NEW DATA IN ABAI TEXTUAL SCHOLARSHIP

Abstract

The article examines new data and sources relevant to the textual study of Abai’s literary heritage and their introduction into scholarly circulation. Particular attention is paid to two manuscripts from East Turkestan discussed in Tursyn Zhurtbay’s study «Білмей мұны жазған жоқ». The paper considers the preservation history, structure, script features, and textual organization of Sheryazdan Marsenov’s manuscript «Абай Құнанбайұлының тәлімдері. Шәкәрім Құдайбердіұлының тәлімдері» and the anonymous copyist’s «Абай өлеңдерінің көшірмелері», as well as their relationship to the first 1909 edition of Abai’s poems and other textual sources. Textual comparison, manuscript description, and historical-linguistic analysis of writing and orthographic features are used to identify factors affecting the reconstruction of the original text. Variants of individual words, affixes, poetic lines and stanzas, as well as deliberate textual changes and copying-related discrepancies, are examined. The study emphasizes the need for comprehensive comparison of manuscript and printed sources in contemporary Abai textual scholarship. The findings demonstrate the scholarly value of newly introduced manuscript materials for further research into the textual history of Abai’s heritage.