Culture and traditions of writing
Kazakh oral art- includes over 50 various genres and genre variations: wedding rite songs: zhar-zhar- opens the wedding ceremony, betashar- bride’s face opening, sunsy (brides’ weeping), toi bastar (wedding feast opening); - death rite songs - qoshtasy (farewell songs), estirty (news on death), konil aity (expressing condolences in general way), arbau (spellings from shamanistic rituals), duga (spellings with Islamic meaning), baqsy saryny (shamanistic incantation); wish songs (bata- good wishes), zharapazan ( spring songs performed during the holy month of Ramadan); heroic epic, historical songs (dastans and qissa); songs performed during the poetical contests - aitys: bodik aitys, aityses of girls and young man, konil aity, zhybaty- compassion songs in tragic situations; age songs – for math skills - counting, for logic and memory skills – taqpak; seasonal. Since Russian and soviet times were introduced new genres: social-professional; social-political (prisoners, protesters); regional variety (south, east, west, and north).
Kazakh literature is the literature created in the modern state of Kazakhstan, the Kazakh SSR, the Kazakh part of the Russian empire, Kazakh khanate, and lands and peoples that made up Kazakh ehtnicity. There is some overlap with several complementary themes, including the literature of the Kazakhs (literature written by ethnic Kazakhs), the literature of Russians in Kazakhstan, and literature written in the Kazakh language. The complexities associated with delineating the subject mirror its complex history.
Specifics of Kazakh literature
1. Until mid 19 century was primarily unwritten and existed in form of oral legends, myths, songs, poems and stories in human memory, being transmitted by aqyns, zhuray, sals and sere, and talented people.
2. Part of the literary sources shared between other Turkic peoples was recorded in Italian Latin (Codex cumanicus), Persian, Arabic and Turkic languages.
3. Basis- myths, legends, folk stories on creation, etc.
Kazakh literature is the form and the way of the people’s expression of the world around them and its place in it, characterizes the uniqueness and the specifics of the cultural maturity. It must be viewed in several historical evolutionary dimensions: 1) all the literary works (folklore, legends, epics, poems, songs - oral and written ever created on the territory of modern day Kazakhstan since ancient times till present in old Turkic, Persian, Arabic languages; 2) the works created in the Kazakh steppes in post-Mongol times when the ethnic and cultural/linguistic processes was completed and the tribes that later on became the core of Kazakh khanate were formed in Chagatai and Kipshak languages; 3) legends, poems, songs and narratives originating dated back to the period of Kazakh khanate formation, Jungar invasions, and Russian expansion; 4) the literature created under the Russian colonial control marked by reflections of the consequences of Russian influence - positive and negative - Kazakh Enlightenment and reformists/Jadids and westernizes of late XIX-early XX centuries; 5) soviet period –post-revolutionary, Great Patriotic war, post-Stalinism, Brezhnev times and Gorbachev era; 6) post- 1991.
Kazakh literature of XV-XVIII centuries- the poetry of zhurau about essence of life, ethics and morale, social injustice, native land. The brightest representatives were Qodan-taishy, Asan-qaigy (the first Kazakh philosopher), author of aphorisms, - tolgau. Qaztygan-zhurau Suinish-uly was a lyrical poet and military singer who made his songs during the military battle to inspire the warriors. Most of his works did not survive.
Literature of the post-Mongol times is characterized by political component, as the poets (zhurau) were active fighters and statesmen fighting on the side of the post-Mongol states- khanates, for the interests of tribal chiefs or khans. The literature was common for the tribes living in the vast areas stretching of former Pax Mongolica where the cultural traditions were mixed – Turkic, Mongol and Persian/Arabic and cultural languages were Kipshak and Persia. The poems translated from one language to another were reinterpreted and enriched within the process, filled new events and names of the heroes were adapted to the regional specifics. One of the most popular was Kipshak translation of “Hosrov and Shirin” of Persian poet Nizami, made in 1341-1342 by Qytup, court poet under khan Uzbek. Qytup gave his version and filled the poem with the Kipshak proverbs and sayings. The record made in 1338 by Kipshak poet Berke Fatih ibn Edgy survived.
Horezmi from Kongrat tribe was famous for poem “Mukhabat-name” (1353) in 2 languages Kipshak and Persian. 2 versions of the poem was known – in Arabic and Uigur alphabet. In late XIV century- Soqyr-Akhmet Urgenshi and Farkylyh zhurau- no poems were left.
Sypyra zhurau Surgytai-uly lived under Tohtamysh and supported him but was known for being honest before the khan and openly criticized him for wrongdoings.
Qodan –taishy was known as zhurau and political figure (Argyn tribe), was opponent of Abulkhair khan, and supported descendants from Urus khan line – Akhmet, Janibek and Kerey in the confrontation with Abulkhair. He left zhoqtau song on the death a man who died in the struggle with Qoblandy.