Zira Nauryzbai, a well-known cultural historian and researcher of Kazakh mythology, notes that when an ethnic group adopts a new religion, ancient deities become lower-status characters within demonology, turning into "shaitans, peris, and jinns."
She discussed this during her lecture, "Female Images in Kazakh Mythology." The event was organized by the multi-platform scientific and educational project Qalam Global in the city of Karaganda.
Zira Nauryzbai explains that ancient myths, which once held significant places in societal consciousness, underwent a long evolution.
Following the introduction of Islam, these myths underwent a process of simplification and transformation, evolving into folklore narratives.
She provided an example of the mythical character "albasty," which has parallels among all Eurasian peoples: "The scholar Serikbol Kondybay proved that albasty is a very ancient figure that was originally a female deity." However, with the advent of Islam, the perception of "albasty" changed.
During the lecture, she also gave an example of how, with the spread of a new religion, one mythological figure replaces another. "Fatima is the name of the Prophet Muhammad's daughter. At the same time, for Turkic Muslim peoples, she often replaced Umai, the female deity who was the protector of children and women in labor. Ethnographers note that in some places, during childbirth, people might say, 'These are not my hands, but the hands of Mother Umai,' while in others, they might say, 'These are not my hands, but the hands of Mother Bibatima,' where 'Bibatima' is a modified form of 'Bibi Fatima,'" said the Qalam Global lecturer.
Zira Nauryzbay Lecture/Evgeny Tkachenko
Zira Nauryzbai notes that the value of myths lies not only in their descriptions of ancient people's worldview. "Often, the words 'mythology' and 'myth' are perceived as fiction.
Essentially, a myth is an imaginative, symbolic capsule. Within this capsule, our ancestors encapsulated their conception of the world's origins. It served as their means of articulating their emotional and spiritual frameworks. Yes, a myth might be mistaken, for example, about how the world was created, but it accurately conveys the nature of the human soul. It's no coincidence that books on mythology become essential textbooks for screenwriters and psychologists," she stated.
During the lecture, the Qalam Global author discussed in detail the female figures in Kazakh mythology, such as Umai Ana, Mystan Kempir, Zheztyrnak, Zhalmauyz Kempir, Ot Ana, the Celestial Old Woman Koklen, Albasty, Peri, and many others. A separate section of the lecture was dedicated to female characters from Kazakh epics.
Background Information:
Zira Nauryzbai is a renowned cultural historian, researcher of Kazakh mythology, writer, and screenwriter. She holds a PhD in Philosophy and is the author of several books ( available in Kazakh and Russian languages), including "The Eternal Sky of the Kazakhs," "Four Clouds," "On Serikbol Kondybay’s Female Images in the Mythology of Pre-Kazakhs," "Subject(ive) Kazakh Culture" (co-authored with Talasbek Asemkulov), a series of children's books based on Kazakh mythology "The Adventures of Batu and His Friends" (co-authored with Liliya Klaus), and the novel "The Rival."
Qalam Global is a multimedia project dedicated to the history and culture of the world as seen from Kazakhstan and Central Asia. The project involves an international team of researchers from various countries, including Kazakhstan, the USA, Canada, the UK, and Russia. Qalam is available in three languages: Kazakh, Russian, and English.
