Hasakeliushierkuoener
01 · Historical Records
The various pieces of the Sixty-two Konger arose in different historical periods of the emergence, formation and development of the Kazakh people: the Arman (Wish) of Khozhak Qopshy appeared in the 4th century BCE; the Shal Uzen (Yellow River) of Shaimak took shape in the 1st century BCE; the kobyz piece Konger of Korkut originated at the turn of the 7th and 8th centuries; the Aksak Kulan, a dombra piece of Kayrbakha, is a product of the 13th century; the Sagynysh (Longing) of Kazytogan was born in the 15th century; and the Shale Konger of Tatymybek, the Akku Konger (Swan Song) of Kujeken, and the Temir Konger and Mayda Konger of Kayrekbay are all works of the 19th century.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Sixty-two Konger is an important component of Kazakh folk instrumental music, transmitted in the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Among the solo pieces for traditional Kazakh instruments such as the dombra, the kobyz and the sibuzage there is a group of pieces that are particularly beautiful and lyrical, mellow and winding; the Kazakhs are accustomed to calling these pieces the Sixty-two Konger. "Sixty-two" and "Konger" are two sacred words in the minds of Chinese Kazakhs. "Konger" is an ancient Kazakh word used exclusively to describe beautiful things, so the deepest, most beautiful music, the music that moves people's hearts most, is what the Kazakhs call a Konger. The so-called "sixty-two" is not a definite, purely quantitative concept; it carries multiple meanings such as "numerous", "important" and "representative". These pieces are widely circulated among the Kazakh people and have provided generation after generation of Kazakhs with everlasting spiritual nourishment and a bond of ethnic identity. The main instruments used for the Kazakh Sixty-two Konger are the dombra, the kuruz (kobyz) and the sibuzage. The dombra can produce varied timbres through a range of playing techniques; the kobyz can play simple but emotionally rich melodies; the sibuzage can sound ancient, sustained long notes. This music expresses the musical aesthetic unique to the Kazakh people.
Arman (Wish)
Composed by Khozhak Qopshy; it appeared in the 4th century BCE and is one of the earliest pieces in the Sixty-two Konger.
Shal Uzen (Yellow River)
Composed by Shaimak; it took shape in the 1st century BCE.
Kobyz piece Konger
Composed by Korkut; it originated at the turn of the 7th and 8th centuries.
Aksak Kulan
A dombra piece by Kayrbakha, a product of the 13th century.
Sagynysh (Longing)
Composed by Kazytogan; it was born in the 15th century.
Nineteenth-century Konger pieces
Works of Tatymybek, Kujeken, Kayrekbay and others, all composed in the 19th century.
Instrumental timbre division
The dombra can produce varied timbres through a range of playing techniques; the kobyz can play simple but emotionally rich melodies; the sibuzage can sound ancient, sustained long notes.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Sixty-two Konger is performed mostly as a solo by folk kuyyshy (traditional transmitters of the pieces) at festivals, weddings and gatherings in the yurt; in performance the origin and the story of the piece are told first, and only then is the piece unfolded in order.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The Sixty-two Konger carries and records the memory of the Kazakh people of their ancestors and of national history. Among these pieces, the different pieces in pentatonic and heptatonic modes manifest the multiple origins of the Kazakh nation and the way Kazakh musical culture collided and blended with the Mongol people, the Han people, the various Turkic-speaking peoples and the various Indo-European peoples over its long course of historical development; it has research value for history, folklore, ethnology, anthropology, art studies and many other fields. At present, with social development and the disappearance of the traditional language, the Kazakh Sixty-two Konger, this ancient art form, faces the danger of being lost, and urgently needs rescue, support, protection and transmission. Kurmanjan Ziqireye (official archival record of the associated inheritor): male, Kazakh, born in June 1964, native of Tekes County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. He studied at the Ili Prefecture Art School when young and later at Xinjiang University, acquiring a certain level of music theory; in 2001 he joined the Ili Prefecture Song and Dance Troupe as principal dombra player, and can perform the Kazakh Sixty-two Konger by playing and singing his own accompaniment. He has composed several dozen Kazakh folk songs, which are deeply loved by the Kazakh people and widely sung. He went deep into the folk to collect and organize Kazakh folk music and published four monographs. Representative inheritor of the third national-level batch of the Kazakh Sixty-two Konger intangible cultural heritage project. He has taken part in all kinds of competitions and has achieved good results in each; he is currently a member of the expert committee of the Xinjiang Musicians Association.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Kuermanjiang Zikereya 03-0884
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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