by Alma Kunanbaeva The Kazakh epic was an encyclopedia of the long history of the nation, and it exists in the oral tradition until today. The epic tradition (zhyraulyq -- from zhyr 'epic', 'epic poetry') has been best preserved in the South West and West of the modern Republic of Kazakhstan, especially in the Aral region where I have been working for years. In Kazakh culture, epic singers (the zhyrau) are keepers of a collective memory that connects oral traditions with shamanic spirituality and nomadic philosophy. |
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 21 July 2009 00:59 |
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by Aziza Abduragimova
Khurshid-Banu Natavan was the daughter of the last khan, a kind of ruler, of the Karabagh khanate. She was born in the city of Shusha in 1830. Natavan lived a fairly difficult life, and much of her troubles are described in her poetry. “To My Son Abbas” expresses the pain she felt after the death of her son. “Beloved, How Could You Break the Oath to Me You Swore” is a poem about a woman betrayed by her lover and fated to live feeling lonely, anguished, and helpless. Yet despite her unhappy personal life, Natavan undertook philanthropic projects to improve Shusha. She financed the construction of a water main that delivered fresh water to the city and founded some of the first literary societies in Shusha. Natavan became one of the most famous poets in Azerbaijan, and her work was of such universal subjects and feelings that it still touches readers today. |
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 21 July 2009 00:28 |
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by Aydin Fatalizadeh Samad Behrangi was born into an impoverished Azerbaijani family in the southern division of Charandab, Tabriz, the commercial and administrative capital of Iran’s Azerbaijan Province, in July 1939. Behrangi completed elementary school and three years of secondary school. At 16, he attended the local Teachers’ Training College and two years later, upon completion of his studies in modern and American theories on education, Behrangi became a village school teacher. After eleven years of teaching in village and town schools throughout Azerbaijan, he obtained a B.A. degree in English from Tabriz University. |
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 21 July 2009 00:46 |
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by Harbir Kaur Kyrgyzstan's Epic of Manas is a traditional poem that has been orally transmitted for centuries. Manas is a very well-known figure in Kyrgyz literature because he united forty clans in Kyrgyz against their enemy to create a Kyrgyz nation. The epic describes his birth, youth, adventures, and death, as well as the adventures of his son, Semetei, and grandson, Seitek. He is rumored to be buried in the Ala Too Mountains in northwestern Kyrgyzstan. A mausoleum claimed to house his remains is a popular tourist destination. Because the people of Kyrgyz were a nomadic people, it was not until 1885 that the rich story was put into writing. It's length is about twenty times that of Homer's Iliad and the Odyssey combined. People who recite the Manas are called Manaschis. Recitals are common in Kyrgyz cultural festivities and they can last for weeks. The Manaschis must be able to not only memorize parts of the long epic, they also need to be animated story-tellers.
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 21 July 2009 01:01 |
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by Uldouz Berenjforoush Rug-making is one of the oldest handicrafts dating back thousands of years, but unfortunately due to the natural products that are used in weaving a rug, not that many ancient rugs have been preserved. One of the oldest rugs that was found is a Pazyryk rug (5 B.C.E.) which was discovered in a Scythian burial mound in Mongolia. This was able to survive so many years because it was frozen for almost 2500 years. The newly-discovered rugs showed beautiful consistent patterns which suggests that rug-making as an art has been around for a long time.
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 21 July 2009 01:12 |
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