Akyns or aqyns are improvising

Improvisation

Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...

 poets and singers in the Kazakh and Kyrgyz culture

Culture of Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan has a wide mix of ethnic groups and cultures, with the Kyrgyz being the majority group. It is generally considered that there are 40 Kyrgyz clans, symbolized by the 40-rayed yellow sun in the center of the flag. The lines inside the sun are said to represent a yurt. The dominant religion...

s. Akyns differs from the so-called zhiraus, who are epic

Epic poetry

An epic is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Oral poetry may qualify as an epic, and Albert Lord and Milman Parry have argued that classical epics were fundamentally an oral poetic form...

 storytellers and a song performers. Akyns improvise in the form of a song-like recitative

Recitative

Recitative , also known by its Italian name "recitativo" , is a style of delivery in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms of ordinary speech...

 to the accompaniment

Accompaniment

In music, accompaniment is the art of playing along with an instrumental or vocal soloist or ensemble, often known as the lead, in a supporting manner...

 of a dombra

Dombra

The dombura is a long-necked lute popular in Central Asian nations...

 (among Kazakhs

Kazakhs

The Kazakhs are a Turkic people of the northern parts of Central Asia ....

) or a qomuz (among Kyrgyz). Considering the nomad

Nomad

Nomadic people , commonly known as itinerants in modern-day contexts, are communities of people who move from one place to another, rather than settling permanently in one location. There are an estimated 30-40 million nomads in the world. Many cultures have traditionally been nomadic, but...

ic lifestyle and illiteracy of most of the rural

Rural

Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...

 population in Central Asia

Central Asia

Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...

 in pre-Soviet times, akyns played an important role in terms of expressing people's thoughts and feelings, exposing social vices, and glorifying heroes.

Akyns are known modernly for performing aytys.

Literature

Nurmakhan, Zhanash: Kazaktyn 5000 akyn-zhyrauy. Almaty 2008. ISBN 9965-742-70-7 (In Kazakh)

External links

• "Alpamysh" at the Uysal-Walker Archive of Turkish Oral Narrative
  Uysal-Walker Archive of Turkish Oral Narrative
  The Uysal-Walker Archive of Turkish Oral Narrative is a searchable archive of oral Turkish literature. The archive is housed in the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, United States. It includes links to numerous audio recordings in MP3...
  
  , Texas Tech University
• Central Asian Identity Under Russian Rule