Karabutak Rural Museum
“Karabutak Rural Museum” was opened in 2007 in the village of Karabutak, Aitekebi District. It is a museum of historical and local lore.
Purpose:
The "Karabutak Rural Museum" is a historical and local lore museum aimed at preserving, studying, and passing on the cultural and historical heritage of the local people to future generations. The museum carries out the following activities:
• Preservation of historical and cultural heritage - collecting and safeguarding valuable materials and exhibits related to the history of Aitekebi and Karabutak.
• Scientific research activities - conducting historical and ethnographic studies using the museum's archives and materials.
• Educational and cognitive activities - providing visitors, schoolchildren, and students with information about the traditions, lifestyle, ethnography, and nature of the Kazakh people.
• Socio-cultural role - enriching the cultural life of local residents and fostering historical and national awareness.
History Hall. This hall features an exhibition dedicated to our ancestor Aiteke Bi. In 1993, the year was declared the “Year of Aiteke Bi” in the Aktobe Region. Within the framework of this decision, the Karabutak District was named after Aiteke Bi. On June 25 of that year, a large celebratory event was held in the village of Karabutak in honor of the Bi.
The museum houses the archives of Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor Toregali Karatayev; Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Professor Begaly Zhambyrbayev; a respected elder of Karabutak village, a wise and experienced journalist Nysanaly Zhambyrbayev; as well as Alibi Koilybayev.
The modern history of Karabutak begins with the Karabutak Fortress, built in 1848, which later developed into a large and flourishing town. It is well known from history that in the 19th century, the Russian government began constructing fortresses as part of its policy to colonize the Kazakh lands. Among them were the Irgiz Fortress built in 1845, the Karabutak Fortress in 1848, and the Aktobe Fortress in 1869.
A gymnasium and a three-year Russian-Kazakh school operated in Karabutak. Graduates of this school included Syrlybai Bekbayev, Burkitali Seisekенov, Alzhan Baikonekov, Zhalen Zhomartov, Kauypbai Shektibayev, and Takhaui Borankulov-individuals who later became prominent figures and devoted their lives to serving the people and the nation.
Ethnography Hall. This section introduces visitors to ancient household items of the Kazakh people, revealing the types of labor they engaged in and how they devised solutions for everyday needs.
Displayed here is a six-winged wooden yurt used by nomadic Kazakhs. This type of dwelling could be easily dismantled and reassembled in a short time, making it a highly convenient and efficient home for nomads moving between winter, summer, and autumn pastures.
The exhibition also features traditional Kazakh household items such as kebeje chests, trunks, kalauysh, felt carpets (tekemet), wall hangings (tuskiiz), and various types of alasha. Among the exhibits are items used by our ancestors, some of which are still in use today: goat-hair combs, down combs, spindles, tongs, cradles (besik), and many others.
There were also traditional beliefs: owl down and feathers were hung on a child’s cradle or attached to headwear to protect against the evil eye, while fumigation with the poisonous plant adyraspan was believed to ward off illnesses. Folk fortune-tellers practiced divination using forty stones or shoulder blades. Children and young people played traditional games using asyk bones and aksuyek. These were not merely bones-many hidden meanings lie behind them, worthy of deep scientific study.
This section also displays household tools once widely used by the Kazakh people but gradually lost with the passage of time, such as the shoulder yoke (iinagash), wooden bowls, butter churns (kubi), mortars and pestles, hand mills, handwoven reed mats (shi), water jugs (kuman), and brass basins.
Nature Hall. The Karabutak region is located along both banks of the Irgiz River and in the northeastern area of the Or River valley. The land is rich and fertile, with abundant water resources, reed-filled lakes, branching rivers, and vast steppes covered with feather grass and wormwood. Large lakes such as Sonaly, Kynaly, and Belkopa retain water throughout the summer except during severe droughts. Even the smaller lakes-Yskol, Iirkol, and Tabankol-are home to many birds in spring.
Bird species found in this area include the white-headed crane, great bustard, corncrake, whooper swan, little bustard, bean goose, and many others.
Opening hours of the museum:
Monday-Friday working day
09:00 - 13:00
13:00-14: 00 Lunch Break
14:00-18:00
Saturday-Sunday day off
Admission: free