Development of Internet Aitys in Kazakhstan
Authors: Zhalgasbayeva Kanagat 
Published: September 2024

Aitys is a type oral literature of the Turkic people, which has existed since ancient times and is pre-served today in Central Asia and the Anatolia. The Kazakh and Kyrgyz people call it Aitys/Aitysh, and the Azerbaijani and Turkish people call it traditional (minstrelsy) Aşıklık. Both of these are listed by UNESCO as being Intangible Cultural Heritage. Aitys typically takes place between two or more poets. The artist who participates and performs in it is considered as a poet or aitysker in Kazakh and Kyrgyz, and ashyk in Azerbaijani and Turkish folklore. According to tradition, they do not prepare for aitys in advance, but, by competing with the opponent, they touch on any topical problems of society and convey them through their improvisational abilities. Poets aitys in Kazakhstan used to be held at celebrating events and palaces of culture andsometimes broadcast on TV channels. In the 21st century, with communication development, it began to spread out through internet sites and social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, Skype, vk.com and YouTube. As a result, in addition to traditional aitys, word contests such as internet-aitys and online-aitys are appeared. Recently, more and more online aitys have been organized in Kazakhstan, and public attention has begun to pay special attention to it. This demonstrates a cultural change, and aitys is developing in a new way as a type of oral literature of the Kazakh people. Traditional Kazakh aitys have previously been studied by researchers such as А. Baytursynov, S.Seyfullin, S.Mukanov, M. Avezov. However, the topic of internet-aitys and online-aitys is found only in the articles of Bekarys Nurimanov and Zhuldyzay Kishkenbayeva. Therefore, there is a need for this topic to be studied within the framework of internet folklore, which means that it needs to be studied under netlore theory. This article analyzes the history of Kazakh aitys and current issues within the framework of four sub-themes: the history of the aitys genre; contemporary aitys art; internet aitys and its topics; and, the development process of online aitys. As a basis of the research samples were taken from the first online-aitys organized by the information portal Abai.kz in 2010, the Aitys Online project organized in 2019, and online-aitys during the pandemic. The texts of the above-mentioned aitys were analyzed within the framework of the theory of netlore, and the differences between traditional and online aitys were compared. Their impact on the Kazakh society and the work of poets were considered. Although the place of the aitys has changed, it was found that the nature of the aitys and the cultural value of the past have not lost their meaning during the poets aitys competition. From this point of view, it has been proven that the freedom of internet-sites and its capabilities prevails in telling the truth to the public. In addition, the article discusses how the heritage of aitys lives in a society governed by digital media technologies and how the peculiarity of aitys as a cultural heritage of society provides a new experience to a person.