THE EVOLUTION OF THE DASTAN GENRE IN INDEPENDENCE-ERA KARAKALPAK LYRO-EPIC POETRY: SYNTHESIS OF CLASSICAL TRADITIONS AND MODERN RELIGIOUS-PHILOSOPHICAL DISCOURSE

Abstract

This study examines the genre-stylistic evolution of the dastan (epic narrative poem) in post-independence Karakalpak literature, demonstrating how contemporary poets synthesized traditional Eastern khamsa conventions, folkloric epic motifs, and Islamic philosophical aesthetics. Historical literary analysis indicates a major shift in Karakalpak literary scholarship during the 1990s: major lyro-epic works previously labeled as Westernized poems were re-evaluated under the native genre terminology of dastan. Focusing on key works such as A. Otepbergenov’s Allan'di Umitpa! (Do Not Forget Your Allah!) and Khamsa cycle, R. Ernasheva’s Khamsa, N. Toreshova’s Yalganshi (The Deceiver), and I. Yusupov’s Watan Topiragi, this paper analyzes how independence enabled free artistic expression, autobiographical reflection, and religious-philosophical inquiries into moral accountability, divine justice, and ecological preservation.