Ethnomusical Traditions of the Kazakh People: Past and Present
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Man In India, 96 (11) : 4651-4664 © Serials Publications ETHNOMUSICAL TRADITIONS OF THE KAZAKH PEOPLE: PAST AND PRESENT Zaure Smakova*, Aigerim Karsakbayeva*, Assel Rakymzhan*, Galiya Кalymova*, Saltanat Kudaibergenova*, Anatoly Gaissin* and Almagul Takisheva** Abstract: At the beginning of the XXI century, Kazakh traditional musical art is an ancient and archaic, simultaneous and modern, developing phenomenon. The musical tradition, song and instrumental, showed a surprising resilience and the ability to change. This paper attempts to describe the essential features of Kazakh traditional instrumental and song culture, associated with their origin and evolution. The paper discusses the history of musical traditions in the Republic of Kazakhstan, the characteristics and features of traditional Kazakh music as well as the development of ethnic traditions at the present stage.The analysis of Kazakh musical traditions revealed that the nomadic people had a huge variety of musical instruments - wind, stringed, plucked etc. The result was a high level of instrumental performance. Keywords: Musical tradition, kui, zhyrau, kobyz, dombra. INTRODUCTION The period since gaining the independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan until present is marked by tangible accomplishments in the political, economic, social and many other fields, including musical folklore and musical art in general. The study of the past with the aim of learning lessons for the future is a characteristic feature of the modern social sciences. In this respect, at the beginning of the XXI high-tech century the musical culture of Kazakhstan is still of particular interest. The issue of Kazakh ethnomusical traditions has been addressed in a considerable amount of literature. The first works on the importance of music, having the prevailing artistic values, appeared in the Middle Ages. In the XI century, the works of al-Farabi were translated into Latin. By the XV century, the tractate of al-Farabi The Great Book of Music (2007) came to be known in almost all European countries. Around the same time, The Tractate on Music of another Arab thinker, Abdur-Rahman Jami (1999), became widely known. In addition, a valuable source for studying the history of musical culture in Kazakhstan is the works of Mahmud Kashgari (2011), Yusuf Balasaguni (1989) and Darvish Ali (2001). The merit of Central Asian philosophers and poets lies in providing the descriptions of musical instruments, which were widespread back in those days. Their works considered such instruments as dutar, tambourine, surnai, shohrud etc. * Kazakh National Conservatory named after Kurmangazy, 050000, Kazakhstan, Almaty, Abilay Khan Ave., 86 ** Specialized High School №92 named after Mahatma Gandhi, A05G0M2, Kazakhstan, Almaty, Panfilova Str., 205 4652 MAN IN INDIA A number of works, especially those of Western scholars, have a general character. In particular, these are the work by W. Malm (1977), dedicated to Central and Central Asian musical traditions; the work by S. Donchev (1995) on Central Asian culture and art; the multivolume work by E. Kostkoff (2008) of musical art in Central, South and South-East Asia, the monograph by T. Vyzgo (1980) Musical Instruments of Central Asia. Of particular importance in the study of Kazakh national culture are the works by Kazakh scholars - A. Zhubanov (2001), B. Yerzakovich (1987), B. Sarybayev (2005), B. Amanov (2002), A. Mukhambetova (2002), S. Sh. Ayazbekova (1999), S. Raimbergenova (2015), G. Omarova (2010), G. Abdrakhman (2011), T. Dzhumaliyeva (2010) and others. The results of multi-year research have required a substantial reconsideration of views on traditional Kazakh musical art. In this respect, the objective analysis of both the cultural situation in Kazakhstan as a whole and the current fate of individual genres of Kazakh musical art is still relevant. The novelty of the paper lies in the fact that it investigates the history of the formation of Kazakh musical culture in an aggregate of all its components. This paper is the first to provide the general characteristic of the development of Kazakh national music and to conclude its important role as a forerunner of modern musical art. The consideration of the problem of Kazakh ethnomusical traditions predetermines the formulation of the following research objectives: - To determine the cultural-historical conditions for the appearance of musical traditions in Kazakhstan; - To identify the specificity of traditional Kazakh music; - To consider the characteristics and technique of performance on a variety of musical instruments; - To explore the interaction of ethnic music and modern forms of musical art. To achieve these objectives, it is expedient to apply complementary methods that reflect a comprehensive approach to solving problems and include historical, systematic and comparative methods. The research used materials from different areas of knowledge - history, philosophy, cultural studies, literary studies, and religious studies. The methodological basis of the article was also formed by the traditional analytical methods of musicology. THE HISTORY OF MUSICAL TRADITIONS IN KAZAKHSTAN In Kazakhstan, of widespread use is authentic musical culture that was created by the ancient tribes and peoples who participated in the ethnogenesis of the Kazakhs, which in turn multiplied rich cultural traditions of their ancestors. ETHNOMUSICAL TRADITIONS OF THE KAZAKH PEOPLE:... 4653 The basis of the musical culture of the Kazakh people was formed by improvised epic works, performed by the narrator to the accompaniment of folk instruments. The origins of Kazakh and allied traditional music of other Turkic peoples go back to ancient times - the end of the first millennium BC. It was also mentioned in ancient written sources (Avesta, Chinese and ancient chronicles), and corroborated by archaeological excavations. It is difficult to judge about music as such because of the lack of written music bibliography, but the similarity of lifestyle, a striking unity and widespread occurrence of “animal style” art, the monuments of which are found in the mounds in vast areas, make it possible to draw a conclusion on single proto-musical roots. By virtue of the traditional character and immutability of the nomadic lifestyle, a huge role was played by mythological consciousness, which had become a basic part of traditional culture. The sacredness of the musical language is directly related to other arts and should be seen in this indissoluble unity. At the same time, the connection between different types of art was carried out through the minister of religion - shamans, bakshy. The unity of music, poetry and magic of the Kazakhs is connected with the image of the first shaman-bakshy and musician Korkut. According to legend, 20-year-old Korkut had a dream about a man, dressed in white, who predicted his death at the age of 40. In search of immortality, Korkut traveled around four corners of the earth on his winged camel Zhelmae, but everywhere he met people, who were digging a grave for him. After returning to the shores of his native Syr Darya, Korkut was day and night playing kobyz covered with the skin of sacrificed Zhelmaya. His playing attracted not only all earthly beings, but also Death. However, as long as Korkut’s kobyz was sounding, Death was powerless. But once Korkut fell asleep, Death, taking the form of a snake Kairak-jylan, bit him. Nevertheless, Korkut did not die;being neither alive nor dead,he became the Lord of the lower waters and since then has helped all shamans do good to people (Robbins, 2008). At an early stage of development of the Kazakh community, music was entirely subordinated to the service of the utilitarian needs of the ancient nomadic people and accompanied all the major religious and household ceremonies. For example, major epics (zhyr), which appeared during the formation of the Kazakh ethnic group, were performed by zhyrau (epic tradition bearers), and were originally linked to the delivery of military magic rituals and ancestor worship. Folk memory preserved over a hundred stories, each of which had thousands of poetic lines, performed to the accompaniment of kyl-kobyz – a stringed musical instrument with two horsehair strings, or dombra – a plucked instrument. Being one of the most popular genres of folk arts, heroic and lyrical everyday epics “Koblandy”, “Er Targyn”, “Kambar”, “Kyz Zhybek” and many others have brought us real historical events of Kazakh history in the legendary and mythological form. 4654 MAN IN INDIA The form that combines Word and Music is dominant in Kazakh traditional musical art. Initially, instrumental music has been linked to various spheres of the life of the Kazakhs: by a shamanic ritual, dance, military-hunting activity, epic. However, only the last branch associated with verbal folklore, according to Jonathan McCollum (2011), led Kazakh instrumental music to flourishing. An important role of folk music in Kazakh life is reflected in numerous ancient myths and legends, which indicates the deep historical basis of this cultural layer. Mukhtar Auezov, a well-known Kazakh writer and playwright, wrote about Kazakh culture as follows: “The Kazakh nation, a tragic wanderer roaming steppes and centuries in search of happiness, could not leave us the monuments of architecture, sculpture, or painting. Nevertheless, it has left us the most precious monuments of artistic word. The nation-singer, the nation-poet with all the strength of its inherent poetic genius expressed its spirit