What is zheti ata and why know seven ancestors
Almost every Kazakh and Kyrgyz has heard the elders say “Zheti atandy bil”: know your seven ancestors. We look at what stands behind this tradition.
In short: zheti ata means “seven ancestors”
In Kazakh, zheti ata (also spelled zhety ata or jeti ata) means “seven fathers” or “seven ancestors”. It is the tradition of knowing your ancestors in the paternal line to the seventh generation. Kyrgyz use the same concept, “jeti ata”, and call the genealogy a sanjyra.
Why know seven ancestors
The tradition answered quite practical questions. First, it defined kinship: marriages between descendants of one ancestor within seven generations were not made. Second, the genealogy showed which clan and ru (clan) a person belongs to, and therefore who he is connected with and who will support him in hard times.
Today zheti ata is most often remembered at family celebrations, before a wedding and when the elders want to pass on to their grandchildren what they know themselves.
What is a shezhire
The word “shezhire” comes from the Arabic “shajara”, that is, “tree”. It is a genealogy that was passed on by word of mouth for centuries: from father to son, from the elders to the young. Later shezhires began to be written down, and many clans have their own handwritten and printed shezhires.
Zheti ata among Kazakhs and Kyrgyz
The meaning of the two traditions is shared: to know your ancestors in the paternal line and to remember which clan you come from. The names and the structure of the clans differ. Among Kazakhs, clans are united in three zhuz (tribal unions): the Great (Ulu) Zhuz, the Middle (Orta) Zhuz and the Junior (Kishi) Zhuz, and groups such as the töre and the khoja stand outside the zhuz. Among Kyrgyz, clans are traditionally divided into the ong kanat (right wing), the sol kanat (left wing) and the ichkilik.
You can read more about how to find your clan in the article “How to find your clan, ru and zhuz”.
How seven generations are counted
You count upwards from yourself: father, grandfather, great-grandfather and on to the seventh ancestor. Different families and regions have their own names for each generation, and they may differ. In our builder the tree is built the same way: you are at the bottom, and seven ancestors are above you.
Why the tradition is worth writing down
A spoken genealogy rests on the people who remember it. If you write the shezhire down now, while the elders are alive, your children will receive it not as a retelling of a retelling but with their grandfather’s own words.