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Art of Akyns, Kyrgyz epic tellers marks_1
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  • Manage No, Sortation, Country, Writer ,Date, Copyright
    Manage No EE00000065
    Country Kyrgyzstan
    ICH Domain Oral traditions and representations Performing Arts Social practices, rituals, festive events Knowledge and practices about nature and the universe Traditional craft skills
    Address
    All regions of Kyrgyzstan
    Year of Designation 2005
Description The predominant form of cultural expression among the Kyrgyz nomads is the narration of epics. The art of the Akyns, the Kyrgyz epic tellers, combines singing, improvisation and musical composition. The epics are performed at religious and private festivities, seasonal ceremonies and national holidays and have survived over the centuries by oral transmission. The value of the Kyrgyz epics lies largely in their dramatic plots and philosophical underpinnings. They represent an oral encyclopedia of Kyrgyz social values, cultural knowledge and history. The pre-eminent Kyrgyz epic is the 1000-year-old Manas trilogy, which is noteworthy not only for its great length (sixteen times longer than Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey), but also for its rich content. Blending fact and legend, the Manas immortalizes important events in Kyrgyz’s history since the ninth century. The Kyrgyzs have also preserved over forty “smaller” epics. While the Manas is a solo narration, these shorter works are generally performed to the accompaniment of the komuz, the three-stringed Kyrgyz lute. Each epic possesses a distinctive theme, melody and narrative style. Akyns were once highly respected figures who toured from region to region and frequently participated in storytelling contests. They were appreciated for their proficiency in narration, expressive gestures, intonation and lively facial expressions, so well suited to the epics’ emotionally charged content.
Social and cultural significance Art of Akyns as an oral dialogic art has important social and cultural functions and meaning. Being a traditional form of Kyrgyz oral cultural heritage and reflecting at the same time new contemporary trends, It fits the context of our epoch implementing the function of spreading topical information among the communities. Today the element is a living form not only of performing arts but also an important platform for social communication between different representatives of communities. Embodying the best features of traditional oral dialogic art,it provides adequate responses to life conditions in the globalized world, using modern communication means. Today, Art of Akyns is very popular as a cultural component of multi-ethnic society and is an essential part of the element bearers’ communities and their identity. Having a life-asserting and optimistic nature, the element embodies the unity of culture and life, reflects the human spiritual world and social relations. As an essential part of social life, the element has important social functions enhancing the formation of national and cultural identity, broadening people’s outlook, fostering integration, interaction and mutual enrichment of cultures, strengthening the spiritual potential and humanitarian nature of Kyrgyz culture. The element performers demonstrate publicly their philosophic reflections and propagate the ideas of tolerance, peace and respect to the universal human values.
Transmission method The epics are performed at religious and private festivities, seasonal ceremonies and national holidays and have survived over the centuries by oral transmission. In Kyrgyzstan there are schools-studios where the bearers and practitioners transmit their knowledge and skills to young people by traditional method “from teachers to the followers”. The schools-studios transmit this oral art to young people (practical trainings, instructions, demonstrations) and also teach them to play Kyrgyz komuz. People’s love of song competitions and their high appreciation of akyns’ improvising talent inspire akyns to perfect their talents. Bearers and practitioners were improvisers in all times. People acknowledge akyns as those performers who can create their apt and quick-minded verses on the spur of the moment. Akyn’s talent is demonstrated by his offhand improvisations on unexpected topics before the audience. Akyns are recognized by people only after they pass publicly the aitysh examinations. It is an excellent experience for akyns. Almost all akyns started their creative way by participating in such performances. Competitions of young performers with well-known akyns determine their further creative destiny; evaluation of their talent by listeners and the elder akyns confirms the akyn status of young performers. Texts of poetic improvisations by well-known akyns are included in school educational programs in order to transmit the element to young generations. Although there are fewer practitioners nowadays, master akyns continue to train young apprentices and are helped by recent revitalization initiatives supported by the Kyrgyz government.
Community The community in Kyrgyzstan are akyns. They are represented by the Public Foundation "Aitysh", Public Foundation "Manas Muras". Great contribution to preservation of the element is made also by representatives Art of Akyns researches organisations: Cultural Research Center "Aigine", Institutes of the National Academy of Science (Kyrgyzstan) and overall population of Kyrgyzstan as an audience. The most famous akyns - Toktogul, Arstanbek, Zhenishok, Eshmambet, Bars, etc
Type of UNESCO List Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
Incribed year in UNESCO List 2008
Keyword
Information source
National Commission of the Kyrgyz Republic for UNESCO
https://en.unesco.org/countries/kyrgyzstan/information
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