Kakitai Yskakuly Kunanbayev is the son of the younger brother of Abai Yskak, the publisher of the compositions of Abai Kunanbayev.

Kakitai Kunanbayev, who made a great contribution to the teachings of Abai, was born in Akshoki village, at the foot of the Genghis mountains. His real name is Gabdulhakim, but his mother affectionately called him Kakitai. Kakitai is the first son of Yskak, born of his second wife Tekti.

From the age of 8, Kakitai learned literacy from aul mullahs. Studying was easy for Kakitai, and after 2-3 years he began to read books in Turkish, Arabic, Persian and Chagatai.

At the insistence of Abai Kakitai begins to study the works of the classics, from each work makes certain conclusions for himself. He reads a lot of books in Russian.

Abai raised Kakitai with his son Magauiya. Kakitai and Magauiya were of the same age, played together and studied together from the one mullah. However, at the age of 14, Magauiya entered to the Russian school in Semipalatinsk, and Kakitai remained in the village for certain reasons. Abai paid a lot of attention to him and expected great success from him, and Abai also begins to teach Kakitai and his peers who remained in aul to music. To this end, Abai invites the violinist Muku from Coken to the village.

Kakitai, from the very beginning of his life, took an active part in all the important events that took place in Abai’s life. Kakitai knew many events of Abai’s life and the chronology of their origin. Therefore, the biography of Abai’s life, written by Kakitai, became an important part of his era and subsequently took a worthy place in abaeology.

After the death of Abai, Kakitai collected poetic heritage of his teacher. This was the first collection of poems by Abai, at the end of which the biography of the poet was first posted. That was in 1909.

The first collection of works by Abai was prepared by Alikhan Bukeikhanov and by the poet’s nephew Kakitai Iskakuly. For this, the manuscript with verses was handed over to the Russia by order of the State Duma deputy Alikhan Bukeikhanov, who lived in St. Petersburg. He spoke with Abai’s youngest son Turagul and nephew Kakitai, inviting them to collect poetry of their father and uncle.

Kakitai and Turagul did an invaluable work, writing many poetic works of the classic of Kazakh literature from the words of their Semipalatinsk countrymen. There were used records by the Muslim priest Murseit, who, at the request of Abai, collecting and writing down his verses. By the way, to this day, researchers of the Abai’s heritage rely in many respects on Murseit’s manuscripts – which recognized by modern scholars the primary source that existed during Abai’s life.

Kakitai invested a lot of work in popularizing the heritage of Abai. Kayum Mukhamedkhanov’s research says that if it weren’t Kakitai Yskakuly, readers would probably not have got remarkable Abai’s works. It’s thanks to Kakitai the Abai’s works of came to us and from the memories of Kakitai himself we understand that not all of Abai’s legacy reached the reader , since many of Abai’s manuscripts fell into disrepair and their restoration was impossible, some works were not preserved, including and words of edification, . In 1906, to restore the manuscripts of Abai, Kakitai invites Mullah Murseit to help.

In 1907, Kakitai leaves for Omsk with Abai’s finished manuscripts, where he meets with Alikhan Bukeikhanov who lived there at that time. Kakitai Yskakuly and Alikhan Bukeikhanov have known each other since 1900. From the memoirs of Alikhan Bukeikhanov: “I saw Kakitai in the autumn of 1900. … In 1904, I wrote to the children of the late Abai about the need to publish of their father’s verses. At the end of July 1905, Kakitai came to me in Omsk with the manuscripts of Abai, having been in my house for about a week. Together we enjoyed reading the works of Abai, Pushkin and Lermontov. Our acquaintance has become closer. ” Thus, Kakitai handed over the manuscripts of Abai to Alikhan Bukeikhanov.

In 1909, Kakitai published a first collection of selected verses by the great Kazakh poet Abai in St. Petersburg in the printing of Ilyas Boraganskii. It was under the guidance of A. Bukeikhanov, in which was the first biography of Abai, written by Kakitai, entitled “The Life of Abai Ibrahim Kunanbayuly”. The article presents a literary analysis of the works of the poet included in the collection. M. O. Auezov highly appreciated the role of Kakitai Yskakuly in promoting Abai’s works.

List of references

Kakitai Yskakuly Kunanbayev // Kazakhstan. National Encyclopedia. V.3. – Almaty: Kazakh encyclopedia, 2005.

Mukhamedhanuly K. The disciples-poets of Abai. Second book. – Almaty: Dauyr, 1994. – p.336