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Abstract

This paper explores the depiction of women’s roles in Society through the lens of Soviet-era Kazakh language literature. The analysis focuses on the novella Mayra the Singer by Gabit Musrepov (1902-1985), a prominent Soviet-era Kazakh writer and playwright of the Soviet era and one of the founders. His 1981 novella is a fictionalized account of the life of Mayra Shamsutdinova, a famous singer and composer who lived in the early 20th century in Kereku (now Pavlodar), in northern Kazakhstan. Maria played traditional Kazakh instruments such as the dombra and syrnai, composed lyrical songs, and performed in Kazakh, Russian, and Tatar with professional skill. She gained wide recognition by performing at fairs and celebrations in the regions of Kereku, Bayanaul, Karkaraly, and Semey. Several of her performances of Kazakh songs were recorded and transcribed by the musicologist Alexander Zatayevich. Her life was also marked by personal hardships, including health issues, and she died at the relatively young age of 37 in 1927. In converting her life into fiction, Musrepov represents her story as one of both triumph and tragedy. Her triumph is reflected in her musical talent and artistic accomplishments. In Musrepov’s words, Mayra says: “Singing is my whole life. When I sing and see the joy on people’s faces, I feel as if I am being cradled in their palms. What more could a singer ask for?” The tragedy in her life is rooted in the limited and often contradictory role of women in traditional Kazakh society, particularly in the field of art. Musrepov represents Maira as struggling with a series of challenges, including corrupt and abusive leaders, bride-kidnapping, but perhaps especially the convention that men and not women could take on the role of public performers of music. This paper uses both the story of the historical Maira together with the novelization of her life by Musrepov first to examine the challenges and the shifting beliefs about the role of women in society and of women as artists on the Kazakh steppes at the turn of the century and then second to examine Soviet era engagement with this history.