MonkeTleuuly (c. 1675-1756) was one of the prominent and insightful sages-soothsayers in the Kazakh steppe, a native of the Shalkar district of the present Aktobe region of modern Kazakhstan. He was the youngest of the sons of a great warrior (“batyr”), commander, Biy Tleu Aituuly, a descendant of the Great Ruler of the Golden Horde Edige. Therefore, sometimes he was called Nogaily Monke biy, although his name went back to the grandson of Genghis Khan, the famous Khan Munke. Thus, he was of noble birth. For exceptional insight and the gift of foresight, Monke biy is called the “Nostradamus of the Great Steppe».
Biography
Born in a noble family with the conscious understanding of his high mission, he became famous as an unsurpassed speaker, a visionary soothsayer. He was predicting the future by the appearance and patterns of social development of his time. The worthy son of Tleu batyr Monke biy became one of the advisers to Abulkhair Khan (1699-1748), akyn, zhyrau, an outstanding thinker of his time. Already during his lifetime he was called auliye (saint) Monke. Everyone knew his rare gift of foresight.
He showed his amazing visionary abilities already in his early childhood, when he was able to recreate, in barely noticeable signs, the details of the appearance of a migrated aul. A prominent Kazakh educator and Turkologist, Akhmet Baitursynov, in his textbook «Sauat ashkysh», published in 1926, gives a story about seven-year-old Monke, who made a fair decision in a difficult lawsuit, ending the story with the words: “And that boy became famous among the three zhuzs of Monke and his glory was up to heaven.”
Monke biy’s poetic thoughts were intertwined with the magical power of the word and meditation of the spirit. Fair biy and arbiter of fate, whose decisions took pride place in the anthologies of Kazakh justice. The logic of his speeches allows us to call Monke biy a virtuoso polemicist and master of the winged word, a connoisseur of traditions and a deep thinker, looking both to the past and the future. This famous saying belongs to him: “People without history have no homeland.”
The well-known Kazakh folklorist Edige Tursunov noted: “Kazakh zhyrau were considered prophetic poets who foresaw the future. They were at the headquarters of the khan and took an active part in the solution of state affairs concerning the whole khanate (ulus, tribal union), gave advice and instructions to the khan, batyrs and generals in the form of instructive poems, improvised, sang the deeds of generals and batyrs in odes-maktau, historical songs and heroic epics. In wartime, zhyrau were part of the military council under the khan, performing the same functions, as well as performing works of heroic epics for soldiers, raising their fighting spirit. Zhyrau perfectly knew the genealogy of clans and tribes, their history and used this knowledge to create historical songs, heroic epics, od-maktau and instructive philosophical reflections-improvisations” [7].
They tell how once Monke biy had a prophetic dream. In a dream, in the baiga (horse racing) at first 40 horses participated, but did not win a prize. Then the same thing happened with another 30 horses. Then out of 5 horses, one managed to win, but the winning horse was slaughtered and a wolf jumped out of his stomach, a fox out of a wolf, a hare out of a fox. And Monke biy asked the batyr Syrym to solve this prophetic dream. But the dream was guessed by the daughter-in-law of Monke biy. The solution was in the spirit of gloomy omens of Monke biy. So, 40 horses means that there will come a time when the forty duties of Muslims will not be fulfilled, that is, the people will be left without faith. 30 horses means people abandoning a thirty-day fast in Ramadan. Of the five horses, one horse that came to the finish line means that people will even regard the fivefold prayer anyhow, they will either perform or ignore prayers, turning into people without faith and constancy … And the wolf that crawled out of the horse’s womb means a human loss dignity and turning him into a predator living with violence. The appearance of a fox from the womb of the wolf marks the onset of a time when cunning, anger and deception will prevail among people. The appearance of a hare from a fox means shredding a new generation of people when fear will seize the souls of people and they will be afraid of their own shadow, having lost their last sense of self-esteem … It is interesting that such a dream leads the famous Kazakh writer Ilyas Yesenberlin in his trilogy “Nomads”. Obviously, this legendary prophetic dream of Monke was spread among the Kazakhs. Thus eschatological sensation of the impending tragedy of the nomads losing their values and meanings, faith and their own unique life in the world …
This feeling of despair from the onset of a new civilization era in the steppe, when traditional patriarchal foundations and ways of life are collapsing. Thus change in values and moral character of people, became the main keynote of his prophecies, reflected in poetic form.
He was an active participant in the most important political events of the steppe of his time, in particular, the Patriotic War between the Kazakhs and Dzungars. It is known that Monke biy was entrusted to lead the “Tumen” (thousandth army) during the famous Anirakai battle of 1729.
To understand the activities of Monke biy at this time, it is necessary to consider in more detail the role of Abulkhair Khan in Kazakh history, since Monke biy was his direct adviser and ally. Khan of the Kishi (Minor) Zhuz Abulkhair Khan was a bright personality who played a special role in the history of the Kazakh Khanate in one of the most dramatic periods. He was a politician of a nationwide scale who participated in all the crucial events for Kazakhs of that time. Serving after the death of the Kazakh Khan Tauke under the leadership of his heir Kaiyp Khan, Abulkhair showed extraordinary abilities and became one of the prominent figures of the steppe as a fearless military leader and cunning diplomat. So, he took part in almost all the “iconic” battles of the Kazakh nomadic army against the Dzungars in the Years of the Great Disaster – “Aktaban shuburundy” (1723-1727). The residence of Abulkhair Khan was the city of Turkestan. Abulkhair took an active part in the war against the Dzungars. He showed particular courage and intelligence in protecting the cities of Tashkent, Turkestan and Sairam. After the siege of these cities by the Dzhungars, Abulkhair Khan, who entered into an unequal battle, having lost his mother and wife, who were captured by the enemy, was forced to retreat to the Kishi (Minor) Zhuz. In 1724, Abulkhair Khan liberated the city of Turkestan from the Dzungars. For about a year he kept the city and surrounding villages under his control, but at the beginning of 1725, under the pressure of way more superior enemy forces, he was forced to leave South Kazakhstan and go to the nomadic camp of the Kishi (Minor) Zhuz in the West. However, even here he was forced to wage a constant struggle against Kalmaks and Bashkirs, as well as to establish difficult contacts with Russian settlers, who were gradually approaching the territory of the Kazakh steppe. The Khan of the Kishi (Minor) Zhuz Abulkhair tried to enlist the support of officials of the Russian Empire in the fight against the Dzungars, in order to strengthen centralized power in the Kazakh khanate. However, Russia insisted on its own protectorate over the Steppe and used any means to achieve this goal, in particular, the Russian embassies frequented by Abulkhair’s headquarters convinced his entourage of the need to request Russian citizenship.
After many years of severe defeats from the Dzungars in 1726, the Kurultai of Kazakh tribes and clans took place in the Ordabasy area. It was decided to create a single Kazakh militia. The command was entrusted to them by the khan of the Younger Zhuz Abulkhair Khan. It was decided to give the Dzungars a general battle and defeat them. Gratefully to the military talent of Abulkhair Khan and his associates, they managed to win a crushing victory over the Dzhungars in 1728 between the rivers Bulanty (Baikonyr) and Bileuty (Kalmakkyrgan) in the Kara Karayyr area. According to the tactics of the Mongol troops of the times of Genghis Khan, the Kazakhs lured the enemy deeper into the steppe, then, turning sharply back, went on the counterattack, striking them from both flanks. As a result, most of the Dzungars died, many were captured, only a few escaped. After the battle, this place remained in Kazakh history under the name “Қalmak қyrylgan” (that is, the place of death of the Kalmaks-Dzungars).
The final stage of the Kazakh-Dzungar confrontation was the famous Anrakai battle, which took place in 1729, 120 km south of Lake Balkhash, 20 km north-west of the modern city of Almaty, in the area of Anrakai (Kaz. – Weeping, moaning) there were last major battle between Kazakhs and Dzungars. The Kazakh militia led by Abulkhair won the final victory over the Dzungar troops and independently liberated the Kazakh land from the invaders. Subsequently, under the onslaught of the Qing Empire, Dzungaria completely ceased to exist. Abulkhair Khan rightly cherished the hope of becoming a common Kazakh Khan after his victories. However, due to disagreements between the Genghisides and the cunning strategy of the Russian governor-general I. Neplyuyev, who sought by any means to quarrel the Kazakh sultans among themselves and to promote intergeneric strife in the steppe through the implementation of the “divide and conquer” policy.
Abulkhair Khan pursued a rather active, but flexible foreign policy, trying to neutralize or forestall possible attacks by neighbors. At this time, he conducted active military operations not only against the Oirats, but also against their Volga relatives. Military successes earned him fame and honor also among the tribal nobility.
In 1730, in the It-Ishpes locality, southeast of Balkhash, Abulkhair was able to inflict another defeat on the Dzungarian formations. Under these conditions, part of the Kazakh nobility, headed by Abulkhair, was inclined to go on establishing contacts with the Russian Empire. Probably, at that critical moment in the history of the Kazakh people, the tactics of rapprochement with Russia was the only correct one.
In September 1730, Abulkhair sent an embassy to Ufa with a message to the Empress Anna Ioannovna with a request to take Khan Abulkhair with his clans and tribes of the Kishi (Minor) Zhuz subject to receive a Russian citizenship.
On February 19, 1731, the Empress signed a letter of voluntary entry of the Kishi (Minor) Zhuz into Russia. In April 1731, a special embassy headed by Tevkelev was sent to Abulkhair, who had broad powers to independently negotiate on issues of Russian-Kazakh relations. His functions included not only diplomatic work. The ambassador had to find out the maximum amount of information about the Kazakh steppe: the distance to it, the number of population, socio-economic situation, life, relations with neighboring nations. In addition, the Russian Foreign Ministry was interested in climatic conditions, relief, the most convenient ways to reach the nomads of the Kazakhs, etc.
On October 10, 1731, a congress of the elders of the Kishi (Minor) and Orta (Middle) Zhuzes took place, at which Abulkhair announced that he had requested Petersburg to seek protection. As Tevkelev correctly noted, the “subjects” of Abulkhair had a very broad independence and could well oppose the opinion of the khan on their own. The Russian ambassador had to apply various diplomatic techniques to convince the audience. After the meeting, they swore allegiance to the Empress Khan Abulkhair, the Batyrs and 27 other influential biys and authoritative rulers, including his adviser Monke biy, on the Koran. This act laid the foundation for the accession of Kazakh lands to Russia. The period of intensification of Russian-Kazakh relations begins. Russian-Kazakh relations significantly strengthened by the end of the 30s – the beginning of the 40s. Gradually, an increasing number of Kazakh clan rulers accepted citizenship. To the Kazakh steppe in 1740-1742 many Russian embassies were sent.
In 1741, Oirats again invaded the territory of Kazakh nomads. To settle relations with the Dzungaria in 1742, the Russian embassy was forced to send an embassy to Urga, headed by K. Miller. The aggravation of the Jungar-Russian relations coincided with the Empress’s decree of September 30, 1742, “On the prohibition of the Kyrgyz from roaming near the Yaik River,” according to which Kazakhs were strictly forbidden to roam on the right bank of the Yaik. This step of the tsarist authorities caused a great indignation of the nomads. As a result of this, relations between Abulkhair and the Orenburg administration escalated. The Orenburg governor I. Neplyuev tried to pacify the khan and reduce his influence in the steppe. For these purposes, the son of Abulkhair, Sultan Kozhakhmet, was detained in amanats. Neplyuev hoped in the person of Abulkhair to find an obedient conductor of Russian politics in the steppe, while the khan, possessing a certain ambition and ambitions, suggested in the face of the Russian administration to find support for his influence in the steppe. Abulkhair long ago entered into a rivalry with the Khan dynasty of the Orta (Middle) Zhuz, in particular, with Sultan Barak. Knowing this, the Orenburg administration tried in every possible way to oppose the strengthening of one or another steppe ruler. I.Neplyuev indirectly pushed various Kazakh owners to compete, hoping to further strengthen Russia’s position in the steppe. As a result, Abulkhair Khan was killed by Sultan Barak. Monke biy, being the closest associate of Khan Abulkhair, witnessed these tragic events. His participation has been documented in the Russian archives. Thus, in a letter dated October 5, 1748, the true denunciation of the Biys and Batyrs of the Kishi (Minor) and Orta (Middle) Zhuzs to the Empress Elizabeth, which refers to the approval by the Khan of the Kishi (Minor) and Orta (Middle) Kazakh Zhuzes of the Sultan Nurali, Monke-biy also attached his tamga. “The same kind of Baktybay-biy, Munka-biy, Aydarali-biy, Mamyatyk-biy and their tamgas have made these,” is written in an old document. The name Monke-bi was also mentioned in the notes (1748) of the translator Yu. Gulyaev about the results of his trip to the Kishi (Minor) Zhuz in order to find out the reasons for the murder of Khan Abulkhair.
Thus, Monke biy was a participant in the dramatic events of the beginning of the Russian protectorate in the steppe, which began to acquire tough and cynical features.
The Kazakh Khanate more and more lost its identity, power lost its authority among the people, the morals of people changed, the traditional way of life and the ethical code of the former nomadic knighthood changed. It is these changes in Kazakh society that Monke biy sees and proclaims in his gloomy but true prophecies. This happened at the break of the nomadic culture and the offensive of the soulless civilization that the Russian Empire imposes on the proud nomads who gained life in exchange for freedom. Monke biy turned out to be a harbinger of this tragic outcome in the history of the Kazakh steppe.
Merits
The poem “Azarsyn, zhurtym, azarsyn” (“Impoverishment awaits you, my people, impoverishment”), in which he warns his people against many future troubles, brought particular glory to the soothsayer Monke biy:
Azarsyn, zhurtym, azarsyn, / Impoverishment awaits you, my people, impoverishment,
Azarynyn belgіsі: / Evidence of this impoverishment:
Kuramaly, korgandy uin bolady, / There will be compound houses as fortresses,
Ainymaly, tokpelі biіn bolady. / There will be slippery and cunning biys.
Khalykka bir tiyn paydasy jok / From which the benefit to the people is not a penny
Ai sayin bas koskan zhyin boladi. / There will be empty meetings every month.
Ishine shyntak ainalmaityn / With frozen from inaction, inflexible elbows
Ezhirey degen ulyn bolady. / You will have a son, Ezhirey.
Aқyl aitsan auyryp kalatyn / When you teach the mind, it suddenly became ill
Bedirei degen kyzyn bolady. / You will have a daughter, Bedirei
Aldynan kes-kestep otetіn / Ignoring your status, ignoring you
Kekіrey degen kelіnіn bolady. / You will have a daughter-in-law Kekirey.
Ishkenin sary su bolady, / You will drink yellow (i.e. rotten, intoxicating, tearing away from real worries) water,
Bersen itіn ishpeidy, / Which even the dog refuses to drink,
Bіrak adam ogan kumar bolady. / But people are addicted to this water.
Kinalganda shapagaty jok jakynyn bolady. / There will be relatives who are not able to come to help in difficult times.
It pen mysyktai yryldaskan, / They will be growling at each other, living like a cat with a dog
Erkek pen katynyn bolady … / Husbands and wives …
Zhas baladan biіn bolar, / The beardless youths (insane and inexperienced) will take charge and direct,
Zhas balshyktan uuin bolar, / Your houses will be of “young clay” (ie, unstable),
At zhaksysy arbada bolar, / The Best Horses harnessed to a heavy arba (i.e. force worthy people to do business unusual for them in order to feed)
Jigit zhaksysy saudada bolar. / The best young men will become traders.
Konildin suu bitip, Taban kalar, / The lakes will dry up, there will be only dirt on the bottom,
Attyn zhuirigi ketip, Shabany Kalar. / Steeds will disappear, only shepherds will remain.
Zhaksynyn atagy ketip, azbasy kalar / There will be no respectable people and only defective ones will remain,
Aulienin aruagy ketip, mazary kalar. / The spirit of holiness will disappear, only tombstones will remain.
Soazdin magynasy ketip, samaly Kalar, / There will be no sense in words, only the wind will remain,
Soytіp, akyly jok, sanasyzdyn zamany bolar. / And then the time will come for fools and soulless people.
Ertenіne senbritіn kunіn bolady. / There will come a time of disbelief in your future tomorrow.
Betіnen alyp tүser іnіn bolady. / Your younger brother will reject you, ignoring your seniority (i.e. knowledge and experience).
Alashubar tіlіn bolady, / Your tongue will be poisonous like a snake (that is, sowing malice, ignorance and hatred);
Dudamaldau dіnіn bolady. / Your faith will be doubtful and shaky.
Auelinin bazarshy bolady, / Your women will become bazaar (i.e. they will be forced to trade their honor and dignity)
Erkegyn Kazanshy bolady, / And men will be on duty at the cauldrons (i.e., they will forget about pride and their true mission),
Zhylky zhyldyz bolady, / Horses will become inaccessible as stars (i.e. what is important will in fact be unclaimed)
Koi kyndyz bolady. / Rams will rise in price as valuable fur (i.e. everyone will be engaged in the search for food, survival).
Kebir – zherge teneledi, / The mud will turn into the earth as a result (i.e. there will be no difference between truth and alluvial, feigned),
Ayel – erge teneledi, / Women will become like men (i.e. the former harmony will disappear),
Kөl – tenіzge teneledі. / Lakes seem like seas (i.e., small, insignificant will be presented as great).
Siyr – ogizge teneledi. / Cows will be equated with bulls (i.e. what was fruitful will become barren).
Akyrzaman Adamy – / Crowning people of the “End of the World” –
Sagynyp tamak zhemeydi, / They will be fed up with everything in the world (i.e. they will become nonhumans),
Ashyny – ashy demeidi, / Bitter will not be recognized as bitter (i.e., untruth will not be accepted as a lie),
Tapkanyn olzha deidi, / Everything that is found will be taken for prey (i.e. People will become illegible and primitive),
“Alһam” bіlgenіn molda deydі. / He who knows only praise will be considered a mullah, “holy” (that is, faith will lose its true destiny)
Bir-birine karyz bermeidi, / No one will lend (that is, distrust of each other will settle in people),
Shakyrmasa, korshi kirmeydі. / Neighbors will not know each other (i.e. people will lose human qualities of understanding and empathy).
Sarylyp kelip tosady, / Languidly expecting the earned money,
Kynu jok kagazdy sudai shashady … / People will litter with money, like devalued paper like water (i.e. labor will depreciate) …
Akyr zaman khalkynyn / The people of the time “Akyrzaman” (“End of the World”)
Shaydan basқa asy joқ, / There will be no food except empty tea (i.e. people will lose their meaning),
Jakynan baska kasy jok. / There will be no enemy closer than relatives (i.e. people will lose their landmarks).
Lagynet kamyty moinynda, / And only curses will be in the minds and souls of people,
Zhumystan kolynyn bosy jok. / And it will not be free from work (i.e. people will not be able to do what is most important in everyday worries).
Arkashan da olardyn / And all the time
Konilinin khoshy jok. / There will be no gratitude in their souls (i.e. people will not be satisfied)
Bar Sharuasy tүp-tүgel / Everything they don’t do
Endі mynyn nesi jok … / It turns out to be meaningless …
Zaman akyr bolarda – / When the time comes for “End of the World” –
Zher takyr bolar, / The earth will turn into a desert,
Khalky pakyr bolar. / People are impoverished.
Balalar zhetim bolar, / Children orphan,
Aielder jesir bolar, / And the wives will remain widows,
“A” dese, “Ma” deitin kesіr bolar. / People for each word will find a simple, primitive answer and justification for their bad deeds.
Bass kosylgan zherlerde / And in public gathering places
Aiel jagy den bolar, / Women will begin to shout,
Zhaman-zhaksy aytsa da, / Even if they tell them something useful and necessary,
Oziniki jon bolar. / They will only hear themselves.
Oray Salyp Bastaryn, / And wrapping their heads in scarves (i.e. literally closing themselves from life)
Zhalpyldatyp shashtaryn, / Having spread her hair (that is, feeling her own despair, as in the Kazakh tradition “women loose their hair when someone close dies”),
Taқymdary zhaltyldap, / Their knees will be put on display (i.e. they will lose shame),
Emshekterі salpyldap, / Their breasts will hang out,
Uyat jagy kem bolar / They will not hide their shame
Soitken zaman kez bolsa / When such a time comes
Тuzelui kiin bolar. / It will be impossible to correct.
In these prophetic words of Monkey, we can not only find an accurate description of the “impoverishment of public morals”, but also a high and responsible civic public position of the thinker. He advocates for their correction, worrying about the future of the Kazakh society. The sage sees how power loses its true purpose, to improve people’s lives, to make it more harmonious. He bitterly notices, not only a decline in morals, but also sees the reasons for this in the despair of a simple philistine existence for the sake of survival. He also has no hope for a new generation, since the values of his parents are perverted – mothers “drowned” in vain attempts to create a home and family well-being, and fathers ceased to care about the welfare of the state, social harmony and moral principles, turning to “yellow water” for “help”, Leading them away from solving pressing issues of life. People will spend even hard-earned money on satisfying their own ostentatious vanity, and not on correcting the spirit and morality of the people. Monke biy criticized the ministers of worship. At the time of the “End of the World”, according to his prediction, people will lose faith in God. Everyone who will be able to say Praise to the Almighty will be considered a mullah, despite the lack of necessary knowledge and high spiritual moral principles. In his predictions, Monke biy talks about the many social problems that our modern society is experiencing. For example, he is depressed by the destruction of traditional family ties and relationships in the family, the lack of mutual assistance among relatives, the respect of elders on the part of the younger, ignoring the notion of “one’s place”, honor, dignity and a person’s duty to society. With his thoughts, he anticipated many of the “social ulcers” of modern society, such as social inequality, unbridled desire for wealth at any cost, love of power, reverence, self-interest. He opposes the advent of an era without honor and dignity, incompetence and soullessness, when knowledge and morality are not held in high esteem in people, and worthy people are out of work. One gets the feeling that over the centuries he has seen modern social vices.
In later historical studies of modern scholars, he was nicknamed the “Nostradamus of the steppe”, as his omens and prophecies were preserved in the memory of the people. One of the facets of the great ancestor’s heritage is his musical creations. At present, only four kyuy by Monke-biy are known: “Zhiyn alka, keses”, “Ottіn, zhalgan-ai”, “Shalkyma”, “Kiku dauren”.
| “Monke “Monke biy baba aityp edi …” (“As our ancestor Monke bi said …”). The statesman Mukhtar Kul- Memorial of Monke biy in Aktobe (Republic of Kazakhstan) | Memorial of Monke biy in homeland Monke biy auly Shalkar district of Aktobe oblast of the Republic of Kazakhstan |
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