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THE ROLE OF AL-FARABI AND ABAI KUNANBAYEV IN THE FORMATION OF
THE IDENTITY OF THE KAZAKH PEOPLE IN THE XXI CENTURY.
Zhumatayeva Zh.U.
Kazakhstan., Aktau, Mangystau region
English teacher at School-gymnasium 19
Historical figures, cultural values and historical memory play a huge role in the formation of
the identity of every nation. In determining any national identity, every individual tries to find a
decent response to the question: «Who are we?». By answering this question, each nation determines
its own national identity. This article focuses on the peculiarities of the formation of modern
statehood’s national identity and the role of historical figures on it. At the time of the declaration of
independence of any state, to formstate institutions and national identity are the most important and
honourable tasks which have to be done at first. On the basis of the decree of President Q.-Zh.
Tokayev 2020 has been announced for the anniversary of the two most prominient thinkers the 150th
anniversary of Abay Kunanbayev, and 1150th years anniversary since the birth of Al-Faraby. He
expressed confidence that such a significant event in the life of the country will pave the way for
educating the young generation to true patriotism. The article analyse the role of Al-Farabi and Abai
Kunanbayev in the formation of the national identity of the Kazakh people in the XXI century. The
purpose of the article is to identify the peculiarities of the formation of national identity through the
image of historical intellectual personalities on the example of Kazakhstan. In order to achieve this
goal, the article used the method of retrospective analysis. Analyzing the historical role of Al-Farabi
and Abay Kunanbayev, defined to what extend influenced the Abay’s, Faraby’s historical role to the
formation of the national identity of the people of Kazakhstan in the XXI century.
There are many factors that shape national identification on the way of its emergence. Among
them, we can note as the main factor to form the national identity of the nation, the territory where
they live, the cultural heritage, the myth, the language, and images from the past. One of the most
important factor is historical memory, since it carries the history of the people, in particular, memories
of key events and figures of the past, their assessment, stores historical experience [1:340]. Today,
there are many definitions of the term «historical memory» in the scientific literature, which is an
indicator that science has not yet developed a single strict concept and its boundaries have not been
established yet. Often, this form of memory is considered as a way of storing and transmitting
historical information, as a set of ideas about the social past that exist in society both at the mass and
individual levels, including their cognitive, imaginative and emotional aspects. For Example, J.T.
Toshchenko gives this definition: historical memory is an expression of the process of organizing,
storing and reproducing the past experience of a people, country, or state for its possible use in
people’s activities or for returning its influence to the sphere of public consciousness» [2:81-98].
It is also important that historical memory is interpreted in scientific works by various authors
as both collective and individual memory of the past. It can be represented as part of the social stock
of knowledge. It is worth noting that in the scientific literature, the concepts of “collective”, “social”,
“cultural” and “historical memory” are used by some researchers as equivalent, while others
distinguish these terms. In the system international relations, after the declaring independence of the
Republic of Kazakhstan in the last decade of the XXth century,the most important task was to form
political institution and to «build a nation» which are based on particular values. The role of historical
precedents, symbolic attributes, and historical figures in the formation of national identity is
particularly important. The path of a nation’s own formation includes long historical periods that span
thousands of years. However, as history has shown, there are many cases when nations that have been
in the Colonies of Empires for many years have lost their historical memory and national identity,
which have been formed for a long time. It is very important to show the role of historical figures in
the promotion of history in the museum, cinema, and national currencies, on the way to form its own
«national structure» after gaining independence. For instance, the image of Sultan Mehmed II in the
Republic of Turkey, Shyngys Khan in Mongolia, the history of Samanids in Iran, the image of Amir
Temir in Uzbekistan, the revival of the tradition epic «Manas» in Kyrgyzstan, played a historically
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important role in the formation of national identity, forming the memory of history. Farabi played a
crucial role in the formation of the identity of the Kazakh people. The image of Al-Farabi was given
to the first national currency, the names of streets and avenues from several regions of the country,
and the publication of a large number of scientific papers emphasized its role in the unification of the
nation in the first years of independence .The intellectual heritage of the founder of Kazakh written
literature, the great thinker Abay Kunanbayev played a key role in the formation of national identity,
crisis and renaissance at early period of independence. The role of the historical leaders on the
forming national identity in the case Republic of Kazakhstan has become the most important topic
which understudied on social science these days [4].
Events related to his anniversary also show that al-Farabi and Abai should play a big role in
shaping the national identity and recognizable brand of the country. The country has formed a belief
that a people of this scale are the pride and heritage of all mankind. Kazakhstan’s duty is not to forget
about the contribution of those wise men to the development of nation’s consciousness. Respect for
the state means that members of society have common sense and are responsible for what is
happening. This is the basis of social culture in the teachings of our thinkers. Their ideas are connected
to each other on the basis of a common consciousness. Every citizen of Kazakhstan should know
Abai and Farabi in order to under stand the future of our society and main values. Many problems of
modern society are outlined in the philosophy of al-Farabi, Abai. In other words, the phenomenon of
our national idea in the field of history is connected with the basics of Turkic culture. Probably, al-
Farabi became a great thinker and was named the second teacher because of his study of the nature
of society and being [3;12].
He was convinced that at any time the development of society is carried out through its
unchanging, basic values. Science, technology, and politics are just tools for society that arise and are
formed in new conditions. And religion, culture, language, traditions, and art ensure its deep and
sustainable development. According to al-Farabi, civilization comes from the mind. Public
intelligence is an intelligence that arises from an understanding of the spirit of nature, the experience
of history, and all that is good and bad for the nation and the state. Knowledge, art, work, and
professions that contribute to the development of culture should be promoted in the social
environment. In today’s global world, issues related to the nature of society should be studied on the
basis of the heritage of al-Farabi, Abai and intellectuals of the Alash movement. Only then can we
come to a right understanding of the significance of social existence and its values which create a
common identity
.
REFERENCES
1. Abdur Rehman Shah. Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment,
Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, 2019. 25:3, 340-341.
2. Berzonsky M.D. and Linda S. Kuk. Identity Status, Identity Processing Style, and the
Transition to University. Journal of Adolescent Research, 2000. 15(1): 81–98.
3. Baffioni C. Al-Madīnah al-Fāḍilah, in al-Fārābī and in the Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ: A Comparison
// Studies in Arabic and Islam: Proceedings of the 19th Congress, Halle 1998, S. Leder (ed.), Leuven
et al.: Peeters, 2002, pp. 3–12.
4. Kasymzhanov A.H. Al-Farabi. – Almaty: 1974.
ЖЕКЕ ТҰЛҒАНЫ ҚАЛЫПТАСТЫРУ БАРЫСЫНДА МЕКТЕП ҰЖЫМЫНЫҢ
ЫҚПАЛЫ
Арапова Эльмира Балтабаевна
«№55 орта мектеп» МКМ
Бастауыш сынып
мұғалімі
Іле ауданы, Алматы облысы
ХХІ ғасыр ілім мен ғылымның ғасыры деген күннің өзінде адам баласы бір саланың ғана
маманы болып қалмау керек дегенді алға тартуда. Яғни сіз әмбебап болуыңыз керек. Бұл талап
мұғалімдер қауымына да қатысты. Мұғалімнің жеке басы оқушының жеке тұлға болып
