The Concept of Müshel Jas in Bakhyt Kairbekov’s Book Ellipsis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25178/nit.2026.1.20Keywords:
Old Turkic calendar, twelve-year cycle, concept, müshel jas, Kazakh literature, Kazakh culture, Kazakhs, Turkic culture, Bakhyt KairbekovAbstract
The article analyzes the concept of müshel jas within the system of structural and semantic dominants of the book Ellipsis (2018) by the Kazakh poet Bakhyt Kairbekov. Müshel jas is a Kazakh expression denoting a cyclical age threshold that is a multiple of twelve years. It is interpreted as a transitional age and a new stage of life.
It is noted that notions of müshel jas are associated with a twelve-year time cycle, reflect the cyclicity of time, and to some extent persist in the cultures of the peoples of Central Asia. In Bakhyt Kairbekov’s creative work, müshel jas is defined as a key concept carrying symbolic meaning. It represents a divinely predetermined, trial-laden period—a liminal and transitional stage—but also a time of new possibilities.
The book Ellipsis, in which müshel jas functions as one of the important ethnocultural concepts, has a multigenre structure that includes prose and poetry, diary entries and interviews, reminiscences, aphorisms, and quotations. The value of the conducted research and its contribution to humanities lies in the originality of the approach to the stated topic. Müshel jas represents not only years of trials but also a time of opportunities and new aims.
For the poet, the meaning of müshel jas takes shape in the metaphorical image of a quraq körpe (“patchwork quilt”), composed of the author’s reflections in prose and poignant verses on the transience of time. In the intricate patterns of the poet-philosopher’s “patchwork quilt” coexist nostalgia for the past, an honest self-assessment of the present, and an optimistic outlook toward the future.
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For citation:
Utebekova A. S., Salkhanova Zh. Kh. and Bayanbayeva Zh. A. The Concept of Müshel Jas in Bakhyt Kairbekov’s Book Ellipsis. New Research of Tuva, 2026, no. 1, pp. 367-385 (In Russ.). DOI: https://doi.org/10.25178/nit.2026.1.20
Author Biographies
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Aray S. Utebekova Al-Farabi Kazakh National University
Senior Lecturer, Department of Foreign Languages, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University.
Postal address: 71 al-Farabi Ave., 050040, Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan.
E-mail: aray.utebekova@yahoo.com
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Zhanat Kh. Salkhanova Al-Farabi Kazakh National University
Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Candidate of Philology, Associate Professor, Department of Russian Philology and World Literature, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University.
Postal address: 71 al-Farabi Ave., 050040, Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan.
E-mail: salkhanova.zhanat@mail.ru
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Zhadyra A. Bayanbayeva Al-Farabi Kazakh National University
Candidate of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor, Department of Russian Philology and World Literature, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University.
Postal address: 71 al-Farabi Ave., 050040, Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan.
E-mail: bayanbaevazhadra@mail.ru
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