THE FACE OF THE SUN IN THE MIST

This idea has also influenced the Japanese coat of arms. The Imperial Seal of Japan (菊の御紋—kiku-no gomon) is a stylized yellow or orange sixteen-petal chrysanthemum that also serves as the national emblem. The golden chrysanthemum has long been associated with the ruling dynasty. For the Japanese, the national flower is the embodiment of statehood and an ancient symbol of happiness and prosperity.

In the Japanese mind, the chrysanthemum and the sun are inseparable. In fact, the words for both sound the same—kiku—and are represented by the same character. Thus, Japan’s national flower is named after the star from which, according to legend, the Japanese people trace their history.

The Soviet Union’s coat of arms was created according to new rules—it was a bold statement of its new political and social ideologies. In particular, the slogan ‘Workers of the world, unite!’, a quote from Karl Marx, was introduced, accompanied by the sickle and hammer, the symbols of workers and peasants. These were set against a world map to represent the reach of the new system. In addition, a bright red ribbon wrapped around ears of wheat fifteen times symbolized the number of Soviet republics. This was finally illuminated by the rays of the rising sun with a five-pointed star at the top.

The result was not a laconic symbol of the state, but a stylized illustration that informed the world about the new state. The coat of arms of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic (Kazakh SSR) was also created according to that model, though without a map of the world. It contained the same slogan on the ribbons and the abbreviated name of the republic in both Kazakh and Russian.

If we compare the coats of arms of the Kazakh SSR and the Republic of Kazakhstan today, we see not only a similarity in composition but also a shared approach of using illustrative details to tell a ‘story’. The ‘KSSR’ on the coat of arms was replaced by ҚАЗАҚСТАН (in Cyrillic letters) and by QAZAQSTAN (in Latin letters) in 2018. Ideally, a symbol should be nameless—an imperfectly designed inscription is not a symbol.

The comparison reveals the repetition of compositional elements. Both have a central symbol surrounded by rays: the sun with rays in the Soviet one, and the şañyraq with rays (the central, domed part of a yurt) in the Kazakh one. Interestingly, the rays on the şañyraq look like the pillars or uyqs that support a yurt. Both emblems have symbols on the sides: ears of wheat for the Soviet coat of arms, and the wings of Tulpar, the mythical horse, for the Kazakh one. Even though they look different, Tulpar's wings resemble intertwined ears of wheat. Below each coat of arms are inscriptions with the names of the republics, and both feature a star at the top.

The technique used to make the Republic of Kazakhstan’s (RK) coat of arms was not new: the sketch was made of foam plastic, a material commonly used in outdoor advertising and artistic design during the Soviet period, This made it look bulky, voluminous, and monumental.

As a result, the Kazakh coat of arms retains a ‘story’ of recognizable nomadic elements. The goal is to emphasize the historical connection with ancient nomadic civilizations in the territory of today’s Kazakhstan. For example, the image of Tulpar is taken from the story of the Golden Man, who lived long before our time, and the şañyraq has been the symbol of the Kazakhs since time immemorial. The wings of mythical horses symbolized a prosperous future, their horns protected the şañyraq, and the five-pointed star embodied the quest for the sublime and eternal.

The concept of ‘excessively literary art’ seems somewhat like a kind of weak painting. It occurs when the artist is unable to create a generalized, impactful image and replaces it with elaborate, often contrived symbolism to fill the gap. As a result, the artwork may lack esthetic depth and artistic quality, leaning more on its narrative than on visual or emotional impact.

For example, let us consider the horns from the coat of arms. Seven rings on each of the horns represent the tradition of jeti ata, according to which a Kazakh should know seven generations of his ancestors. Jeti ata was never associated with animal horns, but a new symbol was invented for this tradition.

The result is a jumble of heterogeneous elements, which are not even brought to the level of symbolism. In fact, President Kasym-Jomart Tokayev rightly noted that the Kazakh state coat of arms is too difficult to perceive, eclectic, and contains remnants of the Soviet era.

In this scenario, a few questions naturally arise. What should the coat of arms of Kazakhstan be and what should its symbolic basis be?

The steppe has a rich array of signs including the tamga system, ancient Turkic runes, petroglyphs, et cetera. This system of symbols could be the basis to create a new coat of arms. Despite having such a rich cultural heritage, we have not yet fully showcased or used it in state symbols or other applications.

Besides, the coat of arms already existed in our history in the form of the taraq tamga. Incidentally, the ancient Turkic script also has a stylized letter in the form of a trident. While these can be used as a starting point, what is required now is a creative update to give them a fresh new look.

Images of a sun-headed man have been found in various petroglyphs, and they are mistakenly thought to be images of gods. At the time these carvings were made, there was no religion and no deity. They were images of the abyz (sages, teachers), and the abyz took the sun, a symbol of the creator, as a model of life.

The image of the sun-headed man is a ready-made image, a symbol of the ancient steppe. This symbol, along with many others, is part of the steppe iconography, particularly within the tamga-related symbols of the ancient sign system.

The tamga is often called the ‘steppe coat of arms’, although this definition is far from perfect. It is different from a coat of arms in the European or even Japanese sense. While the tamga does serve as a tribal or clan emblem, it is more like a stamp, brand, seal, or signature on a modern document. Thus, the tamga is highly multifunctional and carries a range of uses.

Let us take, for example, a köseu (poker) tamga, the meaning of which may not be clear to a modern person. However, in a historical context, it most likely indicated the honorable profession of a blacksmith, the ‘master of fire’, the master of ancient metallurgy who crafts the engine of progress. The balğa (hammer) tamga is also a symbol of the blacksmith’s craft.

Tamgas were used as a seal or clan family mark placed on clan property, including livestock; it was burned on the skin or horns of domestic animals. They were also used to determine what kind of family a person came from. Tamgas were also applied to various materials—stone, metal, leather, wood, et cetera—and great attention was paid to simplicity to make it easier to apply the sign. As for when the tamga originated, it is believed that its spread in Eurasia began in the Bronze Age.

Here is what the Great Russian Encyclopedia (2004–17) says about it: ‘Tamga (Turkic: “brand”, “seal”) is a sign of family and clan identity, personal property, affiliation, ownership, emblem or coat of arms of political and other associations. Tamgas may have geometric shapes, represent schematic images of animals or objects, alphabetical characters, etc. They marked the boundaries of arable land, pastures, the most valuable personal belongings, pets, coins, documents of rulers, and so on. In some cases, they were inscribed on a stone or other large object to indicate the signing of a contract or swearing of an oath. They could have magical protective and other sacral functions. Widespread in Eurasia since the Bronze Age.’

This encyclopedia notes a characteristic feature of the tamga—its multifunctionality. In the Great Steppe, for example, the tamga was both a sacred symbol of a clan or tribe and a sign used in political and trade relations. Ancestral signs were placed on battle banners, carved on seals and stones at the borders of tribal settlements. They were often used to decorate historical monuments, spaces such as caravanserais and mausoleums, and they were also found in cemeteries, on freestanding rocks, et cetera. For example, in the western regions of Kazakhstan, clan tamgas can be found on qūlpytas (tombstones or gravestones) of the nineteenth century.

Scholars have counted eighty-four tamgas associated with Kazakh clans from forty-three tribes. For example, the symbol of the Golden Horde is the bosağa (threshold, side post of the door frame) tamga of Batu’s house combined with a crescent moon.

Tamgas, however, still need to be studied in detail for their historical, symbolic, esthetic, and semantic significance. Despite how many there are, tamgas are succinct and they do not recur—it is not without reason that the theory that the ancient Turkic script originated from such signs exists. Tamgas are rich in both esthetics and information, and they embody the principle of less is more.

It is important to note that the Kazakh khanate was a tribal state, like other political associations in the steppe before it. This peculiarity is also reflected in its use of a possible common state emblem in the modern sense. After all, the nomads associated themselves with their clans and tribes, which had their own tamgas, which acted as the coat of arms of each of the tribes.

The functions of a possible common coat of arms of the Kazakh khanate were most likely fulfilled by symbols like the Chingisid töre tañba, taraq tañba (taraq means ‘crest’ in Kazakh), the trident, and the personal tañba of the Kazakh khans (or the Kazakh Töre, who were the descendants of Chinggis Khan).

The famous writer Mukhtar Magauin shed some light on this as well, writing: ‘The national cry of the united Kazakh people was “Alash!”’ The state emblem is the Töre tañba (which means ‘the main tañba’ of the Chinggisid), a symbol whose origin dates back to the time of the ancient Turks, fixed in the era of the Golden Horde, and which represents the unity of three branches from a common root. The main banner was a red flag with a Töre tamga. One of the clans—Tolengit or Tulengut, which was in the service of the khans and sultans—also had a tarak tañba.

Most likely, the taraq (crest or trident) tañba was a symbol of the privileged position of a clan, indicative of a political association of great importance, of a ‘royal clan’ from time immemorial. Several famous and ancient clans had this tañba, including the Argyn, Tabyn, and Jalaiyr clans, which in ancient times had formed their own states.

The Taraqty are a clan within the Kazakhs and have the status of noqta ağa,1¹ Nok̦ta is a halter animal, and aġa means brother. In nomadic times, this was usually the name of the village leader who led the march, holding the camel by the reins. making it the most important in the hierarchy of the Middle Jüz. In the absence of the töre, the entourage must be subordinate to the elder of the Tarakqty clan. In the Junior Jüz, the Tabyn tribe enjoys a similar status, and in the Senior Jüz, it is the Jalaiyr.

It is not without reason that the tarak tañba consists of a trunk with three prongs. In the three jüzes, there were three clans with this tañba, and the trunk was the Töre clan. Perhaps the Töre tañba, the khan tañba of the Kazakh Töre, differed in details and design from the tarak tamga of other clans as a symbol of power.

In addition, this sign was widespread in the ancient world and was found in different nations. For example, in ancient Greece, the trident is found as a kind of state emblem among the Mantineians, and there are many other examples of this.

The trident was the symbol of some Slavic princes of the time of Kievan Rus as well. It is depicted on the coat of arms of Ukraine and traces its origin to the personal sign of Prince Vladimir the Great (Vladimir I Sviatoslavich), minted on his coin, and is undoubtedly very ancient. The Giray tamga (Crimean Tatar: taraq tamğa) was the ancestral sign of the Giray dynasty, which ruled the Crimean khanate, and is now used by the Crimean Tatars as a national symbol.

Today we can see this tamga on the national flag of the Nogai people. It shows a white circle with a red tamga inside.