The symbolism of fire is complex. And its worship was widespread among many peoples of the world. The Kazakhs considered fire the patron saint of the house, supernatural properties and magical powers were attributed to it, as it was the earthly projection of the deity – the sun.
The most famous rite associated with fire among Kazakhs is “alastau” – purification by fire. To this day, the wedding ceremony “otqa mai qūiu” is practised in the groom’s house, where oil is poured into the bride’s fire to invoke the spirit of the hearth. The hearth is a sacred place, like the sun in the sky in the center of the house space. According to Kazakh beliefs, the hearth should always be burning, and when it was extinguished, it was associated with mourning, poverty, the end and death. There was also a prohibition on giving coal, ashes, etc. to others. In the past, Turks considered the oath taken over the fire as inviolable, or the witnesses of the oath called for the fire, as a symbol of the inviolability of the word promise made.
