Kenen Azirbayev’s works: eastern plots and their poetic transformation

Abstract

The article deals with the works of Kenen Azirbaev, a representative of the author’s oral
poetry, the events of which are based on «wandering plots» borrowed mainly from India. The author
analyzes the fable «Happiness, luck and harmony», the fairy tale «Three poor men», the dastan «Heroes
of the past» by akyn, comparing the content of these improvised works with the text of the collection of
parables «Tuti-name» by Nahashbi and its later versions published by Haidari, an -Naari, Faizkhanuly,
Tobysh. As a result of the study, the features of the multi-stage process of artistic modification and
translation of written and folklore sources in a specific cultural and historical environment, their
adaptation to the needs of the local audience are revealed. The performing skills of Kenen, who
virtuoso played the dombra and had a wonderful singing voice, gave him the opportunity to glorify
his works among the general public. Kenen was not only the creator of poetic masterpieces, but at the
same time he was a connoisseur of oriental literature and collected samples of oral folk literature of
the Kazakhs, as evidenced by the harmonious synthesis of elements of folklore, oral poetry and written
literature in his work.