28 February marks the 175th anniversary of Zhambyl Zhabaiuly, a Kazakh traditional folk singer – akyn.
According to a family legend, his mother, Uldan, gave birth to him near the Zhambyl mountain, close to the headwaters of the Shu River, while fleeing an attack on her village. His father, Zhabai, then named his son after the mountain.
As a boy, Zhambyl learned how to play the dombra (traditional Kazakh string musical instrument) and at the age of 14 left his home to become an akyn. He learned the art of improvisation from the legendary akyn Suiinbai Aronuly. Zhambyl sang exclusively in the Kazakh language.
Zhambyl Zhabaiuly died on 22 June 1945, eight months before his 100th birthday. He was buried in Almaty in a garden that he cultivated with his own hands.
He performed songs, mainly satirical, frequently defeating well-known akyns at aitys competitions (a traditional form of improvised song competitions). From his improvisations of the prerevolutionary period were transcribed the epics Suranshy Batyr and Otegen Batyr, as well as the tales The Khan and the Akyn and Story of a Lazy Fellow.
After the October Revolution, his songs became part of the new everyday life of the Kazakh village. His works have been translated into Russian and into the languages of other peoples of the USSR and have earned recognition throughout the Soviet Union. During the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45, Zhabaiuly’s patriotic works echoed throughout the country, especially his well-known Leningraders, My Children!
Combining oral and literary forms, Zhabaiuly achieved a new poetic manner distinguished by its psychological fullness, by its concrete depiction of social life and nature, and by the sincerity and epic simplicity of its narrative.
Zhabaiuly was elected a deputy to the Supreme Soviet of the Kazakh SSR in 1938 and received the State Prize of the USSR in 1941. He was awarded the Order of Lenin and two other orders.
The Kazakh city of Taraz was named after Zhambyl from 1938 to 1997. The Zhambyl Region of Kazakhstan, in which Taraz is located, still bears his name.