were inaugurated.

Even aitysiAn aitys is a traditional poetic improvisation contest. traces its origins to Nauryz. Its roots lie in the opposition between followers of the cults of the sun and the moon. Wise men transformed this confrontation into a peaceful duel of arts, and this gave rise to the genre of poetic contests between symbolic figures such as the Living and the Dead and Summer and Winter.

Today, Nauryz is officially celebrated on either 21 or 22 March. However, historical sources persistently point to a different date. In his memoirs, Akhat, the son of Shakarim QūdaiberdiūlyiShakarim Qūdaiberdiūly was a prominent Kazakh poet, philosopher, historian, and translator, known as the nephew and spiritual disciple of the great Abai Qunanbaiuly. recalls.

The poet Mäshhür Jüsip Köpeily also described eight-day celebrations that traditionally began on 14 March:

The well-known ethnographer Abubakir Divaev wrote in his works:

In fact, however, the bird believed to herald the arrival of spring was the nauryzek—the yellow wagtail. According to legend, this small bird, with gray-black plumage and a bright yellow breast, arrives precisely on the day of the spring equinox, announcing the beginning of a new cycle of life.

For a long time, Kazakhs used the word ‘Nauryz’ only to refer to the holiday itself. The month of March, meanwhile, was simply called Amal, and people would say, ‘Amal has come—the year has come.’ Thus, neither Amal nor Körisu are names of the holiday. The first marks the time of its arrival, while the second refers to the ritual of mutual greetings on the first day of the year, a beautiful, ancient custom of embracing and wishing each other prosperity.

The traveler Marco Polo, who visited the court of the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, Kublai Khan, in the thirteenth century, described the celebration of the white month—that is, the New Year—as follows:

When the names of the months were translated into Kazakh in 1989, the commonly used folk name for March, Amal, was replaced with Nauryz. This was mainly done to avoid confusion because besides being the name of the month, there are at least seven different kinds of amalsiAmals are the traditional seasonal markers linked to weather changes and lunar phases.. As a result, the name ‘Nauryz’ was officially assigned to the month, linking it directly to the holiday itself. Previously, Kazakhs used the term only for the celebration, not the month.

Thus, Kazakhs on the far side of the Caspian Sea called the month Kamal (from the Arab-Persian Khamal), on this side it was called Amal, and the people of the Ural region came to call it Körisu-ait. All of these names are phenomena of the twentieth century. Originally, however, the holiday was called Nauryz, and its most revered name was Ulys Kuni (meaning ‘day of the Ulys’ in Kazakh). Since 14 March marked the beginning of the year according to the mushel, Kazakhs celebrated it as the Day of the Ulys. The word ulys comes from the phrase ‘uly is’ (meaning ‘great deed’ or ‘grand act’). The event was regarded as a ‘great deed’, ordained from above but shaped by human will.