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Literature as the art of the word and the opening of “Alpomish”

Lessons 1–2 · 2 lessons · Q. Yo‘ldoshev, V. Qodirov, J. Yo‘ldoshbekov. Literature: textbook for Grade 9 of general secondary schools. Revised and expanded 4th edition. “O‘zbekiston” NMIU, Tashkent, 2019
2

“Alpomish”: Fozil Yo‘ldosh o‘g‘li and the opening of the dastan

Textbook: pp. 7–11
GoalKnow the bard Fozil Yo‘ldosh o‘g‘li, who performed “Alpomish”, and the opening events of the dastan (Boybo‘ri, Boysari, Shohimardon pir, the birth of the children).
New words
bard (folk singer-poet) · baxshidastan (heroic epic poem) · dostonalp (hero-warrior) · alpbetrothal in the cradle · beshikkerti
Explanation

The version in the textbook was performed by the great bard Fozil Yo‘ldosh o‘g‘li. He was born in 1872 in the village of Loyqa in today’s Baxmal district of Jizzax region, grew up an orphan, learned to sing terma and dastans to the dombira while herding, and studied under the bard Yo‘ldosh shoir. More than forty versions of the dastan have been written down, but this one stands above them for its gripping events and its reflection of the people’s spirit. In 1999 the dastan’s thousandth anniversary was widely celebrated. The story begins among the Qo‘ng‘irot people: the rich brothers Boybo‘ri and Boysari had no children; hurt at a feast where they were not honoured, they went to the shrine of Shohimardon pir to ask for a child. Boybo‘ri’s twin son and daughter (Hakimbek and Qaldirg‘ochoyim) and Boysari’s daughter Oybarchin were born; the pir, arriving as a wandering qalandar, named them and betrothed Hakimbek to Oybarchin in the cradle.

Worked examples
Example: when the children are seven, Hakimbek lifts and draws the heavy bow left by his grandfather Alpinbiy, and the arrow flies over the mountain peaks. After that the people count him among the alps and call him Alpomish.
Example: when his father asks what makes a person stingy or generous, Hakimbek answers that welcoming a guest and giving zakat are signs of generosity. This answer prepares the later quarrel.
Class activity

Write the opening events (the hurt at the feast, the shrine, the children, the naming, the bow) on five cards, shuffle them and put them in the right order in pairs.

Practice
1
Who performed the textbook version of “Alpomish”, and when was he born?
2
Why did Boybo‘ri and Boysari go to the shrine of Shohimardon pir?
3
Whose children are Hakimbek, Qaldirg‘ochoyim and Oybarchin?
4
Why was Hakimbek given the name Alpomish? What quality does this show?