The Wisdom of the Great Steppe Abai Kunanbaiuly (In Commemoration of Abai on the 175th Anniversary of His Birth)

Ключевые слова

Тематические рубрики

• Literary criticism - Literature Kazakhstan
• Qūnanbaev, Abaĭ, 1845-1904 - Criticism and interpretation

Аннотация

Abai Kunanbaiuly, who is a mirror of Kazakh society and 19th century modernization efforts, is one of the most important figures of today’s Kazakhstan with his thoughts and legacy in social, cultural and political spheres. In this respect, Abai can be portrayed as both a moralist who criticised social problems of his own society and seeks solutions to them, and a spiritual guide to his followers. The thoughts and philosophy of Abai, whose poems and words were known by heart by everyone, young and old alike, in Kazakh society, also formed the main motivation of the nation-state building process in the post-independence period. For this reason, Abai studies (Abaytanu) are included in all levels of education curriculum from primary school to university. Furthermore, notable birth anniversaries of Abai Kunanbaiuly, as spiritual founder, are celebrated at all institutions and organizations. A great number of scientific works and cultural activities are carried out as part of the Spiritual Revival (Ruhani Janguru) program. These works and activities have further increased with the announcement of 2020 as “the Year of Abai”, on the occasion of the 175th anniversary of his birth. By making the 175th anniversary of his birth an occasion, as the Eurasian Research Institute, we aimed to collect works analysing Abai with various aspects such as poet, thinker, intellectual, hakim, moralist, artist, etc. in a single book. This book, which has been prepared with the contribution of researchers who study Abai and his works and consisting of 18 chapters, was published before the end of 2021 as an output of a long and labourious effo