Abai Kunanbaiuli

Abai Ibragim Kunanbaiuli (Kazak: Абай Ибрагим Кунанбайулы Russian: Абай Ибрагим Кунанбаев. Because of Russian influence many people know him as Abai Kunanbaev or Abai Kunanbaiev) (August 10, 1845 - July 5, 1904) was a Kazakh poet, composer, and philosopher, as well as an important cog in the development of Kazakh as a legitimate written language. Abai Kunanbaiuli This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Kazak, also Kazakh and Qazaq (Қазақ тілі, Qazaq tilî) is a Turkic language with ISO 639 codes of kaz and kk. ... August 10 is the 222nd day of the year (223rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1845 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... July 5 is the 186th day of the year (187th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 179 days remaining. ... 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Kazakh may refer to An ethnic group: the Kazakhs The Kazakh language The Culture of Kazakhstan Suhbat. ... Kazak, also Kazakh and Qazaq (Қазақ тілі, Qazaq tilî) is a Turkic language with ISO 639 codes of kaz and kk. ...

Abai was born on Chingis-Tau (modern-day Karaul), the son of Kunanbai, a well-off feudal lord, and Ulzhan, Kunanbai's second wife. His father's economic status enabled the boy to attend a Russian school in his youth, but only after he had already spent some years studying under a mullah and in a madrash. At his school in Semipalatinsk Abai encountered the writings of Mikhail Lermontov and Aleksandr Pushkin. See also Akhoond, alternate title for such an individual Shaykh Categories: | | | | | ... A Madrasah complex in Gambia Ulugh Beg Madrasa, Samarkand, ca. ... NASA satellite photo of Semey Semey (Семей, sometimes transliterated as Semij or Semei) is a city in north eastern Kazakhstan, near the border with Siberia. ... Mikhail Lermontov in 1837 Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov (Михаил Юрьевич Лермонтов), (October 15, 1814–July 27, 1841), a Russian Romantic writer and poet, sometimes called the poet of the Caucasus, was the most important presence in the Russian poetry from Alexander Pushkins death until his own four years later, at the age... Aleksandr Pushkin by Vasily Tropinin Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin (Russian: Алекса́ндр Серге́евич Пу́шкин (help· info)) (June 6 [O.S. May 26] 1799 – February 10 [O.S. January 29] 1837) was a Russian Romantic author whom many consider the greatest Russian poet and the founder of modern Russian literature. ...

Abai's main contribution to Kazakhs lies in his poetry, which expresses great nationalism and grew out of Kazakh folk culture. Before him, most Kazakh poetry was oral, echoing the nomadic habits of the peoples of the Kazakh steppes. During Abai's lifetime, however, a number of important socio-political and socio-economic changes occurred. Russian influence continued to grow in Kazakhstan, resulting in greater educational possibilities as well as exposure to a number of differing philosophies, whether Russian, Western, or Asian. Abai Kunanbaiuli steeped himself in the cultural and philosophical history of these newly-opened geographies. In this sense, Abai's creative poetry affected the philosophical thinking of educated Kazakhs. // Nationalism is an ideology that holds that (ethnically or culturally defined) nations are the fundamental units for human social life, and makes certain cultural and political claims based upon that belief; in particular, the claim that the nation is the only legitimate basis for the state, and that each nation... Kazakh nomads in the steppes of the Russian Empire, ca. ... A steppe in Western Kazakhstan in early spring In physical geography, a steppe (Russian степь or step and pronounced in English as step) is a plain without trees (apart from those near rivers and lakes); it is similar to a prairie, although a prairie is generally considered as being dominated by... For alternative meanings for The West in the United States, see the U.S. West and American West. ...

Abai also translated into Kazakh the works of Russian and European authors, mostly for the first time.

Contemporary Kazakhstani images of Abai generally depict him in full traditional dress, holding a dombra, the Kazakh national instrument. Today, Kazakhs revere Abai as one of the first folk heroes to enter into the national consciousness of his people. The dombra is a long-necked, two-stringed instrument, possessing a resonating chamber, somewhat similar to a banjo or a lute, and especially popular in the Central Asian nations. ...

There is a book written by Mukhtar Auezov, which is supposed to be a biography of Abai. The facts however have been greatly distorted because of the Soviet influence during the time it was written. Among Abai's students was the historian and poet Şekerim Kudayberdiulı (Shakarim Qudaiberdiulı) (1858-1931).

Here is one of the many poems he wrote...

 "Summer" When summer in the mountains gains its peak, When gaily blooming flowers begin to fade, When nomads from the sunshine refuge seek Beside a rapid river, in a glade, Then in the grassy meadows here and there The salutatory neighing can be heard Of varicouloured stallion and mare. Quiet, shoulder-deep in water stands the herd; The grown-up horses wave their silky tails, Lazily shooing off some irksome pest, While frisky colts go frolicking about Upsetting elder horses, at their rest. The geese fly honking through the cloudless skies. The ducks skim noiselessly across the river, The girls set up the felt tents, slim and spry, As coy and full of merriment as ever. Returning from his flocks, pleased with his ride, Again in the aul appears the bai. His horse goes on with an unhurried stride, He sits and smiles upon it, hat awry. Surrounding the saba in a close ring, Sipping their heady beverage -- kumyss, Old men sit by a yurta, gossiping yurta And chuckling at quips rarely amiss. Incited by the servants comes a lad To beg the cook, his mother, for some meat. Beneath an awning, gay and richly clad The bias on gorgeous carpets take their seats. And sip their tea, engaged in leisured talk. One speaks, while others listen and admire His eloquence and wit. Towards them walks A bent old man bereft of strength and fire. He shouts at shepards not to raise the dust Aiming to win the favor of the bias. And yet in vain he raises such a fuss -- They sit and never even turn their eyes. There, tucking up the hems of their chapans, Leisurely swaying in their saddles as they trot From nightly grazing come the young chabans Whipping their lusty steeds god knows for what. A long way off from the aul's last tents With movement and excitement getting warm, On horseback, too, the bai's son and his friends Enjoy a falcon hunt. The bird's in splendid form At one quick spurt such falcons catch and bring Crashing to earth the great, unwieldy geese. Meanwhile that bent old maan, unlucky thing, The toady that had nigh gone hoarse to plea The haughty bias, unnoticed, watches on, And sighs for sorrow that his time is gone. - Translated by Dorian Rottenberg 1886 

Saba may refer to: Saba, a small island in the Netherlands Antilles Sheba/Saba, the ancient kingdom of Yemen. ... Kumis (called airag by the Mongolians), is a traditional drink of the people of Central Asia. ... A Yurt is a traditional felt home of the nomads who live on the cold, barren steppes of Central Asia. ...

Works

• Edifications
• Kara-soz

External links

• Abai: A biographical sketch