Toktonaaly Shabdanbaev (1896—1978) — a poet-improviser, People's Artist of the Kyrgyz SSR (1958), member of the Union of Writers of the USSR (1958). He was born in the village of Jaiylma, now in the Kant district of Chui region, into a peasant family. He began singing and playing the komuz in the 1920s. In 1936, he participated in the first All-Kyrgyz Olympiad of Folk Musical Creativity, after which the akyn was accepted as a soloist in the Kyrgyz State Philharmonic, where he worked for nearly 30 years.
Since 1949, six books by Toktonaaly Shabdanbaev have been published in Kyrgyzstan, which include, alongside poems, texts of solo and dialogic "terme" performed by him at concerts, often in partnership with I. Boronchiev. The akyn's style is characterized by narrative intonation, a relatively high tessitura, and an "open," ringing voice. Among his best compositions is the "seketbay" "My Golden" ("Oy, altyn"). Toktonaaly Shabdanbaev was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor and various medals.
