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LEGENDS BORNE BY LIFE: MYTH, GRIEVING AND THE CIRCULATION OF KNOWLEDGE WITHIN KYRGYZ CONTEXTS

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2009, Master of Arts, Ohio State University, Music.
Koshok is a practice related to lament that is manifest in several types. The first type of koshok refers to a lament-like style of vocal music performed by women only and which includes a combination of text, melody and crying-like sounds. This type is performed three days after a death has occurred and on days set aside to mark the passage of time within a year of mourning. The second type of koshok refers to a purely instrumental performance that may be played by an individual, typically on the komus or by a large Soviet-style orchestra of folk instruments. This instrumental type serves the purpose of spreading the news of a death and may be performed by both men and women. The third type of koshok is a vocal performance by a male singer accompaning himself on the komus. This type is reserved for the remembrance of persons of high esteem. All three types share qualities of emotion and dialogue and such qualities underlie the decisions made by local Kyrgyz people as to what may be included in the category of koshok. Three months of ethnographic field-research with koshok as its central subject was conducted by the author in the Kyrgyz Republic from September 2008 until December 2008. The research took place mainly in the region of Talas and Chui and was informed by prior experience gained in the region of Naryn. Myth, as manifested in local stories and customs, is an emergent material through which an individual interacts with the world and with which he or she can create meaningful acts. Koshok is connected to myth in so much as the worlds in which koshok is performed are myth-infused. Understanding myth aids in understanding how koshok both gains meaning from contexts and adds meaning to contexts. The feeling and communication of emotion is constructed by the larger social system and the extent to which an individual, whether performer or listener, is embedded in this larger social system influences the extent to which that individual can participate meaningfully in a performance of koshok. Koshok belongs to a spectrum of activity that includes narratives about sadness or misfortune, activities such as mandatory visits and affective states such as weeping or fainting. This spectrum of activities is covered in the novel, The Day Lasts Longer than 100 Years, written by the Kyrgyz novelist Chingiz Aitmatov, through the stories surrounding a gravesite and description of the activities of a single family as they prepare to bury their father. Not only does Aitmatov write about koshok, but koshok also played a part in the public remembrance of Aitmatov forty days after his funeral. The koshoks presented in a public performance and broadcasted via mass media retained their traditional elements while providing a forum for the negotiation of national identity.
Margarita Mazo, Dr (Advisor)
Danielle Fosler-Lussier, Dr. (Committee Member)
Alam Payind (Committee Member)

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Pritchard, M. E. C. (2009). LEGENDS BORNE BY LIFE: MYTH, GRIEVING AND THE CIRCULATION OF KNOWLEDGE WITHIN KYRGYZ CONTEXTS [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1243965149

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Pritchard, Maureen. LEGENDS BORNE BY LIFE: MYTH, GRIEVING AND THE CIRCULATION OF KNOWLEDGE WITHIN KYRGYZ CONTEXTS. 2009. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1243965149.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Pritchard, Maureen. "LEGENDS BORNE BY LIFE: MYTH, GRIEVING AND THE CIRCULATION OF KNOWLEDGE WITHIN KYRGYZ CONTEXTS." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1243965149

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)