Orteke
Kazakh musical performance
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Orteke (Kazakh: ортеке) is a form of traditional performance in Kazakhstan that incorporates puppetry, music, and dance.[1][2]
Possibly dating back thousands of years, the technique originated in southwestern Kazakhstan and spread among other Central Asian nomadic communities in places like Uzbekistan.[2][3][4] The name "orteke" combines or (ditch, hole, trap) and teke (goat).[2][3]
Some ethnographers argue the Orteke began as a shamanic tool to distract spirits or to act as a "spirit vessel" during healing rituals.[5]
In orteke, a musician playing a two-stringed dombra has a wooden puppet attached to their fingers by sticks and strings.[1][2][3] The puppet, usually shaped like a horned mountain goat, is attached to the top of a drum, often a dauylpaz.[1][2][3] As the musician plays, the puppet moves to the rhythm, creating a drumbeat.[1][2][3] Experienced orteke performers can incorporate several puppets at once using both hands and feet.[1][2][3] They can also incorporate wind instruments, such as a sazsyrnay or shankobyz.[3]
Orteke players traditionally learn their craft through apprenticeships, although local academics have begun to study it as well.[1] After a period of obscurity and near-extinction, efforts to promote Kazakh national identity have revived interest in the art form.[2][6]
In 2022, orteke was added to UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.[1][7]