Toktogul Satylganov (,

Perso-Arabic The Persian alphabet (), also known as the Perso-Arabic script, is the right-to-left script, right-to-left alphabet used for the Persian language. It is a variation of the Arabic script with four additional letters: (the sounds 'g', 'zh', ' ...

: توقتوعۇل ساتىلعان ۇۇلۇ; ; 25 October 1864 – 17 February 1933) was the most famous of the Kyrgyz

Akyn Aqyn or akyn (, , ; both transcribed as ''aqın'' or ''اقىن''), is an Improvisation, improvisational poets, poet, singers, singer, and List of oral repositories, oral repository within the Culture of Kazakhstan, Kazakh and Culture of Kyrgyzstan, ...

s –

improvising Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...

poets and singers. The Kyrgyz town of Toktogul in the Jalal-Abad Region is named in his honor. Toktogul was born in Kushchusu, a village now submerged in the

Toktogul Reservoir Toktogul (, known until 31 July 1957 as ''Muztör'' ()), is a city (since 2012) in Jalal-Abad Region of Kyrgyzstan. Its population was 20,577 in 2021. It is the administrative seat of Toktogul District. It is named after its most famous son: the p ...

Career

Toktogul was a well-known poet and composer with democratic views even during the Tsarist Russia's colonial era in Southern Kyrgyzstan (1876–1917). On the eve of the revolt led by

Muhammad Ali Madali Muhammad Ali Madali (also known as Dukchi Eshon in Uzbek language or ''Iyikchi Eshen'' in Kyrgyz language, Kyrgyz) was an īshān of the Naqshbandi Sufi order, who led an 1898 Andijan Uprising, 1898 revolt against Russian domination, centred in th ...

, the Sufi ishan, Toktogul was harshly criticizing local Kyrgyz lords in Ketmen-Tobe valley. Madali ishan, seeking to rid the area of the Russians and restore the formerly independent khanate of Khokand, called for "holy war", and led 2,000 men against Tsarist Russia on 17–18 May 1898 (30–31 May 1898 in the Gregorian calendar). However, his force was blocked outside the city on Andijan by the Russian 20th Line Battalion and defeated. Of those 2,000, 546 were put on trial, and Madali and five of his lieutenants hanged. Most of the sentenced people were Kyrgyz people in the Ferghana valley and mountainous areas in Chatkal, Aksy and Ketmen-Tobe in what is now southern

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

. Among them was prominent poet-improviser and composer Toktogul, who was jailed by a false accusation by his political foes in the Ketmen-Tobe valley about his alleged participation in the revolt. He returned from

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

jail (in the village of Kuitun near the town of

Irkutsk Irkutsk ( ; rus, Иркутск, p=ɪrˈkutsk; Buryat language, Buryat and , ''Erhüü'', ) is the largest city and administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. With a population of 587,891 Irkutsk is the List of cities and towns in Russ ...

) in 1905. His fame reached a high point in the Soviet era when his works were promoted by the state as a musician of the people and he was known throughout

simply as "Toktogul". This distinction was founded largely on his works in the pre-revolutionary era which were interpreted as reflecting the

class struggle In political science, the term class conflict, class struggle, or class war refers to the economic antagonism and political tension that exist among social classes because of clashing interests, competition for limited resources, and inequali ...

. Modern interpretations, however, suggest that they had more to do with clan rivalries. Despite this, he welcomed the revolution, writing "What woman gave a birth to such a person like Lenin?" in celebration. Even after the fall of the Soviet Union Toktogul's songs remain popular among Kyrgyz performers, and many streets, parks, schools, and even his home town are named after him.

References

External links

Toktogul
a
Welcome to KYRGYZMUSIC.COM
(includes a downloadable song)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Satylganov, Toktogul 1864 births 1933 deaths Kyrgyzstani poets Kyrgyzstani folk singers Kyrgyzstani male singers 20th-century Kyrgyzstani writers People from the Khanate of Kokand Poets from the Russian Empire Singers from the Russian Empire