ASTANA — Abai is widely regarded as the founder of modern Kazakh written literature and one of the country’s most influential thinkers. His poetry and “Words of Edification,” a collection of philosophical reflections on morality, education, human nature and society, continue to shape how generations of Kazakhs understand their cultural heritage.
Abai Qunanbaiuly. 1981. Pastel on toned paper by Leonid Leontyev (1913–1983). Photo credit: A. Kasteyev National Museum of Arts Yet to understand Abai, it is also necessary to understand the world that shaped him. This is what Mukhtar Auezov set out to capture in “Abai Zholy” (The Path of Abai), a four-volume epic novel that tells the story of the poet’s life while offering a sweeping portrait of Kazakh society in the 19th century.
Through Abai’s experiences, Auezov brought to life the traditions, social structures, cultural practices and everyday struggles of the Kazakh steppe. The novel is not simply a literary biography. It is an account of a society negotiating the relationship between inherited customs and the search for change.
Born in 1897 near Semipalatinsk, in what is now Abai Region, Auezov grew up in a family with close ties to the poet. His grandfather, Auez, was a storyteller who introduced him to literature and helped nurture his interest in Abai’s work. This early exposure would become central to Auezov’s literary and scholarly career.
Auezov studied at the Semipalatinsk Teachers’ Seminary before continuing his education at Leningrad State University, where he studied philology. He became a prolific writer, playwright and literary scholar, researching Kazakh folklore, oral literature and the development of national literature.
His interest in Abai began long before the novel appeared. In 1918, Auezov published an essay on the poet’s works and literary significance. He then devoted years to studying Abai’s legacy and the cultural traditions of his era. The first book of the novel, published under the title “Abai,” appeared in 1942.
A second volume followed in 1947, and the larger work developed over the following decade. The completed four-volume epic became Auezov’s defining achievement and brought his writing to readers far beyond Kazakhstan. In 1959, he received the Lenin Prize for the work.
Mukhtar Auezov (1897–1961), Kazakh writer, playwright and literary scholar, author of a four-volume epic about the life of Abai Qunanbaiuly and Kazakh society in the 19th century. Photo credit: Adebiportal.kz The historical setting of “The Path of Abai” is as important as its central character.
Auezov reconstructs a world in which family ties, clan relationships, customary law and the authority of influential elders shaped much of public and private life. The steppe is not merely a backdrop. Seasonal migration, access to pastures, livestock and the demands of a harsh climate influence the fortunes of families and the relationships between communities.
Environmental hardship could threaten livelihoods, while disputes over land and resources could deepen existing divisions. Through the relationship between Abai and his father, Qunanbai, Auezov explores the tensions between authority and conscience. Qunanbai represents an established order in which power, status and family interests carry considerable weight.