Kazakh funeral ceremonies as a transition to the other world

The idea of the relationship between the living and the dead is conveyed in the funeral and memorial rites and represents an essential conception in the Kazakh traditional ideology. The present paper presents the materials of the International Kazakh Archaeological and Ethnographic Expeditions of the IAET SB RAS 2006-201, and the ethnographic expeditions of 2022-2023 of the Margulan Center of the Pavlodar Pedagogical University conducted in the steppe and forest-steppe zone of the Omsk and Novosibirsk regions of the Russian Federation, Pavlodar and North Kazakhstan regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The Kazakh funeral repast rituals are considered as an assistance of the living in the transition of the deceased to the afterworld. The author used A. van Gennep’s theory on the rites of passage, methods offield ethnography and participant observation. According to A. van Gennep’s classification, funeral rites belong to the postliminary stage, the main function of which is to ensure the transition from the world of the living to the world of the dead. Funerals belong to the rites of incorporation of the deceased in the afterlife. The living relatives try diligently to fulfill all the requirements to help the dead avoid any unpleasant consequences for both parties. When all the stages up to and including the annual commemoration are successfully completed, the status of the deadfinally change into the status of ancestors - aruaqs. From this moment on, the interaction of the realm of the living and that of the dead reaches the level of mutual exchange. The living revere the ancestors offering up prayers and arranging periodic commemorations and tributes, while the aruaqs, being addressed, provide assistance in various life situations. Thus, the interaction of two quite different realms is carried out on an ongoing basis.