Alyi Bekboeva (1886-1977)
Alyi Bekboeva was the first Kyrgyz folk artisan, admitted to the Union of Artists of the USSR in 1958. She created 25 felt carpets—shyrdaks, 28 embroidered velvet panels—tush-kyiz, 21 ayak-kap, over 80 sekichke, topu, and beldemchi. In her skilled hands, the bright colors of Kyrgyz nature come to life anew.
Among her awards are the Order of the Red Banner of Labor, medals "For Valorous Labor in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945" and "For Labor Distinction." She was awarded the title "Honored Worker of Culture of the Kyrgyz SSR."
Alyi Bekboeva was born on June 12, 1886, in a remote village of Ylaylu-Suu near the city of Naryn in a poor family. After giving birth, her mother—Uul-byubyu died, and the newborn was raised by her stepmother Kulan. Kulan apa, a well-known embroidery and felt crafts master in the village, awakened a sense of beauty in the little girl and introduced her to folk applied arts. From the age of ten, Alyi began embroidering national clothing, making bags for storing items and dishes (bashtyk, tekche, ayak-kap, and others), and creating ornaments for ala-kiiz and shyrdaks.
During the uprising of 1916, the Bekboev family fled to China and worked as hired laborers in Uch-Turpan (Kashgaria). After the October Revolution of 1917, they returned to their homeland. In the 1930s, Alyi joined a collective farm and devoted much time and effort to her beloved craft—creating applied art. Among ancient materials, felt holds a special place. It was made wherever there were sheep and wool. The nomadic lifestyle involved yurts, tents, or awnings. Here, felt was the ideal building material—warm, light, soft, and convenient for transportation. The yurt is a masterpiece of folk creativity, a comfortable, cozy, and elegant dwelling of the Kyrgyz. In the yurt, all branches of folk crafts converge: felt processing, leatherwork, woodworking, embroidery, and more. Every item made by the artisan—ala-kiiz, shyrdak, tush-kyiz, national clothing, etc.—was imbued with the spirit of Alyi.
She actively participated in art exhibitions:
1957 - All-Union Exhibition of Applied Arts. Moscow.
1958 - Republican Exhibition of Folk Art. Frunze.
1967 - All-Union Exhibition "Decorative Art of the USSR." Moscow.
1972 - Inter-Republican Exhibition of Works by Artists of Central Asia and Kazakhstan. Moscow.
It is noteworthy that when Alyi apa participated in the Inter-Republican Exhibition, she was 87 years old. The folk artisan passed away at the age of 91.
In 1957, at the request of the Central Committee of the Komsomol of Kyrgyzstan, A. Bekboeva created several tush-kyiz and shyrdaks for the gift fund of the VI World Festival of Youth and Students in Moscow.
The works of A. Bekboeva are exhibited in the Kyrgyz State Museum of Fine Arts named after G. Aitieva, the State Museum of Arts of the Peoples of the East (Moscow), and the State Museum of Ethnography of the Peoples of the CIS (St. Petersburg).
Women of Kyrgyzstan
