The Kokand Bayoz School And Its Distinctive Traditions

Abstract

After the bayoz entered Central Asia as a literary source, the demand for it gradually increased. Unlike other collections of a similar nature, bayozes gained rapid popularity because they represented a “bouquet” of poets’ creative works, and from the 19th century onward, they became increasingly widespread. As literary culture developed, schools of bayoz compilation emerged within each khanate. While these schools preserved the general characteristics typical of bayozes, each began to acquire distinctive features specific to its own tradition—features that became important markers distinguishing one school from another. This tendency became especially evident in the second half of the 19th century. Up to that period, the bayozes compiled in the three khanates had been almost identical in structure, but gradually they began to differ in composition, artistic ornamentation, and even in thematic and conceptual substance. Alongside the creation of traditional bayozes, new types also appeared—developments that demand serious scholarly attention to the study of bayoz schools.