Name of the monument: Zhanys biy mausoleum
Typological affiliation: sacred object
Dating of the monument: the middle of the 19th century.
Location of the monument: Irgiz district, 2.6 km west-south-west of the village of Zhanakurylys
Historical information: Zhanys bi Sygayuly – bi from the Torkar clan. From an early age he took up the management of the people of the Irgiz region. He was the main judge in major disputes between the clans. He had the seal of the Zhanys Kulaman clan of the Altai branch, which was recognized by the Russian tsarist government. The seal survived until the 50-60s of the last century.
Zhanys bi is a famous bi, recognized by the people as a saint. Among the people, the Zhanys bi mausoleum was called “Kyzyl Tam” (“Red Grave”). This mausoleum among the people is considered a place of worship (sanctuary) and has become a holy place. People who are going on a long journey and waiting for the fulfillment of good wishes come to the mausoleum and worship the spirit of the saint bi, the sick come for the night. Zhanys Sygayuly lived in 1769-1867. He was by nature an intelligent and real orator, a saint by nature, a just bey. The people called Zhanys a leader and a wise bey.
Description and characteristics of the monument: an octahedral centric mausoleum with a rectangular entrance opening in the southwestern edge. Compositionally, the monument is a clearly defined octahedron, on which the 41-sided and 8-sided drums rest in succession, finished with a pyramidal dome with a gentle rise of the sides.
The walls of the mausoleum, laid out of baked bricks on clay mortar, are based on a two-stepped plinth, extended 10 cm beyond the line of the walls. No foundation found. In some places in the masonry massifs, especially in the upper part of the octahedron, adobe bricks are laid.
The interior of the mausoleum is accessed by a rectangular aperture covered with arg beams with reed lining over them. The floor of the interior is significantly ruined in comparison with the front part of the entrance, due to the burials made outside. The walls from the inside are also octahedral up to the level of the panel, above which the bar heels of the arched openings of the sails are arranged. The transition to the circle of the dome is made here by a three-tiered system of openings, sails and cell trumpets.
The masonry of the dome is radially wedged. There are four burials on the floor of the chamber, two of which are with tombstones of the type of raw sagan, and two are covered with reed mats.