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Edige – a Karakalpak Oral Epic as performed by Jumabay Bazarov. Edited and translated by Karl Reichl. Helsinki: Academia Scientiarum Fennica. 2007. 498 pp. ISBN 978-951-41-1012-2 (hardback) 42 euros (hardback) |
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Edige is one of the most esteemed oral epics of the Karakalpaks, a Turkic-speaking people, who live on the mouth of the Amu Darya and the shores of the Aral Sea in Uzbekistan. Edige is a historical personage from the time of Timur and the turn of the 14th to the 15th century. He is considered the founding father of the Noghay Horde, from which the Karakalpaks and the other Turkic peoples have emerged, and his tale is therefore for the Karakalpaks intimately linked to their historical roots and ethnic identity. The singer, Jumabay Bazarov, was the last Karakalpak singer of heroic epics who stood in an entirely oral tradition. In this edition and translation an attempt has been made to capture as much of his oral performance as possible, including the singer’s dialect features and his musical style. The singer’s performance is also illustrated by audio and video clips on the CD accompanying this book. |
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