The 200th anniversary of the poet Ajiniyaz in Uzbekistan

President Mirziyoyev signed a decree for the bicentennial celebration of the birth of the main poet of the Karakalpakstan autonomous region. An occasion to commemorate his works also admired by Turkmen, Kazakhs and Kyrgyz.

Tashkent (AsiaNews) - Uzbekistan is pompously celebrating two centuries since the birth of Karakalpakstan's leading poet, Ajiniyaz Kosybaj-Uly (1824-1878), with the publication of books, films, exhibitions and conferences, the opening of a museum in Nukus and the creation of an eco-park in Mo'ynoq named after him. President Šavkat Mirziyoyev signed a decree approving all events dedicated to the great 19th-century writer and thinker.

The presidential text emphasises that Ajiniyaz ‘made a contribution to the development of culture and literature with his unrepeatable work rich in profound content, helping the formation of youth in the spirit of patriotism and the noblest ideals, strengthening the historical friendship and unity of the Uzbek and Karakalpakst peoples’. he humanistic and philosophical visions of the gifted poet were reflected in his verses and in the Dastan, the epic odes typical of the folklore and literature of the Middle and Central East, as far as South-East Asia.

These are reworkings of myths, legends and tales with different subjects, narrating adventurous and fantastic situations, often in intricate and hyperbolic stories featuring idealised heroes. Ajiniyaz grew up studying in the Šergazikhan madrasa and the Kutlimurod-inak madrasa in Khiva, the last capital of the ancient khanate of Corasmia. Khiva celebrated the 2,500th anniversary of its foundation in 1997, surrounded by mighty ancient walls surrounding the inner oasis, considered the jewel of the Corasmian region and declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, so much so that the UN cultural institution included the Kosybaj-Uly celebrations in the main plan of the universal jubilees.

Aniyaz was awarded the palm of ‘authentic poet of the people’, a great scholar and popular educator, an expert calligrapher who was also known and respected outside the Uzbek lands, throughout the central Asian region. his His works are also admired by Turkmen, Kazakh and Kyrgyz readers, who recognise themselves in him as ‘brother countries’, reads the presidential declaration. In It establishes the organising committee for the official events, entrusted to the Prime Minister of Tashkent, Abdulla Aripov, who has the task of confirming the entire programme and arranging extensive propaganda among the entire population.

A new edition of the ‘Selected Works’ of the poet will be published in Uzbek and Karakalpakstani languages, a re-edition of the artistic and publicity works dedicated to his life and his many activities, with a series of presentations throughout the country. A state-funded film entitled Ajiniyaz will be made, as well as various documentaries and other artistic and publicity works. In Nukus, a competition will be held among young talents from all over Uzbekistan on the theme Sing a Song of Ajiniyaz, as well as a literary text competition dedicated to the poet's life and works among students of art and language institutes.

In September, a large book and folk art festival will be held in the central hall of the Art Academy in Tashkent, mainly dedicated to the memory of Kosybaj-Uly, and in October, international conferences are planned at the Karakalpakstan State University and the Uzbek-speaking ‘Ališer Navoij’ University in Tashkent to deepen the thinker's legacy. At the educational institute in Nukus, capital of the independent republic of Karakalpakstan, a museum dedicated to Ajiniyaz will be opened, while a memorial will be erected at the poet's grave site in the Mo'ynoq province, at the centre of the eco-park also dedicated to his name. The memory of the great man of letters will thus serve to celebrate the union of the Uzbeks with the inhabitants of the large mountain province, often the scene of revolts and jealous of its autonomy and ethnic specificity.