Zhambyl Artykbaev: Zheti ata — the great patronymic systemof the kazakhs

Abstract

This in-depth academic interview was conducted within the framework of the project "The Zheti Ata System as a Socio-Kinship Institution in Kazakh Society", which is part of the dissertation research "The 'Zheti Ata' in Kazakh Culture: An Anthropological Analysis".

The interview explores the ethnographic, social, cultural, and biological aspects of the concept of Zheti Ata and examines it as the core of the patronymic system in nomadic Kazakh society. Although presented in a dialogical style, the interview follows a scholarly structure and content typical of academic texts.

The discussion investigates the historical foundations and development of the Zheti Ata kinship principle in Kazakh tradition, the key factors that shaped it, and its role in the social environment based on a nomadic lifestyle. The interview also analyzes the socio-cultural and functional structures of the Zheti Ata principle.