Minorities by Descending Populations

18. Chinese Nationalities (Kazakh Minority) (Kazak) - Page 2

(Left) The furrowed face of a Kazakh farmer bespeaks Turk and Mongol heritage. Shouldering a scythe to cut hay near Urumqi (Beautiful Pasture), he has the security of a commune while preserving old ways. Before snows come, Kazakhs dismantle their domed, tent like homes and move down the mountain. The Kazakh, renowned for their horsemanship, have reduced their pastoral wanderings as herders of sheep and goats and live in communes during the winter. They keep Bactrian camels. The Kazakh are found in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region and Qinghai and Gansu Provinces. The Kazakh language has two scripts, one based on Arabic, the other on Latin. The Kazakh people are mainly Moslems, but shamanism still survives. They are part of the Altaic Turkic ethno linguistic group.