Aqyn

Aqyn or akyn (Kazakh: ақын, Kyrgyz: акын, pronounced [ɑˈqɯn]; both transcribed as aqın or اقىن), is an improvisational poet, singer, and oral repository within the Kazakh and Kyrgyz cultures. Aqyns differ from the zhyraus or manaschys, who are instead song performers or epic storytellers. In song competitions known as aytıs or aytysh, aqyns improvise in the form of a song-like recitative, usually to the accompaniment of a dombra (among Kazakhs) or a komuz (among Kyrgyz). In the context of the nomadic lifestyle and illiteracy of most of the rural population in Central Asia in pre-Soviet times, akyns played an important role in terms of expressing people's thoughts and feelings, exposing social vices, and glorifying heroes. In the Soviet era, their repertoire incorporated praise songs to Lenin. Contemporary aqyns may also publish their original lyrics and poetry.