President Mirziyoyev signed a decree to celebrate the bicentennial of the birth of the main poet of the Karakalpakstan autonomous region. An occasion to remember his works, admired also by Turkmen, Kazakhs and Kyrgyz.
Tashkent () – Uzbekistan is pompously celebrating the two-hundredth anniversary of the birth of the main poet of Karakalpakstan, Akhiniyaz Kosybakh-Uly (1824-1878), with the publication of books, films, exhibitions and lectures, the opening of a museum in Nukus and the creation of an ecological park in Mo’ynoq bearing his name. President Šavkat Mirziyoyev signed a decree approving all the events dedicated to the great writer and thinker of the 19th century.
The presidential text stresses that Akhiniyaz “contributed to the development of culture and literature with his unique and rich work, helping to educate youth in the spirit of patriotism and noble ideals, strengthening the historical friendship and unity of the Uzbek and Karakalpak peoples.” The humanistic and philosophical visions of the gifted poet are praised, which were reflected in his verses and in the Dastans, the epic odes typical of folklore and literature from the Middle East and Central Asia, to Southeast Asia.
These are reworkings of myths, legends and tales of various themes, which narrate adventurous and fantastic situations, often in intricate and hyperbolic stories starring idealized heroes. Akhiniyaz grew up studying at the Šergazikhan Madrasa and the Kutlimurod-inak Madrasa in Khiva, the last capital of the former Khwarezmian Khanate. Khiva celebrated the 2,500th anniversary of its foundation in 1997, surrounded by powerful ancient walls that surround the inner oasis, considered the jewel of the Khwarezmian region and declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, to the point that the UN cultural institution included the Kosybakh-Uly celebrations in the main plan of universal jubilees.
Akhiniyaz was awarded the palm of the name of “a true people’s poet”, a great scholar and popular educator, a skilled calligrapher known and respected even outside Uzbekistan, but throughout Central Asia. His works are also admired by Turkmen, Kazakh and Kyrgyz readers, who recognize him as “brotherly countries,” the presidential statement reads. It establishes the organizing committee of official events, entrusted to Tashkent Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov, who is tasked with confirming the entire program and organizing wide-ranging propaganda aimed at the entire population.
A new edition of the poet’s Selected Works will be published in Uzbek and Karakalpakstani, a reissue of artistic and scientific works devoted to his life and diverse activities will be presented throughout the country. A state-funded film entitled Akhiniyaz will be made, as well as a number of documentaries and other artistic and promotional works. A competition among young talents from all over Uzbekistan on the theme Sing a Song of Akhiniyaz will be held in Nukus, as well as a competition of literary texts devoted to the poet’s life and work among students of art and language institutes.
In September, a major festival of books and folk art dedicated primarily to the memory of Kosybakh-Uly will be held in the central hall of the Academy of Arts in Tashkent. In October, international conferences are planned at the Karakalpakstan State University and at the Aliser Navoikh Uzbek-language University in Tashkent to further explore the legacy of the thinker. A museum dedicated to Akhiniyaz will be opened at the educational institution in Nukus, the capital of the independent republic of Karakalpakstan, while a memorial will be erected at the poet’s grave in Mo’ynoq province, in the centre of the eco-park, also named after him. The memory of the great man of letters will thus serve to celebrate the unity of the Uzbeks with the inhabitants of the large mountainous province, often the scene of revolts and jealous of its autonomy and ethnic specificity.
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