The correlation between felt and patterns in Central Eurasian Kazakh society

Abstract

This paper examines the dynamics of Kazakh patterns as an example of exploring the agency of objects from a cultural anthropological perspective. It particularly focuses on the relationship between felt—essential to Kazakh pastoral life—and patterns. This paper demonstrates that in the formation and transformation of “Kazakh” patterns, human thought did not necessarily hold the primary agency. Instead, diverse elements inherent in objects and the environment—such as the properties of felt, technical constraints, and the cultural meanings felt carries—have exerted significant influence.