Turkic People s Custom of Genealogical Method of Storytelling or National Memory

Kazakh traditions and customs, national (history) memory have been developed within common Turkic culture and nomadic civilization. Genealogy stories, fairy tales, legends and epics, historical novels, myths, public speaking, conciliatory speeches - all of these are national genealogical heritage. The aim of the article is to present Turkic genealogy tradition and cover the issue of its conservation. Another aspect of the article is to clear up meaning of the genealogical legend, function of genealogy tradition, its structure and specifics. Genealogical storytelling as the Turkic people heritage is a new target of scientific studies and will be researched using comparative-historical method by comparing interrelations and similiraties. National memory (history) is a main category of genealogical storytelling. In Kazakh society the person who commits the whole genealogical lineage to memory is called "Shezhireshy" (chronicle). The famous chronicles used to turn the genealogy into a specific form (in the form of prose, poetry, or a table) and have spread it from mouth to mouth. The chronicles are divided into three groups: the senior chronicles specializing on ancient genealogy, the ones who possess common knowledge and the ones who collect and compile the genealogy. A chronicler can be considered as a successor of tradition. He/she is not only the compiler and narrator of the genealogy, but also an expert in the history and social background of the people. They (the chroniclers), by virtue of their special memory, can remember hundreds of names and in every single case convey the true meaning of the story, delivered by the elders. That is why we refer to the tradition of genealogy storytelling as "oral". Oral genealogy is still prevalent in Kazakh society and can be considered as a unique tradition of common Turkic culture. Custom of genealogical storytelling is a phenomenon of Turkic nationalities culture - oral tradition. Due to the fact that genealogy tellers, old men handed down legends, the stories survived in the national memory to this day. Genealogy legends provide facts regarding family genealogy and some important evidences. Very often nobody except genealogy tellers can hand down the genealogy to a new generation, to disclose facts about historical figures of the tribe (warriors (batyr), poets, consiliators (bi), public speakers, etc.). By using genealogical method of storytelling, information about historical figures is passing over from the older generation to the next one through myths, legends and stories. Genealogical storytelling has been continuously developed and has taken an epic shape with the time. In time of globalization the issue whether new generation is aware of his/her own genealogy is becoming important, the more they know about their genealogy, the more and deeper they will understand and learn the national origin and history. Especially the national taboo not to marry among the relatives within seven generations is currently central. Genealogy storytelling plays a great role in upbringing of human consciousness and spirit. The genealogists used a variety of methods to cultivate ethical code among the younger generation. In particular, they used to give examples from religious and historical sources. There were elder chroniclers of ancient genealogy in each region and each place. But many of the genealogies narrated by them are unfortunately lost. There are common principles for all chroniclers in genealogy storytelling: internal ethic integrity, coherence and national unity.Materials taken for research from the Kazakh genealogical folklore are considered of high scientific value and being researched for the first time.