Qorqyt Ata(He was born approximately in early 10th century, and died in early 11th century) – the great thinker of all Turkic peoples, poet – “zhyrau”, the first creator of muscical compositions (kuy, kuys).
Biography
Qorqyt Ata is one of the great Turkic figures who bestowed upon us the priceless and unique cultural, philosophical, literary and musical heritage. His literary and philosophical views, musical works, rhetorical art, as well as vital suggestions that hand over and circulate between generations and highly respected by Turkic world, and far beyond its borders. He was born, lived and died in the Kazakh steppe, which is the cultural and political basis of the Eurasian space, the second one after the Altay, the sacred homeland of the Turks. Qorqyt Ata forever became famous as a public figure, musician, virtual shaman, author and performer of music plays – “kuys”, creator a musical instrument – “qobyz”, forecaster, phylosopher and poet – “zhyrau”, who delivered the best examples of rhetorical art and wisdom. Qorqytology is an important and integral part of not only Turkology, but of the world cultural studies, history of philosophy, rhetorical art, music and literature.
Qorqyt Ata lived and worked in early 10th century, when the Oghuz state appeared near the Syr Darya river. Its capital was the city of Zhanakent (Yangikent) city near the Aral Sea, not far from Kazaly, the modern village of Kyzylorda oblast. In later 10th century, the eastern Kipchaks ousted the Oghuz tribes from the Syr Darya River banks. Some Oghuzes moved to the west along the Caspian Sea, and after several conquests, founded the Ottoman state in the Minor Asia. The Oghuzes outflow to the west and the increasing influence of Kipchaks had serious socio-political and cultural-historical consequences for the Great Steppe.
The modern Turkic peoples preserve a unique image of Qorqyt Ata, but at the same time they give it their own cultural and historical features. From one side, in the traditional-steppe interpretation, Qorqyt Ata appears before us as a bearer of the concept of “shamanism”, a storyteller, and a performer of “kui”. From other side, the Oghuz interpretation seeks to give Qorqyt Ata more elements of a Muslim worldview.
As a result, in relation to the Turkic peoples, we can conditionally consider the image of Qorqyt Ata as divided into the two categories: “Kypchak Qorqyt Ata” and “Oghuz Qorqyt Ata”. The first one is largely intrinsical for Kazakhs, Bashkirs, Karakalpaks, Turkmens, and the second one is intrinsical for Azerbaijanis and Ottoman Turks. In this sense, the Oghuzes strengthened the presence of Muslim faith in the image of Qorqyt Ata.
Kazakh legends are representing Qorqyt Ata as a protector of poets, creator and founder of the art of musical compostions, the ancestor of shamans:
Qorqyt Ata is the great protector of poetry,
All shamans received his whishing words.
As he takes up his qobyz and plays,
The people are amazed by his art.
Qorqyt Ata leads the Bashkirs transfer from Altai to the White Volga, and he plays dombra and sings songs, say Bashkir legends. Once Qorqyt Ata was told: “A ditch would be emerged in front of you, don’t appear through it,” he answered: “We have a blessing before us, and an abyss behind us. We will go forward.” and he suggested the people to go to the White Volga [1, p. 53-54].
We get the very first historical data on Qorqyt Ata from Rashid al-Din, Kadyrgali Jalairi and Abulgazy. They sought to describe conquests of Genghis Khan in the Central Asia and Middle East and used the Oghuz heroic epic as a historical source. The name of Qorqyt Ata is praised under heroic deeds of Oghuz heroes, say the mentioned above sources. According to these writings, Qorqyt Ata is called either a native of the Oghuz tribe “Kayy”, or the Bayat tribe’s commander, an old man who lived a long life. According to the work of Rashid ad-Din, which is called “Jami at-tauarich”, Qorqyt Ata is a native from the Bayat tribe, the son of Qara Qozha. He lived under the power of Inal Khan Syr Yava (Jabgu). He was a very intelligent, wise person. Qorqyt Ata lived a long life, reaching the age of 295 years [2, p. 70-71].
Being based on this data Abulgazy Bahadur Khan in his Turkmen lineage (Shezhire-i Tarakima) gives a slightly different version. Qorqyt Ata Qarakozhauli is an adviser to Inal Yava Khan, who ruled the tribal union of Kayy and Salor. The Khan listens to his advice. After the death of the Khan, his successor Duyly-Kai khan and his subsequent descendants continued such a tradition. Qorqyt Ata was at the birth of one of successors of Duila-Kai, and he chosed the name “Tuman” for him. After ascending the throne, Tuman becomes Kunhan (sunlike) [3, p. 57-59].
Under the Oghuz interpretation, Qorqyt Ata is portrayed as an authoritative elderly sage among the population, able to predict the future: “Qorqyt Ata lived among Bayats, the tribe, and was connoisseur, oracle, and foreteller”. He knew everything around the world, and everything he said was coming true. He expressed to people the mystery of the future unknown to them, learning it from the Creator ”[4, p.11].
In the whole, under the Oghuz heroic poems set forth in medieval Turkic-Persian narrative works, Qorqyt Ata is the protector of Oghuz “beks” and heroes, a sage and mentor providing heroic and title names.
The Great Qorqyt Ata was buried near the Syr Darya river in Kazakhstan. The burial place is located near the Qorqyt Ata station in the Karmakshy place of the Kyzylorda region. In later 19th century, a flood of the Syr Darya occurred and the grave was destroyed. In 1898, the famous folklorist A. Divayev managed to take a picture of the grave of Qorqyt Ata, which was located on the edge of the cliff near the river bank.
Azerbaijani Turks believe that the Derbent city is the burial place of the great figure, while Ottoman Turks mention the Masat area in the Bayburt rayon of the Turkey. Researchers have not yet reached a consensus on truthfulness of the mentioned graves. The Turkic peoples pay great respect to the image of Qorqyt Ata and they have their own versions of his biography and place of burial.
Merits
Kazakh legends on the Qorqyt Ata are filled with ancient motifs of a mythical worldview and they can be divided into several groups. The first group is about birth and origin of Qorqyt Ata. The theme of the second group revolves around Qorqyt Ata’s struggle against death. The third group covers musical works of Qorqyt Ata, in which various situations from the life of the great storyteller set out.
Legends on the birth of the great storyteller cover attempts to explain an appearance of the name of Qorqyt Ata. It is a kind of reflection of folk etymology. They say that the birthplace of Qorqyt Ata is the “Karaspan Mountain”. Before giving birth to Qorqyt Ata, his mother had a great desire to eat wild onagle’s meat and carried a baby in her womb for three years and nine days. Every year during this three-year period, Qorqyt Ata’s mother experienced labor pains, prepared for the birth of her baby, and experienced sufferings. But neither in the first nor in the second year the child was born. After three years and nine days, Qorqyt Ata was born. On his birthday a black cloud was hung over the earth and a gloomy day made everything darken around.
Lightning flashes, thunderous peals are heard, everything seems to be turning around upside-down. All of this accompanies the moment of birth of a child, who causes a state of fear among locals. The following lines say about it:
As soon as Qorqyt Ata was born
The water came up to the Mountain of Karaspan,
The sand covered the ground
When he was born, the people were in fear,
And as he was born, the joyness came up. [5, p.105].
People say “wherever you go, the grave of Qorqyt Ata is everywhere.” Such a philosophical expression owes its appearance to the legend on Qorqyt Ata’s prophetic dream. In his dream, several strangers dug a grave for him. And Qorqyt Ata asked them: “for whom is the grave was prepared?” He was told that they were digging a hole for the grave of Qorqyt Ata. Suddenly waking up in fright, Qorqyt Ata wondered how to avoid death. He decided to go around all four sides of the earth. And everywhere he came across holes dug for him. Realized the inevitability of death, Qorqyt Ata returned to the center of Syr Darya, where he was born. To avoid death, he placed a rug on the river and began playing “qobyz”. But once he was overcome by fatigue and fell asleep. The death approaches to him as a snake and after a bite he dies.”
There are several versions of this famous folk legend. According to one of them, the holy Qorqyt Ata looked for immortality and went around the whole earth: “In ancient times, Qorqyt Ata lived at the edge of the world. In his dream, he turned to the grave diggers with the question: “for whom are they digging a hole?” They replied that they were “digging a grave for holy Qorqyt Ata.” Hearing such an answer, Qorqyt Ata decided to avoid death and go to the other side of the earth. But having arrived there, he saw again the same dream. He leaves again for another side of the earth. To avoid death, Qorqyt Ata visits all four corners of the world. But he saw the same dream everywhere. In the end, he decides to live in the center of the earth, near the Syr Darya River. Currently his grave is there. Intended to avoid inevitability of the fate, Qorqyt Ata comes to the decision that if “an earthly death cannot be avoided, then such a step could be done on water surface.”With this thought, he lays a carpet on the water surface of Syr Darya, sit on the carpet and plays kuy for 100 years until his death” [5, p. 90-91].
Another version tells us that Qorqyt Ata traveled on his camel around the world (west, east, south and north): “Once in the morning he saddled his camel named Zhelmaya and went to west (magrub). There he met a grave digger. Then Qorqyt Ata alternately visits the south (junub) and the north (shawal). Everywhere he meets the same grave digger. Trying to get rid of that inevitability, Qorqyt Ata turns to God with the question of where and how he could to avoid death. And then a heavenly voice is heard: “Don’t be a fool, go to where you were born! Only there you will find peace, and a place of your birth is the center of the earth ”[5, p. 92-93]
A struggle between life and death was an early motive of mythological consciousness of ancient persons and legends, including the famous Sumerian Epic on Gilgamesh, says Kazakhstan folklorist S. Kaskabasov. [6, p. 269-274].
E. Tursynov compares the plots of legends on Qorqyt Ata with the content of mythical tales of the ancient Turkic peoples, and he markes their typical similarity to shamanistic rituals. He notes that the image of the great storyteller preserves features of the ancient great shaman who “asks heaven for eternal life”. He also believes that such a knowledge of the world does not contradict the Turkic characteristics on a wise and great personality [7, pp. 131-162].
Qorqyt Ata’s image is probably similar to Apollo, the hero of ancient Greek mythology, some scolars suppose. [8].
The legends on Qorqyt Ata, which based on the ancient mythical worldview and contained the great shaman’s image, who “asking from heaven for eternal life,” is an invaluable spiritual heritage of the Turkic peoples. On the whole, we have before us a conflict panorama between Tengrianism and Muslim faith inside human consciousness.
Legends emphasize that Qorqyt Ata’s musical compositions (kuys) “able to conquer the whole world and even subjugate the death.” Under the sound of Qorqyt Ata’s compostions, the sky birds interrupt their flight, and the wind stops to whistle, Sarah Arka animals gather off the Syr Darya coast to listen to the music. Syr Darya stops its course, and Qorqyt Ata’s unsinkable carpet is like a motionless ship, an island, unreachable for the death itself.”
Sokyr Nyshan (Ysmayil Shamenov) lived near the Syr Darya river. Like many other well-known kuy performers, he masterfully performed the music of Qorqyt Ata. In his youth he repeatedly performed Qorqyt Ata’s compositions before several famous persons as Saken Seyfullin, Iliyas Dzhansugurov, Beymbet Mailin, Magzhan Zhumabaev, Mukhtar Auezov and Alkey Margulan, Kyzylorda regional scholars stressed. In 1975, the famous folklorist Mardan Baidildaev first made a phonogram of Qorqyt Ata’s compositions performed by Sokyr Nyshan [9].
The Turkic peoples spiritual treasury combines the two large groups of Qorqyt Ata’s compositions. The first group combines Qorqyt Ata’s compositions and legends in which Qorqyt Ata’s philosophical worldview is presented. The second group is the Book of Dadam Korkud.
The next musical compositions of Qorqyt Ata are available for current generations: “Qorqyt Ata”, “Bashpai”, “Swan”, “Kuy Tengri”, “Zhelmaya”, “Elim-ai”, “Auppay”, “Howl of Ushar”, “Motive of Qorqyt Ata-1” , “Motive of Qorqyt Ata-2.” The content of Qorqyt Ata’s compositions reveals the inevitability of fate, and devoted to the transience and variability of the life. They affect the most sad notes of the human soul.
The legendary composition “Howl of Ushar”.An old woman had a single child. He was a hunter and used hunting bird and the very purebred dog (tazy). He had a dog nicknamed “Ushar”, and no wildfowl could escape its pursuit. One day, he suddenly dies. Under ancient traditional folk rites, people wanted to avoid evil spirits and moved to another place after the dead body had been buried. As they arrived at a new place, the old woman was looking for a dog “tazy”, which accompanied her after the death of her son. Her attempts to find the dog were unfailed. She presumed that the dog remained in the previous place, and she returned to the old nomadic place. There she found that Ushar had not left its dead master and whined, turning to heaven. At this, the mother began to cry:
I lost my single son,
I lost my single wing,
Ushar, Ushar come here…– she called the dog.
A mother who left her only child in a deserted steppe and a dog Tazy which lost its master together express their common sorrow. Qorqyt Ata’s musical composition dedicated to this event is called “Howl of Ushar”. Kazakhs usually perceive dog howling as a bad omen, a sign of mourning for deceased owner. Any simple barking of a dog means a joy, while the howling is considered a bad sign.
Thelegendarycomposition«Bashpay». «Bashpay» is his latest work to appear at the end of Qorqyt Ata’s life. As Qorqyt Ata sat on the carpet, his sister Aktamak brought food in a leather bag. He continually played musical compositions for days and nights, and once he had eaten food, and suddenly fell asleep. At that moment, the death came out of a leather bag in the form of a snake and stung him. As soon as the poison spread throughout his body, the “angel of death” Azrael asked him: “What do you have a wish for?” And Qorqyt Ata replied: “I made the two sins in my life. First, I avoided death for forty-one years. One day I was sitting on a carpet on the Syr Darya’s surface and the heavy wind came. Then the big toe of my foot touched my sister’s body, so, it was my second sin. Therefore, after my death during my funeral, let the big toes of my feet remain bare.” After that, he took qobyz in his hands and began to play “Bashpay”, the last composition in his life.
As visitors to Qorqyt Ata’s grave say, they allegedly saw the bones of someone’s legs from grave.
Qorqyt Ata’s name and creativity are especially respected among Turkic peoples. Mukhtar Auezov said ” He found the secret of immortality through the art”. Everyone know the ingenious and valuable words of the great Abai: “Think of that, can we consider him dead?”, “He left posthumously the words of immortality”. Because the names of talented persons are forever stored in the memory of their descendants.
Book of Qorqyt Ata (Kitabi Dadam Korkud). The full name of the work “Kitabi Dadam Korkud”, which recorded in the 15th and 16th centuries is “Kitab Dadam Korkud Gali Lisan Tayfa Oghuzan”, which means “The book of Qorqyt Ata was written in the great Oghuz language”. Currently, there are two options: Dresden’s (Germany) and Vatican’s (Italy).
At the initial stage in the study of the Book of Qorqyt Ata, the great contribution was made by European orientalists. Later, the scientists of Turkey, Russia and Kazakhstan actively joined in this. Among them, the following scolars can be noted: V. Bartold, A. Tumansky, A. Yakubovsky, V. Zhirmunsky, A. Kononov, H. Korogly, M. Auezov, A. Margulan, A. Konyratbaev and others. They gave an interpretation, made a concept and wrote a whole number of works on this issue.
“Kitabi Dadam Korkud” is an epic monument in which the heroism and courage of Oghuz heroes and rulers are glorified. The very first plots of the book of Qorqyt Ata performed as folklore works. According to Turkologists, the genesis of some poetic works of the book originates from the Altai period, when Turkic peoples lived together. For instance, “Bamsa-Bayrak” is one of the oldest versions of the epic “Alpamys Batyr”, which appeared in the Altai era and recognized as the common value of all Turkic peoples.
The eighth epic of the Dresden edition of Kitabi Dadam Korkud sets out circumstances of the killing of Tobekosis at the hands of Bisat. It repeats the plot of “Odyssey”, the ancient Greek epic, which presents the one-eyed cyclop. In its time, it was very interested for European scientists.
Motives and plots of Qorqyt Ata’s compositions are the ancient basis and prototype of the ancient Turkic epic. Qorqyt Ata is always portrayed as an elder who blessed the fate of the people, a soothsayer, an oracle priest. He blesses heroic acts of Batyrs and Beks, gives names at birth, and nicknames (lakab) depending on honorable actions, positions and titles. There is no doubt that such a service was the valuable element and integral part of Zhyrau Institute in the ancient Turkic poetry.
The “Kitabi Dadam Korkud” provides the large pictures of nomadic life, ancient totemism and shamanism beliefs. In the whole, that monument is a common cultural heritage of Turkic peoples and the whole world.
The work is full of edifications and aphorisms, which can be distributed in several thematic areas. The main ones are aphorisms and edifications on the truth of Allah, fate’s and death’s inevitability, noble and negative qualities in the character of a person. “Desires of a person who does not believe in God are not fulfilled,” “what God has prescribed is fulfilled,” “person will not die, and the dead person will not live again for no reason”, “God does not love proud persons”, “God does not give happiness to proud persons”, “You can use a lot of sand, but it is impossible to produce a mountain from it” and others.
Merits
Kazakh scholars made a great contribution to study of Qorqyt Ata’s heritage. Among them we can note M. Auezov, A. Margulan, A. Konyratbaev, M. Dzholdasbekov, S. Ybyray, S. Kaskabasov, E. Tursynov and others. The encyclopedia of Qorqyt Ata was published in 1999. The same year, under the UNESCO Kazakhstan solemnly celebrated the 1300th anniversary of the book “Qorqyt Ata”.
Kazakh steppe consists several Qorqyt’s architectural monuments. The largest one is located 18 kilometers from the center of Karmakshy place, near the village of Zhosaly in the Kyzylorda region. In the center of Kyzylorda city, on the banks of the Syr Darya river, is built a monument of Qorqyt Ata riding a camel. Kyzylorda University is named to honor Qorqyt Ata. Qorqyt Ataology center has opened and operates under The University. The two streets in Almaty and Kyzyl Orda cities are named to honor Qorqyt Ata.
References and sources:
1. Bashkir legends, Tozouselar, iskirmі biireuselar ham redaktsyalausilar, Minkhazhitdinov M.Kh. and Kumrai Mangan, Ufa, 1969;
2. Fazlallah Rashid ad-Din, Oghuz-name, Baku, ELM, 1987, p.128;
3. Shezhire and tarakma, Hiua khan Abulghazinyng talighy turur/Ed.Prep. Kononov N.M., Leningrad, 1958;
4. The book of my grandfather Qorqyt Ata, Oghuz heroic epic /Transl. Bartold V.M., Leningrad, 1962;
5. Qorqyt Ata-ata, Encyclopedic collection, A., “Kazakh Encyclopedia”, 1999, p.105;
6. Kaskabasov S., Elzerde, Annual surveys, Almaty, Zhibek Zholy, 2008, p. 504;
7. Tursunov E.D., The origins of Turkic folklore, Qorqyt Ata, Almaty, Dyke-Press, 2001, p.168;
8. Serikbol Kondybay, Qorqyt Ata Ata and time// https://www.oner.kz/culturology/view/3966-Qorqyt Ata-ata-zhane-uakyt
9. Kuttybai Sydyk, Qobyzshy sokyr Nyshan // Egemen Kazakhstan newspaper, 03.06. 2012, (https://egemen.kz/article/17994-qobyzshy-soqyr-nyshan).
Author: Almasbek Absadyq, Doctor in Philology