“Seven” is a sacred number and a symbol of divinity in many cultures around the world. The ancient Greeks recognized this number as the highest perfection, and it was an attribute of the goddess Athena.
Among all sacral numbers of Kazakh culture “seven” occupies a special place, which is expressed in the rite “zheti shelpek” (commemoration of Aruakh), “zheti ata” (knowledge of seven ancestors), “zheti zhargy” (seven laws), “zheti qazyna” (seven riches/assets of the present dzigit), “zheti zhūt” (seven difficulties) and others. Seven ingredients must also be used in the preparation of Nauryz-Közhe, which embodies the first sunny days of the new year. The symbolism of the number “seven” reflects the traditional ideas of Kazakhs about the world order: it is the understanding of completeness, updates the meaning of achievement – the limit (“zhet” – the imperative of “reach”, arrive).
