Culinary "Codes" in the Wedding Ceremony of Uzbeks and Karakalpaks

DOI: 10.33876/2311-0546/2025-4/253-265

Authors

Keywords:

culinary code, wedding ceremony, Uzbeks, Karakalpaks

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the role of culinary "codes" in Uzbek and Karakalpak wedding ceremonies. The authors note that the wedding traditions of these peoples represent a unique combination of ancient beliefs, cultural values, and social norms. An important element of these traditions is the various dishes and culinary practices that carry deep symbolic meaning. The article analyzes how these culinary "codes" reflect worldviews, beliefs, and rituals associated with one of life's most significant events – a wedding. The authors detail the features of wedding rituals among the Uzbeks and Karakalpaks, focusing on matchmaking rituals, cooking and presenting food, and bread-related rituals. Special attention is paid to the symbolic function of food practices, which serve as a means of nonverbal communication that unites the relatives of the bride and groom and perform magical functions aimed at ensuring the well-being of the newlyweds. The authors conclude that food symbols play a key role in wedding ceremonies among these peoples and that Uzbek and Karakalpak weddings are complex rituals filled with symbolic actions and culinary "codes." These ritual practices express wishes for love, happiness, and a large family and serve as informational signals that mark the various stages of the wedding cycle.

Author Biographies

  • Gulchehra Zununova, National Center of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan

    Zununova, Gulchehra — Doctor of History, Leading Researcher, National Center of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan (Tashkent, Uzbekistan). E-mail: zunnunova@yahoo.com  ORCID ID:  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9278-4740                                                                

  • Zemfira Kurbanova, Karakalpak Scientific Research Institute of Humanities of the Karakalpak Branch of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan

    Kurbanova, Zemfira — Doctor of History, Senior Researcher, Karakalpak Scientific Research Institute of Humanities of the Karakalpak Branch of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan (Nukus, Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan). E-mail: sapphire.ethno@gmail.com  ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3478-2042

    For citation: Zununova, G. and Z. Kurbanova. 2025. Culinary "Codes" in the Wedding Ceremony of Uzbeks and Karakalpaks. Herald of Anthropology (Vestnik Antropologii) 4: 253–265.

    Funding: The study was conducted as part of the Turkic Academy's TA-RP/P-2024-10 project "Rituals and Ceremonies Related to the Food Traditions of the Peoples of Central Asia (Based on the Karakalpaks, Uzbeks, Kazakhs, and Kyrgyz)".

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Published

14.12.2025

Issue

No. 4 (2025): Herald of Anthropology (Vestnik antropologii)

Section

Traditions and Weddings