The legacy of Kozheke Nazarula lives on in the memory of the people

On April 4, 2023 Abay KazNPU hosted the international scientific round table on the theme "Historical personality of Kozheke Nazaruly and his legacy", aimed at promoting the name of Kozheke Nazaruly as a Kyushi composer and a national hero.

Kazakhstani and foreign historians and musicologists, journalists and public figures took part in the event. They discussed current issues related to the life and work of Kozheke Nazarula. He was noted as a historical figure who raised the Kazakh musical art to a higher level in the XIX century and as a hero who stood up against colonization policy, also the data concerning his biography were specified and the suggestions concerning celebration of the 200th anniversary of his birth were discussed.

Kozheke Batyr was born in the famous zhaylau of Karkar in Kegen district of Almaty region. He is a person who was ahead of his time, the founder of the Zhetysu school of kyui. His creative way has not been studied up to the end yet. Modern experts know about more than 150 of his works. And there are his unexplored masterpieces in the country.

Kozheke Nazaruli is not only a musician but also a hero. A shrewd politician who defended Zhetysu lands from colonial oppression of tsarist Russia together with batyrs Tazabek, Saurik and Zheten, he participated in campaigns on liberation of Ili region from Kalmyk invaders and influenced settlement of Kazakhs on Ili.

The high-level event was attended by the Director of the Institute of History and Law, Professor G. Kenzhebaev, Head of the Department of Political Science and Social and Philosophical Disciplines J. Simtikov, Director of the Institute of History and Ethnology named after Sh.Z. Kabyldinov, director of the Ualikhanov Institute of History and Ethnology; well-known philologist S. Medeubekuly; art historians engaged in research and popularization of musical heritage and life of Kozheke Nazaruly, Zh. Zhuzbay, T. Karash, A. Sabyrova and descendants of kyusha.

"Kozheke Nazaruly is the founder of Zhetysu school of kyui. Meanwhile, our main task is to glorify and honour the person who made an invaluable contribution to the development of the country and national art. We must do our utmost to ensure that the kyuis he performed and the history he lived through remain forever in the memory of the younger generation," said Professor Sagatbek Medeubekuly, a cultural figure of the Republic of Kazakhstan.