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The poet further notes: “These verse lines from Kiimushay’s lament song from the eighteenth
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- 211 The first written account o f the poem was recorded in the 13th century by an unknown Persian author.
- ( Kyrgyz, oral poets). Ed. by Batma Kebekova. Bishkek, 1994, p. 26.
- Aydf karay sizfptir.
- 214 These four lines were translated by my student Stefan Kamola, MA student in the Dept, of Near Eastern Languages and Civilization, University o f Washington.
- Funeral Protocol among the Kyrgyz
- 216 Gennep, Van Arnold. The Rites o f Passage. Chicago: The Unievrsity o f Chicago Press, 1960, p. 11.
- 217 Danforth, Loring M. The Death Rituals o f Rural Greece. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Pres, 1982, p. 37.
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The poet further notes: “These verse lines from Kiimushay’s lament song from the eighteenth century were remembered by the people and reached to us without any written alphabet or press house. They were transmitted orally from mouth to mouth among the people. How many o f such wonderful poems were lost and forgotten?! “ Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 207 You were well fed with marmots, And given nice belts to wear, Your women got pregnant from shepherds And gave birth hiding in a ravine. In other words she sang these bitter words to her brother’s adopted sons because she was upset about the fact that they did not inform her on time and that the fact they were crying out loud when she came was in vain If the deceased was a well-known and wealthy man or woman or khan and tribal leader, the number of people to inform was also great. In the Memorial Feast fo r Kokotoy, the dying great khan Kokotoy wants the kabar sent not only to his people but also to all the khans and leaders of other tribes and peoples with whom he interacted, e.g., Chinese, khan Joloy of the Kalmyks, and Kyrgyz, Kokcho khan of Kazakhs, Karacha khan of the Noyguts who lives by the Lop river, the Jugorii of the Khotan, Manchu khan Neskara, Chinese khans in Beijing, Kongurbay khan of the Kechils, Temir Khan of Bukhara , Kozubek of Kokand, Malabek of Margelan, Sanjibek of Samarkand, Alabek of Altishaar, Sinchibek of Andijan and the Akhun khan of the Afghans, The Bagish khan of the Jediger tribe in the Jeti-Ozon (Seven Rivers), the Shi'gay Khan of the Tekechi, Jamgirchi of the Eshteks, In other words, he invites all the Muslims and infidels together. However, the hero Manas, who was not informed about the death of the great khan Kokotoy, becomes very furious at Kokotoy’s son Bokmurun and tries to attack him, but Bakay, the wise man stops him saying that it is not good to hurt Bokmurun, who is now left an orphan. The second type of informing people is the custom of uguzuu i.e., letting the immediate family members of the deceased know in person about the death. The custom Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 208 of uguzuu in a traditional way has been lost in contemporary Kyrgyz society. Uguzuu was a great responsibility and difficult task and therefore, it had to be carried out by wise and eloquent people, like the elderly, oral poets or chechens, eloquent people or orators. According to the uguzuu custom, the informer should be very careful in his selection of words to tell the bad news. In the past, it was usually oral poets or chechens who were asked to break the bad news to the family member(s) of the deceased. They often told them the news in poetry by using metaphors or riddles from which the listener guessed or found out about what had really happened. When the well-known Kyrgyz poet Toktogul (1864-1933) returned from an exile in Siberia in the late 19th century, another poet and friend of his named Eshmambet broke the bad news to him about his son’s death. He accompanied himself on a komuz and greeted Toktogul according to the poetic tradition and told him about his son’s death in poetry. In Kazakh, Nogoy, and Kyrgyz oral legends and stories we hear about a poet named Ket Buka, who is believed to have lived in the 13th century during the reign of Chingiz Khan. According to the popular legend, when Chingiz Khan’s oldest son Juchi had died in the year 1227, it was Ket Buka, who dared to break the bad news to Chingiz Khan by accompanying himself on a dombra (Kazakh instrument) or komuz (Kyrgyz 911 instrument). Several versions of his uguzuu have survived. Ket Buka, who was from the tribe of Nayman, is remembered among people to be a “great poet, respected biy (judge), a chechen who solved many social problems and also a great komuz player. One
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 20 9 of the popular versions that have survived in Kyrgyz is as follows: When Aykhan’s (Chingiz Khan) son died, no one had dared to tell the sad news. According to another popular legend, Chingiz Khan had announced that whoever would tell him about his son’s death, he would kill him. Then only the singer Ket Buka approached the Khan and told him about his son’s death. As mentioned earlier, uguzuu was a very responsible task and Ket Buka put his uguzuu in the form of a riddle: Tuu kuyrugu bir kuchak Tulpar kachti' Aygani'm. Tuurunan boshonup, Shumkar kachti Aygani'm. Alti'n taka, kumiish mi'k, Duldul kachti Aygani'm. Alti'n tuur ordunan, Tuygun kachti Aygani'm. Alti'n Ordo baginan Bulbul kachti Aygani'm. Dengiz tolkup chaypalip, Kol boksbrdii Aygani'm. Terek tiipton julunup, Jer boksbrdii Aygani'm. Ala-Too kulap pas bolup, Bel boksbrdii Ayhanim. Berekeliiii nur kachip kachip, El boksbrdii Aygani'm. Tbrolordiin urugunan, Tol boksbrdii Aygani'm. Agin dayra soolup, Kol boksbrdii Aygani'm.213 With a thick tail as an armload The tulpar stallion ran away, my Aykhan.212 Letting himself loose from its tuur, The falcon flew away, my Aykhan. With golden hooves and silver nails, The duldul stallion ran away, my Aykhan. From its golden tuur, The young eagle flew away, my Aykhan. From the garden of Golden Horde, The nightingale flew away, my Aykhan. The sea waves moved, The waters dimished, my Aykhan The poplar was tom from the root, The land diminished, my Aykhan. The Ala-Too mountains collapsed, The hills dimished, my Aykhan. The blessed light escaped, The people diminished, my Aykhan. From the tribe of the toros, nobles The tribe became less, my Aykhan. The running river dried up, The lakes diminished, my Aykhan. Another popular version remembered is as follows: Alti'n booluu ak shumkar Alti'n boosun t'fti'pt'fr,
Kiimush booluu ak shumkar Kiimiish boosun ti'ti'pti'r, Kiindii karay sizipti'r, 212 Chingiz khan was known by this name which 213 Kirgiz el irchilari, p. 26 The white falcon with golden tether Cut through his golden tether And flew away towards the Moon. The white falcon with silver tether Cut through his silver tether And flew away towards the Sun.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 2 1 0 A1 emine boluchu? Tuu tubiindo kok buka Kiindii karap okiirot, Alchagay muyiiz, ak erkech Aydi' karap bakirat, Bui emine shumdugu? Asmandan ak ala bulut sogiilot, Ayaktap mondiir togiilot, Kokton kok ala bulut sogiilot, Konoktop mondiir togiilot, Bui emine shumdugu? What does it mean? The gray ox under the banner Belows looking at the Sun The longhomed white male goat Cries out looking towards the Moon. What kind of misfortune is it? White patchy clouds gather in the sky Pouring large bowls of hail Blue patchy clouds gather in the blue sky Pouring buckets of hail What kind of misfortune is it? Then Chingiz Khan guessed Ket Buka’s riddle and said: Chingiz Khan: Alti'n booluu ak shumkar Alti'n boosun ti'tkani, Aydi karap s'izgani, A1 kulunum botom bolgonu, Kiimiish booluu ak shumkar Kiimiish boosun ti'tkani, Kiindii karap s'izgani Bui kulunum botom bolgonu. Kultuk miiyiiz kok buka Tuu tiibiindo dkiirso, A1 atasi bolgonu. Alchagay miiyiiz ak erkech Aydi karap bakirsa, A1 enesi bolgonu. Asmandan ak ala bulut sogiilso, Ayaktap mondiir togiilso, Kokton kok ala bulut sogiilso, Konoktop mondiir togiilso Koziimdiin jashi bolgonu. The white falcon with golden tether Who cut through his golden tether And flew away towards the Moon, That is indeed my foal, my baby camel. The white falcon with silver tether Who cut through his silver tether And flew away towards the Sun, That is indeed my foal, my baby camel. If the blunt-horned ox Cries out under the banner, That is indeed me, his father. If the long homed white male goat Wails looking at the Moon That is indeed, his mother. If white patchy clouds gather in the sky Pouring large bowls of hail If the blue patchy clouds gather in the blue sky
Pouring buckets of hail Those are indeed my tears. Then Aykhan understands that his son has died and says: Ket-ket, Ket Buka, Git! Git! Ket Buka, Kebi jaman it Buka, Foul-mouthed son-of-a-Buka, Senin aytar kebing bul ernes, That is not for you to say, Menin ugar kebim bul ernes. This is not for me to hear. 214
214 These four lines were translated by my student Stefan Kamola, MA student in the Dept, of Near Eastern Languages and Civilization, University o f Washington. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 211 When Aykhan wanted to throw Ket Buka to his lions and tigers, he said: Kizdari sokkon kiyalday, Like a tapestry embroidered by girls Kili'gi jakshi Ayganim, Your character is noble, my Aykhan, Kelinder saygan kestedey, Like a tapestry embroidered by brides, Kebi jakshi Ayganim. Your words are wise, my Aykhan. Elchi menen irchiga For an envoy and poet Khan aldinda kay oltim?215 There is no death from a khan. When he said these words, Chingiz Khan is said to calm down and could not dare to kill the poet. Many similar uguzuu and joktoo, lament songs which were composed by 18th and 19th century oral poets have been recorded among the Kyrgyz and Kazakhs. When a well-known oral poet died, it was customary among other oral poets to compose laments songs and sing at his funeral. By giving these distant and historical accounts preserved in legend forms, I am not asserting that that every death was told in poetry or riddle form. Today, this type of informing about someone’s death is no longer practiced. Many often people inform the children or parents of the deceased by lying or indirectly: “Your father is very ill and you should come/go as soon as you can!” And the children usually find out about the truth when they arrive and see the funerary yurt and hear the loud cries by men and women. For example, in 2002, when my 49 years old uncle Abdikerim died from a sudden heart attack, tribesmen did not know how to break this sad news to his children, old parents, brothers and sisters. It came as a great shock for the old parents. One of his four sons, my cousin Baatir was studying in Tashkent and someone had to go there and bring him to the
tell him about his father’s death. When Baatir entered the courtyard he saw the yurt and the men, who, seeing Baatir, quickly got up from their seats and turned their face towards
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 2 1 2 the yurt and began crying out loud according to the Kyrgyz tradition. My cousin first thought that his grandfather passed away. According to my relatives, who witnessed the event, when my cousin entered the yurt and opened the face of the laying body, he was literally shocked seeing his own father dead. When I returned from the United States and arrived in my hometown three months later, I also found out about my uncle’s death in a similar way. As mentioned earlier, I, as a married woman, settled in with my husband’s family upon our arrival in our town. The next morning, my mother-in-law and my husband told me that we would be going to my paternal grandparent’s house to greet them and my aunts and uncles. I was very happy, but at the same time I wondered for a moment why such a rush. It was quite warm despite the fact it was raining very hard. I put on a long, loose dress because I was seven months pregnant. We drove to my grandparent’s house, which is about a mile a half away from my mother in-law’s house. My husband and mother-in-law were told not to tell me anything before I arrived. We parked the car outside the gate of the house. I was very excited to see my grandparents and the others, so I ran into the courtyard ahead of everyone. On the outside porch, or verandah, were sitting my grandfather, father and other uncles and cousins, who all greeted me modestly without showing much happiness or having smiles on their faces. My own mother, who was also there, asked me to come into the other room, and took me by my elbow. When I entered the room, I saw several women facing the wall who began singing lament songs. This immediately indicated to me that someone had died in the family. I first thought that it was my grandmother, but she was one of the crying women. I had also seen my grandfather outside, so I had no idea who was dead. After a few seconds, my mother shocked me by breaking the news that my uncle, who was only 48, Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
213 had passed away while I was gone. It had been three months now. I burst out crying and screaming and threw myself onto my grandmother and cried for about fifteen minutes. The three women who sat facing the wall crying and singing lament songs were my grandmother Kumu, her oldest daughter, my Aunt Si'rga, and Anarkiil ene, my great uncle’s wife. I could not stop crying and sobbing despite everyone’s efforts to calm me down. They told me that I might harm my baby inside me by crying too hard. I felt so sad for my dear grandmother, who looked very small and grief stricken. She and her second son, my deceased uncle, had been very close indeed. My uncle had died from a heart attack in Uzbekistan, where he was living with his family. He was head of one of the two Kyrgyz families among my grandmother’s children who had not yet returned to Kyrgyzstan due to their government jobs. Like the first experience, I found out about my grandfather’s death also by surprise. My husband, who had stayed in our town, had called my uncle’s home in Jalal- Abad and had given him the bad news. My mother and great aunt were told the truth about my grandfather’s death, but my brother Sultan, and my sister and I were told that he was very sick and therefore we had leave the city quickly. We all drove home fast. We knew that our grandfather had suffered from asthma for about twenty years, but no one thought that he would die anytime soon, because he had been feeling just fine. As we approached my grandfather’s house, my brother looked down the hill and saw a yurt erected in the courtyard, and he knew immediately that my grandfather was dead. Sultan drove the car very fast, making a quick turn on to the street, and upon arriving outside the house’s gates, which were wide open, he burst out crying. From this I learned that my grandfather was dead. I was holding my son in my arms, and I remember all of us burst Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
2 1 4 into tears and jumped out of the car. In accordance with Kyrgyz nomadic tradition, our female relatives came running to our car and grabbed each of us, leading us towards the yurt erected for my grandfather’s funeral. I do not remember how fast I reached the yurt and threw myself onto my grandmother, who was now grieving another family loss after her son. My grandmother, two aunts, and other female cousins, all in mourning clothes, were sitting and crying out loud next to the body of my grandfather, who lay behind the curtain on the men’s, i.e., the left, side of the yurt. It was still cold in March and there was no fire inside the yurt. I was given a warm coat and a large white scarf to cover my head, which symbolizes mourning. The main reason for not telling the bad news to close family members while they are away is that they will be traveling from a far and it may take one day or many hours for them to arrive. And it is not good for them to cry and suffer inside while on the road, especially if they are traveling alone. People fear that they might experience some kind of physiological trauma. It is better if they find out when they arrive, because there will be other family members and relatives to console and comfort them. Funeral Protocol among the Kyrgyz Death rites have been studied by scholars within the frame of rites of passage, theory developed by Van Gennep, who recognized that all rites of passage, including birth, initiation, marriage, and death, go through three major steps. They are “the rites of separation, rite of transition or liminality, and rites of incorporation.”216 In these three consecutive periods, the dead and the mourners symbolically share a common status. 216 Gennep, Van Arnold. The Rites o f Passage. Chicago: The Unievrsity o f Chicago Press, 1960, p. 11. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 215 Danforth confirms this idea saying: “The fate of the deceased is paralleled by that of the mourners, who are separated from the rest of the society at the moment of death and pass through a transitional period before they are able to re-enter society and resume their 217 normal relationships with others.” Like many cultures around the world, throughout the funeral process, mourners, both men and women, follow certain codes of behavior and dress. Social interaction is also restricted for the close family members of the deceased. We can place this special behavior within the framework of Van Gennep’s theory of rites of passage’s second stage, which he calls the “liminal” period. Danforth explains the social status of mourners in the following way: “The restrictions imposed on mourners are an expression of the fact that they have been separated from society as a whole because they continue to participate in relationship with the deceased. During the liminal period of mourning they too live in a marginal state midway between the world of the living and the world of the dead.”218 Moreover, in many cultures, the color black is chosen for women as a mourning dress. As Danforth correctly “the length of time a woman wears black is determined primarily by her relationship to the deceased.” In some traditional societies, Danforth O 1 O notes, a widow is required to wear black ’’for the rest of her life or until she remarries.” Moreover, “women in mourning, especially the widows, lead extremely restricted lives. They do not go to the city to shop, nor do they attain social events such as village festivals, weddings, baptism, or the like.”220 The period of mourning ends gradually, as
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Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 2 1 6 women exchange black for dark blue or brown clothes before returning to the brighter colors of everyday life.221 All of these apply to the mourning etiquette among the Central Asians, including the Kyrgyz. A traditional Kyrgyz funeral requires its participants to observe certain manners/behaviors or follow special etiquette during the entire funeral procession and mourning period. Close male and female relatives of the deceased and people who come to the funeral all know their own individual place inside and outside the yurt and their role. They need to follow certain etiquette of greeting the family members of the deceased and use certain traditional expressions to console them. There are two different forms of mourning etiquette for men and women. Men traditionally stand outside the yurt and do not usually sing laments songs like women. They simply cry out loud uttering words such as “Boorum-oy! Boorum-oy!” Oh, my liver! Oh, my liver!222 or “Esil kayran boorum-oy! Atakemden ayrildim!” Oh, my liver! I became separated from my dear, blessed father!” All relatives of the deceased start their okiiriik, crying out loud as soon as the person dies and he is placed inside the yurt. The early 20th century descriptions of Kyrgyz and Kazakhs funeral rites by Dutch scholar and ethnographer F. A. Philstrupp do not differ much than the contemporary funeral customs. During his fieldwork, Phielstrup observed that Kyrgyz and Kazakh men Download 2.95 Mb. Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: 
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