[For a complete account of Abai Kunanbaev's life, see Iraj Bashiri's article in "Encyclopedia of World Literature in the 20th Century."]

Also known as Ibrahim Kunanbaev, the Kazakh poet, philosopher, composer, and educator was born on 10 August, 1845 in Chingis-Tau (now Karaul) and died on 6 July, 1904, at the same place. The founder of modern Kazakh literature's father, a prominent feudal lord, made sure that his son receieved a proper education, which at that time meant a mektap upbringing at the aul complemented with a Russian education at Semipalatinsk. The latter education was pivotal in Abai's grasp of the dynamics of his time; it enhanced his knowledge which thus far had been confined to the world Firdowsi (935-1020), Nizami Ganjavi (1141-1209), Sa'di (1213-1292), and Alisher Navo'i (1441-1501). Indeed, it was not until after becoming familiar with the works of Ivan Andrevich Krilov (1769-1844), Mikhail Urivich Lermontov (1814-1841), and Alexandr Sergevich Pushkin (1799-1837), that Abai became convinced that he could reshaped the views and the lifestyle of his tribe.

One of the early promoters of the Russian language and culture among the Kazakhs, Abai became a favorite of Soviet commentators who found in him the epitome of progress in dismantling the Islamic Shari'a law among the Kazakhs. Abai's "Kulembaiu" (1888), "Luckily, I too Became a Governor" (1889), and "The Bailiff Delights in Authority" (1889) are poignant examples of his stance against oppression and the tyranny of the bais. His treatment of the four seasons of the year: "Spring" (1890), "Summer" (1886), "Fall" (1889), and "Winter" (1888) includes several innovative features.

Abai's literary legacy also includes a number of ballads dedicated to eastern and western themes. Among these fictional pieces like "Mas'ud" (1887) and "Alexander," exploring the eastern and western themes respectively, stand out.

Abai was a musician. He adapted some of his own lyric poetry to music and employed the Kazakh vernacular for the expression of the progressive aspects of the literatures of the East and the West.

Abai's life has been the subject of two major works by Mukhtar Auezov (1897-1961). Entitled "Abai" (1942-47) and "The Path of Abai " (1952-56), they examine Abai's life as well as the history that shaped the lives of Abai's contemporaries. The saga begins with Abai as a boy returning to his aul from Semipalatinsk. There he observes the execution of a man and a woman who had been found guilty by the Shari'a law. He is appalled that his own father should be the instrument of the destruction of the innocents. He decides there and then that the Kazakhs must become civilized.

Abai's education, however, was not sufficient to fathom the depth of the cultures involved. According to Auezov, he joined forces with E. P. Mikhailov, a political exile who familiarized Abai with the plight of the Russians struggling to free themselves from serfdom.

Using his poetic and musical talents, Abai reached the youths of the auls and communicated his message to them. And with their help, he opened the way for a smooth transition for the Kazakhs into a sedentary, law-abiding existence.

When summer in the mountains gains its peak,
When gaily blooming flowers begin to fade,
When nomads from the sunshine refuge seek
Beside a rapid river, in a glade,
Then in the grassy meadows here and there
The salutatory neighing can be heard
Of varicouloured stallion and mare.
Quiet, shoulder-deep in water stands the herd;
The grown-up horses wave their silky tails,
Lazily shooing off some irksome pest,
While frisky colts go folicking about
Upsetting elder horses, at their rest.
The geese fly honking through the cloudless skies.
The ducks skim noiselessly across the river,
The girls set up the felt tents, slim and spry,
As coy and full of merriment as ever.

Returning from his flocks, pleased with his ride,
Again in the aul appears the bai.
His horse goes on with an unhurried stride,
He sits and smiles upon it, hat awry.
Surrounding the saba in a close ring,
Sipping their heady beverage -- kumyss,
Old men sit by a yurta, gossiping yurta
And chuckling at quips rarely amiss.
Incited by the servants comes a lad
To beg the cook, his mother, for some meat.
Beneath an awning, gay and richly clad
The bais on gorgeous carpets take their seats.
And sip their tea, engaged in leisured talk.
One speaks, while others listen and admire
His eloquence and wit. Towards them walks
A bent old man bereft of strength and fire.
He shouts at shepards not to raise the dust
Aiming to win the favor of the bais.
And yet in vain he raises such a fuss --
They sit and never even turn their eyes.

There, tucking up the hems of their chapans,
Leisurely swaying in their saddles as they trot
From nightly grazing come the young chabans
Whipping their lusty steeds god knows for what.
A long way off from the aul's last tents
With movement and excitement getting warm,
On horseback, too, the bai's son and his friends
Enjoy a falcon hunt. The bird's in splendid form
At one quick spurt such falcons catch and bring
Crashing to earth the great, unwieldy geese.
Meanwhile that bent old maan, unlucky thing,
The toady that had nigh gone hoarse to plea
The haughty bais, unnoticed, watches on,
And sighs for sorrow that his time is gone.

Glossary

chaban herdsman
chapan a man's overcoat or gown
kumyss fermented mare's milk
saba leather bag for wine or other drink
yurta round felt tent used by nomads of Central Asia