Arstanbek BOYLOSH (BUYLASH) UULU

Arstanbek BOYLOSH (BUYLASH) UULU (1824—1878) — one of the prominent thinkers and poets of the "zamanyists," an improvisational poet, composer, and performer on the komuz. He was born into the family of Boylosh bi, an aristocrat from the Tynymseyit tribe, by his second wife Torekan in the region of Syrt, Eki-Naryn. From a young age, the poet became aware of social issues, as his mother was declared "salbar" — a wife with limited marital rights.

When the Kokand authorities summoned his father and other influential figures of the Tynymseyit tribe, sixteen-year-old Arstanbek attracted the attention of the Kokand Kyrgyz akim Alymbek, who later became a datka, with his poetry, and managed to free his father and a group of manaps from his tribe from honorary arrest.

He traveled through the Fergana Valley (Namangan, Andijan, and Aksy), Kashgar, and Northern Kyrgyzstan. In the Karkyra region (a common summer pasture for the Issyk-Kul Kyrgyz and Semirechye Kazakhs), he defeated the Kazakh poet Kantarbay in an improvisational contest. Numerous melodies, songs, and didactic poems by Arstanbek are known. But first and foremost, he is a "zamanyist" thinker. His work "Tar zaman" became central in summarizing his socio-political and moral-ethical views.

During the Soviet regime, there were persecutions against those who not only performed Arstanbek's songs and poems but also those who scientifically analyzed them.

Arstanbek's works were not published, and only one-sided criticism was allowed. They were published in a more complete form only thanks to the liberal environment in the post-Soviet era.