Click the star to add/remove an item to/from your individual schedule.
You need to be logged in to avail of this functionality.
Log in
- Convenors:
-
Gabriel McGuire
(Nazarbayev University)
Virginia Martin (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
Send message to Convenors
- Theme:
- LIT
- Location:
- Space Institute Room 403
- Sessions:
- Friday 11 October, -
Time zone: America/New_York
Long Abstract:
As the interdisciplinary study of Central Asia widens, with studies of literature and cultures at the fore, there is an urgent need for the consideration and translation of more primary source materials, as well a need to balance the proliferation of text based materials, with the many forms of oral literature indigenous to the region. This panel is meant to call attention to new projects at Universities in the region, and to promote local modern and historical sources in translation. From Nazarbayev University, we will present selections from a forthcoming Anthology of Central Asian Literature, edited by Gabriel McGuire, which includes the oral forms of folktales, epic poetry and verbal duels, praise songs, and laments from various language sources. From the American University of Central Asia, we will present work from the ongoing research on Manas (hero centered epic poetry) from generations of Kyrgyz poets. We will not only present current work in translation, but consider how the ongoing collection of such materials can work to strengthen our forms of pedagogy and research in the region through broader collaborative engagement.
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Friday 11 October, 2019, -Eva-Marie Dubuisson (Nazarbayev University)
Paper long abstract:
In this paper I present a partial poetic translation of "The Aitys of Birzhan and Sara" (Birzhan sal men Sara kyzy aitysy)." This aitys (public improvisatory verbal duel) was held in the late period of Russian colonization, and it was first published in 1898; it is a recording from the Almaty region, of the meeting of the old and venerable poet Birzhan Kozhaghololy, with the very much younger poet Sara Tastanbekkyzy. The aitys is arguably one of the most famous pieces of Kazakh literary culture, as it was transformed in 1946, during the Soviet period, to the opera "Birzhan and Sara," which is performed in Kazakhstan to this day. Part of the reason it has achieved such notoriety, and remains popular to this day, was because of the performance of the young Sara. To her older 'grandfather' Birzhan, Sara sang about her own life and viewpoint as a young girl, trying to navigate the fields of family and marriage. This performance represents one of the key moments in Kazakh history, where the concerns of women were explicitly brought to the fore.
The entire aitys runs approximately 1000 lines and the original version is considered to be housed in the state archives of Kazan; in my own partial translation and analysis I focus on the young woman Sara and in her unique ability to hold her own, with the much older and more famous Birzhan. From the methodological perspective of conversation analysis, how does Sara's poetic 'voice' emerge in the context of aitys poetry, and what topics, themes, and dialogues anchor her presence and contribution? Further, in contemporary discussions of oral literature and gender, how does "The Aitys of Birzhan and Sara" reappear as signifier? (Just last year the civil rights NGO Women of Kazakhstan tweeted, "Sara is known as one of the 1st poetress [sic] to fight for #Genderequality"). What story, values, or experience does this historical poetic performance continue to bring to its present days 'audiences'? What kind of cultural, social, and historic lessons, is this oral tradition seen to impart?
Meiramgul Kussainova (Nazarbayev University)
Paper long abstract:
This article explores the unique oral epic heritage of the Kazakhs, and specifically, the historical poem "Kenesary-Nauryzbay" sung by the epic singer (zhyrau) Nysanbay. The genre of historical poems plays an important role in the oral historical and literary tradition of the Kazakhs. The poem "Kenesary-Nauryzbay" is a valuable source for studying the history of the uprising of the Kazakhs headed by Kenesary Kasymov in 1838-1848. In the Soviet era this poem was banned, and it was only when Kazakhstan was declared an independent nation, that it became available to researchers. This presentation will analyze the reasons why the poem was prohibited by Soviet ideology, and censored.
The author of the poem, Nysambay zhyrau, is not only a well-known epic singer, but he also participated in the Kenesary Kasymov uprising. The poem was written immediately after the defeat of that uprising, and the plot of the poem covers the last period of the uprising - the struggle of Kenesary against the Kyrgyz. The value of the poem lies in the fact that Nysanbay describes the events that he himself witnessed. In the poem, the images of Kenesary and Nauryzbai figure as mythological elements - they are described by heroes possessing supernatural powers. But also in the poem one can trace the character of Kenesary from the perspective of a descendant of the khans Abylay and Kasym, as the leader of the uprising, a skillful commander, as a diplomat or caring brother.
This article will analyze four versions of the poem, in order to identify both the distinctive aspects of each version, as well as the changes and additions made by the narrators in different periods of the chanting of the poem. For example, in one version Kenesary may be described as the leader of the national liberation movement of the Kazakhs, while in another version he is presented as a cruel and bloodthirsty leader, who robbed Kazakh villages for his own personal ambition. In order to gauge the historical accuracy of different versions, and in order to analyze various aspects of Kenesary's personality and his followers, this article will also compare the events described in the poem with archival documents from Orenburg and Almaty.
Gabriel McGuire (Nazarbayev University)
Paper long abstract:
In this paper, I discuss a translation of one of the key scenes in the Kazakh oral epic Qyz Zhibek (The Silk Maiden). The text is translated from the most widely-studied and published version of the epic, an edition prepared by the aqyn, translator, and editor Zhüsipbek Qozha Shaykhyslamuly (1857-1937) and first printed in Kazan in 1900. Multiple other versions exist, including both an 1887 transcription of a performance by the singer Musabay Zhirau made near Qazaly fortress in south Kazakhstan, several Soviet-era recordings of performances by other bards, as well as adaptions for the opera (1934) and cinema (1970). The structure of all of the oral epic texts is one of mirrored narrative multiforms: in the first half, the hero Tölegen departs his home, courts, and marries Qyz Zhibek, only to be murdered while travelling alone across the steppe; in the second, Tölegen's younger brother Sansyzbay follows the same path, departing to court and marry Qyz Zhibek, but unlike his brother he fights and kills his adversary on his return trip. This translation focuses on a scene found in the versions of both Musabay Zhirau and Zhüsipbek Qozha: Tölegen, dying from an arrow wound, looks up to see a flock of geese pass and bids them carry word of his death back to his family. In discussing the translation of Tölegen's words, the paper analyses the place of this scene within Zhüsipbek Qozha's text, the distinction between this version of the scene versus those in other texts, and the larger question of how this scene might be compared with other examples of death of the hero type scenes as they are found within the broader tradition of oral epic poetry.