This chapter quotes some of the Kazakh (referred to by Riasanovsky as "Kirghiz (Kirghiz-Kaisaks)") customary laws (e.g. family, property, criminal) that were codified (e.g. "Laws of Khan Tevka") during the Tsarist period. It also reviews some of the Mongol, Muslim, and Russian influences on customary law. On page 24, Riasanovsky states: "As is well known, the Mohammedan religion exerted an influence on the laws of the peoples which professed it. Such influence also existed among the Kirghiz."
On page 25, however, Riasanovsky states:
It is necessary to note that, generally speaking, influence of Mohammedan law on the Kirghiz was not so strong and certainly weaker than in the Moslem lands of settled culture. Among the Kirghiz the Koran was not applied in its entirety as a religious-legal system, and only a few of its provisions exercised an influence upon the customary law of this people. In this connection it may be stated that there were no (spiritual) judges or Cadis who tried cases on the basis of the Koran. The judges of the Kirghiz were elder honourable clansmen - Beys, who considered cases on the basis of Kirghiz customs, which in some cases assumed a religious colouring.After reviewing, in the conclusion, different ancient customs for obtaining brides in marriage, Riasanovsky states as follows on page 135:
But here were also preserved the survivals of a more ancient form of marriage by means of the abduction and the carrying-off of the bride.
Thus, among the Kirghiz, after the religious ceremony according to the Moslem rites, the young wife is placed in a special kibitka, surrounded by women who sing songs. The young husband rides to the doors of the kibitka and wishes to enter, but for a long time he is prevented from doing so. Finally, he bursts in by force, takes away his wife from the women who surrounded her, places her next to him on the horse and takes her away with him (Levshin).Descriptors: 1930s, archival, chapter, description, Islamic law, Kazakhs, law, marriage, R, Tsarist; bride kidnapping.
