Akin-writer Togolok Moldo was born on June 17, 1860—January 4, 1942, in the area of Kurtka (now Ak-Talinsky district of Naryn region) in a peasant family. The father of the future akyn, Abdrakhman, was a connoisseur of Kyrgyz lyrics and often performed songs among the people. At the age of 9, Bayimbet learned to read and write from a local mullah. At 14, after losing his father, he was raised by his grandfather's brother, Muzooke, a well-known akyn and komuz player of that time. Four years later, Muzooke also passed away, and their family, finding themselves in a dire situation, was forced to move to Jumgal and work as laborers for the local manap. However, their situation did not improve here either, and they moved to the Chui Valley to relatives of his mother in the village of Kara-Dobe near the city of Tokmak. Here, Bayimbet worked as a laborer for local baes.
His passionate thirst for knowledge compelled Bayimbet to work as a laborer for the local mullah. However, the mullah did not care much about his education, and after quarreling with him, he left. He worked as a healer and taught children to read and write.
While living in the Chui Valley, Bayimbet became acquainted with famous Kyrgyz and Kazakh improvisational singers, read the works of Nizami, Navoi, Ferdowsi, Hafiz, Abai, and others. During these years, he learned the art of retelling the epic "Manas" from the famous storyteller-manaschi Tynybek.
In 1887, Bayimbet returned to his native village of Kurtka and devoted himself to creative work with renewed vigor. Due to his notable appearance—he was stocky and stout (round)—and his ability to read and write, the akyn was nicknamed "Togolok Moldo." This nickname later became his permanent pseudonym.
In 1880, Togolok Moldo met in Kstmen-Tyube with his famous contemporary, the democratic akyn Toktogul Satylganov. After Toktogul's return from exile, a permanent connection was established between them.
In the pre-revolutionary period, Togolok Moldo faced persecution from the baes and manaps for his democratic views and speeches in defense of the common people.
In 1916, due to harassment from the manaps, he was forced to leave his homeland and move to the aiyl Kol-Boor in the present-day Toguz-Toro district. There, he witnessed the October Revolution, became its herald, and actively participated in establishing Soviet power in his homeland. In the early 1920s, embittered enemies of Soviet power attempted to kill the akyn, and bandits twice plundered his home, taking away his wife. In 1923, he returned to his native village of Kurtka and was one of the first to join a collective farm. Between 1936 and 1938, he submitted a vast amount of valuable materials on the ethnography, history, and folklore of the Kyrgyz to the fund of the Research Institute under the People's Commissariat of Education of the republic.
Togolok Moldo began composing poetry and recording it at the age of 14. His multifaceted creativity was nourished by the vital juices of two powerful sources: Kyrgyz folklore and the progressive pre-revolutionary written literature of the East, published in Tatar and Kazakh languages. By refracting this in his work, Togolok Moldo became a true innovator in Kyrgyz poetry.
The pre-revolutionary works of Togolok Moldo are characterized by a realistic reflection of the harsh slave-like condition of the common people, expressing their aspirations and hopes, and calling for the pursuit of their bright dreams.
In his youth, the akyn created a number of works about love. In the poems "Black-eyed," "Tolgonai," "Dedication of a Young Man to a Girl," "Dedication of a Girl to a Young Man," and the poem "Urpyukan," he urges Kyrgyz girls not to passively accept their powerless fate, to resist the negative aspects of patriarchal traditions, and to defend their rights to love and their social status.
A special place in the work of Togolok Moldo is occupied by laments—koshok and mourning songs—armany. In the original yet traditional form of mourning for the deceased, the mastery and skill of folk craftsmen are revealed, celebrating their creative labor. Examples of such works include "Lament of a Peasant's Wife," "Lament of a Blacksmith's Wife." In "Lament of a Girl Married to a Boy," "Lament of a Girl Married to an Old Man," "Lament of a Girl Sold into Slavery for Debts," the akyn expresses outrage over the bondage and powerless condition of the Kyrgyz girl, fiercely denouncing the old patriarchal orders.
He created a number of works on folklore themes: "The Old Man and the Old Woman," "Babyrkan," "Telibay Tentek," etc., in which he exposes the ruling classes that keep the people in terrible darkness and calls for enlightenment. In his satirical poems and epics "The Tricks of the Mullah," "The Sheep in the Turban," "The Lament of Chacha," "The Clumsy One," he denounces representatives of the ruling class for idleness, greed, and stupidity, while in the epics "The Tale of Water and Land Birds," "The Tale of Birds," etc., he allegorically depicts the social contradictions of that society.
Togolok Moldo is the founder of the fable genre in Kyrgyz literature. The arrival of Soviet power on Kyrgyz land and the freedom gained by his people inspired the akyn to create numerous poems, which were distributed among the people in manuscript form. These include the epics "Revolution" (1918), "Freedom" (1919-1923), "Instruction" (1925), "Instruction to the Poor," and others.
During the Great Patriotic War, his songs "We Are Ready" (1941), "We Will Win" (1941), and others called the Soviet people to fight the enemy.
A connoisseur of Kyrgyz folklore, Togolok Moldo is also known as a performer of the epic "Manas." Subsequently, he recorded the second part of the trilogy—"Semetei." He recorded samples of variants of Kyrgyz epics "Shyrdakbek," "Janyl-Myrza," "Mendyrman." He collected a large number of various legends, tales, proverbs, and sayings.
The works of Togolok Moldo began to be published from 1925.
The first published work of the akyn was the poem "Nasyat" ("Instruction"), released in Moscow in 1925. Two more lifetime editions of the akyn were published in 1939. All works of the creative legacy of the outstanding akyn-writer have been published and republished in the native and Russian languages. Some of them have been translated into many languages of the peoples of the USSR.
Togolok Moldo participated in the first decade of Kyrgyz art and literature in Moscow (1939).
The 80th and 100th anniversaries of the birth of the great akyn were widely celebrated by the public of the republic.
He has been a member of the Union of Writers of the USSR since 1938.
Awarded the Order of the "Badge of Honor."
A monument to Togolok Moldo has been erected in the capital of the republic. His name has been given to villages, schools, collective farms, and state farms, as well as streets in the cities of the republic.
SEPARATE PUBLICATIONS
in Kyrgyz language:
Nasyat. Poem. —M.: Central Publishing House of the USSR, 1925. —23 p. Instruction.
Children's Tales. —F.: Kyrgyzmamabas, 1939. —92 p. Children's Tales.
Land and Its Children. —F.: Kyrgyzmamabas, 1939. —16 p. Land and Its Children.
Collection. —F.: Kyrgyzmamabas, 1944. —262 p. Collection.
Selected Poems. —F.: Kyrgyzmamabas, 1951. —250 p. Selected Poems.
Land and Its Children. —F.: Kyrgyzmamabas, 1952. —60 p. Land and Its Children.
Freedom: Poems and Epics. —F.: Kyrgyzmamabas, 1953. —96 p. Freedom.
Works: Vol. 1. —F.: Kyrgyzmamabas, 1954. —276 p. Works.
Works: Vol. 2. —F.: Kyrgyzmamabas, 1955. —204 p. Works.
Children's Poems. —F.: Kyrgyzokupedmambas, 1958. —108 p. Children's Poems.
Selected Works. —F.: Kyrgyzokupedmambas, 1960. —192 p. Selected Works.
Works. —F.: Kyrgyzmamabas, 1960. —322 p. Works.
The Old Man and the Old Woman's Kolobok. —F.: Kyrgyzokupedmambas, 1961. —20 p. The Kolobok of the Old Man and the Old Woman.
Land and Its Children. —F.: Mektep, 1964. —24 p. Land and Its Children.
Tales of Birds: Poem. —F.: Mektep, 1970. —22 p. Tales of Birds.
Works: Vol. 1-2. —F.: Kyrgyzstan, 1970. —343 p. Works.
The Wolf and the Fox: Fables. —F.: Mektep, 1971. —28 p. The Wolf and the Fox.
Birds. —F.: Mektep, 1973. —24 p. Birds.
The Old Man and the Old Woman's Kolobok: Tale. —F.: Mektep, 1974. —19 p. The Kolobok of the Old Man and the Old Woman.
For Children: Poems, Fables, Epics. —F.: Mektep, 1976. —66 p. For Children.
How the Quail Deceived the Fox: Tale. —F.: Mektep, 1977. —96 p. How the Quail Deceived the Fox.
Tales of Birds: Poems, Fables, Epics. —F.: Mektep, 1978. —92 p. Tales of Birds.
The Wolf and the Fox: Fables. —F.: Mektep, 1979. —16 p. The Wolf and the Fox.
Human Character: Poems, Fables, Epics. —F.: Mektep, 1980. —72 p. Human Character.
The Wolf and the Fox: Fables. —F.: Mektep, 1981. —10 p. The Wolf and the Fox.
Ala-Too: Poems. —F.: Mektep, 1982. —48 p.
The Old Man and the Old Woman's Kolobok: Tale. —F.: Mektep, 1984. —19 p. Kolobok.
Ala-Too: Poems. —F.: Mektep, 1984. —48 p.
Nasyat: Poems, Fables, Epics, Tales. —F.: Kyrgyzstan, 1985. —216 p. Instruction.
The Wolf and the Fox: Fables. —F.: Mektep, 1986. —14 p. The Wolf and the Fox.
in Russian language:
Selected Poems. —M.: State Publishing House, 1958. —190 p.
Dear Song: Poems. —M.: Young Guard, 1960. —143 p.
The Wolf and the Fox. —F.: Mektep, 1972. —28 p.
The Wolf and the Fox. —F.: Mektep, 1973. —30 p.
Tale of Birds. —F.: Mektep, 1973. —24 p.
Kolobok. Tale. —F.: Mektep, 1975. —24 p.
The Wolf and the Fox: Fables. —F.: Mektep, 1986. —14 p.