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.