Qaraqalpaq indd

Nizami Tağısoy
 Qaraqalpaq ədəbiyyatı
426
427
GARAGALPAG  LITERATURE
RESUME
Among the turkish literature Garagalpag  has its own 
place with deep ancient roots which is very rich with pictorial 
views. As other literature, its sources are folklore and epical 
epos, and it keeps its ethnic –national completeness and also 
it reflects  figurative struggle spirit. Garagalpags who lived 
in different historical times and places such as- in Kharazm, 
Bukhara, Fargana, Middle and Great Chuzun --- they always 
fought against chungar-kalmiks and Nadir shah army. At 
the same time they have lived in calamitous periods fighting 
stocks with each-other, in result they had become refugees and 
forced emigrants. At last the  fighting of those people caused 
with their living in one Autonomous Garagalpag district in 
the territory of Uzbekistan at the beginning of XX century 
(1920), and in 1990 as the Republic of Garagalpagstan. They 
settled not only in Garagalpagstan but also in Uzbekstan, 
Gazakhstan, Tukmenstan, Afganstan, Iraq, Turkey, Russia 
and also in some other territories of different states.
For many centuries garagalpags’ rich verbal poetry has 
developed greatly and a lot of lyrical examples can be shown; 
“hey jar”, “betasar’, heyya, haytar,koslasu, jolausu, bedik, 
gulepsan, ramazan” folklore and historical songs , proverbs, 
sayings and riddles, also mythical stories, legends, jokes, 
fairy-tales have come to our everyday life. A lot of genres 
of Garagalpag folklore are close to other Turkish people. As 
in Azerbaijan , Anadolu Turkish, Turkmen, uzbek, gazakh, 
Gagauz, kumukh,--- the poetic competition genre is widely 
existed in garagalpag literature. Although Garagalpag 
ceremony- poetry form it has its own wedding samples 
childish, sorrow, love songs of Azerbaijan and other Turkish 
similarities can be found in garagalpag literature.
 Although the less number of Garagalpags, they have 
created nearly 50 heroic and lyrical-romantic love epos. 
 
Among them ‘alpamus’, gurbanbey, koblan, bozoglan, girx 
giz, yer sora, yer ziuar, maspatsa, sahriyar garib asig, yusif- 
ahmed’ and others are rather interesting.
Garagalpag folklore and epos have played important role 
in classical written literature and it forms the basis of people’s 
national culture.
The folklore of Garagalpag is rich and colorful. Its a lot of 
samples balance the ancient written works which are in small 
number. At the same time garagalpags with other Turkish 
people, ancient Orkhon-yenisey manuscripts, Mahmud 
Gashgary’s ‘Divani-luget-it turk’, Yusif Balasgunlu’s 
‘Kutadqu-bilik’, Sheikh Ahmed Yasvi’s ‘Divani-hikmet’, 
Sheikh Yugneki’s ‘Hibetul-hegait’, ’Kodeks kumanikus’, 
’Oguzname’ and other ancestors’ monuments are taken into 
account.
A number of examples concerning Garagalpags’ early 
moral lives haven’t reached our today’s life. That’s why the 
names of creators’ living in the XIV –XVI centuries are not 
known to us. Along the centuries garagalpags who had no 
written works they have kept their epos and folklore only in 
verbal form. Probably the coloring of garagalpags’ folklore 
and epos richness must be explained like this. 
In Garagalpag literature individual creation samples 
only occurred in XVIII century. At that time a well-known 
representative in literature was Jien Jirau. He was a poet(jirau). 
In Garagalpags jirau family tree goes up to XIII-XIV centuries. 
Jirau melodies must be estimated musical encyclopedia and  
as literary culture sample. 
F.Karamatly and some others were interested in 
this fact. Jiraus have a firm standing in Garagalpag. The 

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Nizami Tağısoy
 Qaraqalpaq ədəbiyyatı
428
429
people remember these names—Jien, Shankay, Jiemurad, 
Nurabillan, Yerpolad, Gurbanbey, Toren, Ataniyaz, Oguz, 
Giyas, Chumabey, Shahmurad, Yakhilig, Kaipnezerin and 
other jirau names are kept in the hearts of the people with 
great affection. Besides, in garagalpags baksies are also 
influencial, for example, Garibniyaz, Akimbet, Kutim, Musa, 
Chuman, Eshbay, Bayaniyaz, Eshan, Garajan Chapag, the 
great poet Berdag’s daughter  Hurilman who gave their 
gifts to garagalpag literature. The individual creative author 
examples in Garagalpag  representative of the literature of 
that time was Jien Jurau. He was –teller(Jirau). In Garagalpags 
jirau genealogical tree goes o nigays—in XIII-XIV.  The musical 
encyclopedia of Jirau must be estimated as literary culture of 
the nation. Gopuz as a musical instrument of Jirau the world 
turkologists V. Jirmunski, American Elda Laude Sirjaues, 
Lorens, I.P.Pikken, ger 
man K. Rayxl, Turkish scientists 
M.Argun, uzbek T.Mirze and shan, Garachan Chapag, the 
daughter of great Berdagin are the craftsmen of  Hurliman 
baksi’s  creation.      
   As we noted Jien Jirau is known the first garagalpag 
poet. Tragedies happened in XVIII century  were just before 
his eyes. The historical process in Sirdarya region Jien’s ‘Good 
bye, friends’ , ‘ Return my heifer’, ‘Ulli tau’ and ‘Destroyed 
nation’ has described entirely. The personages in these 
examples were in the centre of mind.
Such realistic attitude towards environment can be 
found   in poet Gunkhoca’s creation in XIX century. He is the 
real follower of  garagalpag classics such as Haciyaniz and 
Berdakh. Gunkhoja is a poet directed all his literary thinking  
to the  written creativity. As he was the founder of satirical 
lyrics in garagalpag literature, he also raised world-wide 
problems. On this point his ‘address to Yarimkor’, ‘Who I 
was’, ‘Together with nation’, ‘Cowboys’,’Reaping hooker’ 
and some other works are interesting, such kind of samples 
as a rule are directed to whip the ruling system of khans. 
Exactly, garagalpag poetry could be risen to the top level. 
His difference among the other poets is that he created not 
only in garagalpag literature but also in uzbek language. He 
closely got acquainted with Nizami’s, Navai’s, Mahdimgulu’s 
and some other Turkish poets’ creativity. His works had 
been widely spread among uzbek and gazakh nations. He 
had translated Mahdimgulu’s works into  the garagalpag 
language. He was known as a first poet in (mukhammas) 
Garagalpag poetry. Hajiniyaz’s poetry had been known as its 
melody , intonation and successful comparing and also could 
enlarge its  limits of his poetry.
Berdag’s creativity is considered to be the top of the 
classical garagalpag poetry. The historical theme  played 
the leading role in the works of this craftsman, for instance 
to say ‘Amangeldi’, ‘Aydos baba’, ‘Yernezer bey’ and some 
other works have brought struggle to garagalpag nation, 
besides in other works such as ‘A bride’, For the people’, 
‘My son’, ‘Don’t be ignorant’, ‘Tax’ and others are   directed 
against the exploitation of the nation. Berdag’s works 
translated into other languages and they have been reading 
far from Garagalpagstan. Berdag’s poetry is better known by 
Azerbaijan poet Huseyn  Arif’s translations. He translated 
Berdag’s poetry successfully  keeping all the original elements 
of the poems. Even he paid attention to crossing points –Xeste 
Gasim, Ashig Ali, Dede Alesger—adequatly he could create 
the translation points.
It is important that individual creativity of garagalpag 
representatives (Jirau, Gunkhoja, Hajiniyaz, Berdag) could 
influence the poets Omar , Kulimbet, Saribay, Gulmurad, 
I.Yusupov, N.Japakov and others.

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