THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE SHARPENING STONE AS AN ATTRIBUTE OF THE KAZAKH NOMADIC WARRIOR

Abstract

Abstract. This article is devoted to the study of the waist sharpening stone, or "zhankayraq", from the collection of the National Central Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Among nomadic peoples, the tradition of wearing a waist sharpening stone dates back to the saka-scythian period. For a nomadic warrior, the sharpening stone was one of his martial attributes and was therefore included among the burial items accompanying a person after death. Sharpening stones in the form of blocks of various shapes are frequently found during excavations of nomadic burials from different periods. In the traditional culture of nomadic peoples, sharpening stones were used not only to sharpen and maintain the edges and points of weapons, but also served several other important functions. They acted as "touchstones" for testing and verifying the purity of precious metals. Sharpening stones also had ritual significance, serving as protective magical objects and symbolizing high social status.

All these functions of the sharpening stone were preserved in a relict form among the Kazakhs up to the ethnographic present. In Kazakh life, the sharpening stone, or "qayraq", was used not only as a utilitarian object, but also as a symbolic and ritual item. This article aims to examine the specific characteristics of the use of the Kazakh waist sharpening stone.

The subject of the study is the history, functions and usage traditions of this male martial attribute. The sources include archaeological artefacts, visual materials (stone sculptures of medieval nomads, including Turks, Kimaks and Kipchaks), museum exhibits and scholarly publications based on materials from various archaeological complexes.