INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
ISSN: 2692-5206, Impact Factor: 12,23
American Academic publishers, volume 05, issue 04,2025
Journal:
https://www.academicpublishers.org/journals/index.php/ijai
page 822
KARAKALPAK FOLK SONGS
Qarlibaeva Azada
Yunus Rajabiy Uzbek National Institute of Music and Art 3rd year student
Scientific supervisor:
Asatillo Sunnatillayev
Yunus Rajabiy Uzbek National Institute of Music and Art
Associate Professor, Department of Epic Performance.
Abstract:
This article discusses the origins, melodies, and deep historical musical culture of
the Karakalpak people's national and folk songs, as well as their origins and unique
characteristics.
Keywords:
song, melody, tradition, national, genre, music, music, genre, performer, epic
poem.
The Karakalpak people have a centuries-old history, flourishing in all branches of
literature and art - fine arts, architecture, theater, cinema, and especially music. The heritage
of our ancestors, based on oral tradition, emerged in traditional songs and epics related to
events encountered in people's lives. It reached us through performers, jirovs, and baksi from
among the people, and the first examples of musical culture began to flourish. It wouldn't be
an exaggeration to say that in the current era of development, this musical culture is
progressing alongside the times.
In the first half of the 20th century, scholars studied and analyzed folk songs, as well
as the repertoires of “jirov” and “baksi” (traditional bards), leading to the emergence of genre
distinctions. In the second half, folk melodies were widely used in composers' works,
appearing in genres ranging from simple romances to large-scale musical dramas, operas,
ballets, and others.
If we delve deeper into Karakalpak folk music, the genre of song occupies a
significant place in Karakalpak folk musical art. The roots of folk songs go back to the distant
past. The reason is that the emergence of songs and the rich aesthetic content of newly
pleasing melodic rhythms did not appear spontaneously. The people reflected their life,
spiritual experiences, and psychology, rich in various historical events, through poems. The
influence of poetry on people's comprehensive aesthetic enjoyment was profound.
Through song and music, a person can express their joy, joy, or sorrow, dreams and
aspirations, and inner feelings. A song possesses an invisible power that captivates. Therefore,
they conveyed the subtle thoughts they couldn't express in words through melody. Folk songs
were performed at various celebrations and festivities. When jirow, baksi , and storytellers
came to a village, everyone from near and far gathered for a gathering. The gathered audience
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
ISSN: 2692-5206, Impact Factor: 12,23
American Academic publishers, volume 05, issue 04,2025
Journal:
https://www.academicpublishers.org/journals/index.php/ijai
page 823
would listen intently to our national epics, folk songs, and melodies. Such cultural holidays
were not only a great school of upbringing in the lives of the people of that time but also
provided them with spiritual wealth.
All folk art has survived to this day through oral tradition, passed down from
generation to generation, from father to son, and from distant villages, through the exchange
of mentors and students. Due to the strong interest in musical art among the people, musical
culture has flourished. Among the works of talented individuals of varying degrees, the most
productive works that have captured the hearts of the people have been preserved and have
survived to this day, occupying a prominent place in the repertoires of contemporary
performers. Because the art of the Karakalpak people is rich in diverse songs and diverse oral
traditions, they have possessed invaluable resources over many years and, along with
expressing the experiences arising from the people's way of life, possess deep historical roots.
This is because the people's experiences have found vivid expression in folk songs.
Our ancestors respected and cherished their songs. There are countless oral folk traditions
that have provided them with spiritual support. Doctor of Philological Sciences N.
Davqarayev wrote, "The Karakalpak people, both in their sorrowful and joyful days, could
not live without songs, music, and oral poetry." A song has been a companion to a person
since birth. Russian scholar A. Belyaev, while a 5th-year student at St. Petersburg University
in 1903, traveled through Karakalpak villages to collect and research folklore. Upon
encountering folk songs, he expressed his admiration for them and referred to them as
"Karakalpak steppe nightingales." Scholars who have witnessed this truth have argued that
our people are born with song, live with song, and die with song.
Poetry has served as a spiritual treasure for every nation in the life of the people.
Along with inspiring a joyful life for the people, art, through its tireless work, encourages
them to live a good life, provides spiritual support, and guides them towards their dreams and
aspirations. Karakalpak folk song music is characterized by its diverse genres. The diverse
development of musical genres is closely linked to the diversity of their themes. In a poem,
the melody and text share the same weight and are aimed at achieving the same goal. In every
folk song, the melodic structure and poetic text lines, which are closely interconnected,
constantly complement each other, leading to the emergence of valuable songs.
Our people say, "A dry word doesn't please the ear." Due to the absence of a poetry
form in Karakalpak verse composition, songs were widespread. Performers sang these songs
to preserve their memory and present them to the people. Consequently, when a song is sung
with melody, it is not forgotten. In Karakalpak folk epics, nasir is the prose word preceding
the poem; these prose words express the meaning and reality of the poem that follows them.
Furthermore, bet ashar is performed by vibrating with rhythms and intonations in sound
waves.
Due to the variety of songs, musicologists preferred to classify them according to their
melody, text lines, and character. Uzbek musicologist I. Akbarov, who conducted a musical
analysis of Karakalpak folk melodies, presents a series of observations in his collection
"Karakalpak Folk Melodies." He divides Karakalpak folk melodies into two groups: "Songs"
and "Epic Poems." At the same time, regarding the uniqueness of these melodies, the
melisms that distinguish them, their rhythmic patterns, the mode, and the connection of these
melodies with the music of other related peoples, he introduced several definitions and
offered valuable insights into musical interpretation.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
ISSN: 2692-5206, Impact Factor: 12,23
American Academic publishers, volume 05, issue 04,2025
Journal:
https://www.academicpublishers.org/journals/index.php/ijai
page 824
Karakalpak melodies often have a complex form, a wide range, and are
comprehensively developed, with their origins harmonizing with their national character.
Karakalpak folk songs are divided into several types. Notably, researcher V. Shafrannikov
categorized them into the following types: lyrical, epic, historical, social resistance,
entertainment, and music. The researcher mentions these in his collection "Karakalpak Folk
Songs." There are many types of Karakalpak folk songs. They are broad in scope and are
divided into two major groups based on the simplicity, complexity, form, and performance
style of the melody: narrow-range songs and wide-range songs. In addition to performance
style, performers in Karakalpak music are categorized as baxshi, jirov, musician, storyteller,
and singer
Their songs were categorized into two major groups, namely: folk songs and the
works of Karakalpak folk composers. Even today, many performers utilize folk songs or
compositional works. Of course, we wouldn't be wrong to say this is evidence of the
performers' love for national and folk songs.
In conclusion, if our national folk songs are considered our spiritual treasure, we must
cherish them and pass them on to future generations in their preserved form. I believe it is
necessary to further develop our national and folk songs, to increase the number of modern
manuals and literature on them, and to preserve them. I believe that through this article, I
have managed to convey complete and comprehensive information about all Karakalpak folk
songs in a concise, but meaningful manner, despite the difficulties it presents.
References:
1. Aygul Nadirova. "History of Karakalpak Music" "Sano-standart" Publishing House
Tashkent - 2018
2. Ortiqboy Erejepov. Karakalpak National Musical Instruments Nukus - 2021
3. Matyoqubov, B. Epic Poems. Tashkent, 2009.
4. D. Allanazarov People's Bakhshi "Avangard" Publishing House Nukus 2022
