11
август
2020
Kazakhstan Celebrates Abai Kunanbayev’s 175th Anniversary
Kazakhstan Celebrates Abai Kunanbayev’s 175th Anniversary
Kazakhstan is celebrating the 175th anniversary of a famous Kazakh poet and writer Abai Kunanbayev.
Abai Kunanbayev
Reading Abai means following his ideological principles and be committed to his message. Only then could we instill the right and firm values in the new generation,” said Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in his “Abai – Spiritual Reformer” article published Aug. 10.
Born in 1845 in the then Semipalatinsk Region to a noble and affluent family, Abai has been a canonical figure in the nation’s history and culture, like Pushkin in Russia or Shakespeare in England, and is considered the founder of Kazakh written literature.
Abai Kunanbayev
Having had the privilege of a good education, as a boy Abai studied at a local madrasah under Mullah Ahmet Ryza and then in a Russian school in Semei. He also read Arabic texts and the works of eastern classical literature.
While many of his works did not reach the current generation, “Qara Sozder” (Words of Wisdom in Kazakh), a major philosophical piece, remains a must-read book, where Abai encourages his fellow Kazakhs to embrace enlightenment values, education and good morality. In doing so, he also translated Russian and European authors into the Kazakh language.
The official logo of Abai’s 175th anniversary
“Abai’s words will never become outdated, they are understandable and universal for all people across the world. His thoughts and words of wisdom conveyed in the perfect forms of poetry and prose serve as a life guide up to these days. His thoughts about the future of our people and compassion and love for people, these moral ideas of the great thinker are extremely relevant for today’s generation,” said Tokayev.
The works of Abai are currently being translated into Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, and Turkish. A documentary will also be made dedicated to Abai’s life and his legacy.
Айшабибі орта мектебінің ағылшын тілі пәні бірлестік жетекшісі Нуралиева Сәуле Мейірханқызы