Translated by H. B. Paksoy (owner of all the rights to this work) At the beginning of my life, as I shall chronicle in this book, it could not have been foreseen that I was going to lead a great political movement of the Urals and Central Asia during this century and a liberation struggle of mass scale among the Turks; and that I was also going to attain international prominence as a person conducting research in the field of Oriental studies. The entirely medieval simplicity of the lives of the Bashkurt and Tatars, comprising some agriculture and forestry, in the southern portions of the Ural mountains, in a village flanked by the mountaineous forest as well as the steppe, could have left me a modest and docile peasant like my relatives living today in Soviet kolhozes. Despite that, the character of our life, seemingly very modest in this setting of elevations and yaylas [summer pastures], especially its historical manifestations which I have listened to in my childhood, was drawn from living memories and their reflections, possessed of a nature that could drive its members to adventures, to make plans for the present, the future and the benefit of Turk and Islamic world. Keeping all this in mind, it could be said that my life may be regarded as a logical result of historical memories living within the people. Except, in order to shed some light on the circumstances, it is necessary to relay some details to my readers which may appear utterly uninteresting at first sight. The kernel of our village was constituted by perhaps a count of 30 or 40 emigre households of Tatar and Muslim Chuvash Soqli – Qayli and Ungut Boy, [extended family, groups of families acknowledging one leader] the majority of which was settled in the middle of the last century. In order to understand these tribes better, it must be added that Bashkurts differ from other Turks by the manner they substitute "Z" and Ch" for "dh" and "S," and comprise four groups:
The first three groups out of the aforementioned four are semi-nomadic, in possession of large lands and yaylas and have maintained their tribal organizations. The fourth group had been farmers since early times, having lost their tribal organizations, historical dastans [ornate oral histories] and traditions. I am a member of the Sokli - Kay of the third group. Although I am considered an historian for the past 55 years, I know the least about the history of my own tribe. It is said that the Sokli – Kay and Unggut tribes, constituting the foundations of our village, were residing on a branch of the Yigen, which in turn is a tributary of Ak-Edil river, composed of 12 dispersed homesteads, settled on two hills belonging to Kuzen and Baki, and around a well of Yakub, since the 1800s. During the 18th century wars they had suffered many casualties, land remained vacant. Later, our village suddenly grew, when the tsarist government brought a crowded group of Western Bashkurts called "Minzele Misheri" and settled them on the lands confiscated from us, as a separate subdivision. The villages on the branches of the Yigen river, Ermit, Utek and Togay were very small Bashkurt settlements at the end of the 18th century. It is written in Selim Umidbaev's book, "Yadigar," that the Utek and Tukun villages belonged to the "Kichi Tabin" tribe. Since the name of the "Erbit" was spelled as "Ermit," it follows that at one time they must have been included among the ranks of the Western Siberian "Tumen." But I do not know to which tribe they belonged. Their lands were confiscated as well, and given to refugees driven away from Western Bashkurdistan. The confiscation of their lands caused them to rebel against Russia under the leadership of "Kusuk Sultan," "Murad Sultan," and "Sultan Cerey." It is said that our ancestors were living under the administration of "Kusuk Sultan," whom they highly revered, in Erqaragay at the Tobol basin, and Irendik and Chubarkol of Eastern Ural. During the heat of the summer, they migrated to the mountains named Ak-Biyik. Under the leadership of Kusuk Sultan, they had gone to Kemelik, Kuban and fought against the Russians. Neighboring "Katay" Bashkurts were our allies, but "Arlar," from another neighboring villages did not accept this sultan. These "Arlar" would not intermarry with us. Since "kusuk" also meant "little dog," the people of Arlar would say: "Your sultan became 'it kusuk,'" ridiculing us. In return, we would say: "Ar, who had swallowed snakes." Our other relatives had lived in the Eastern Ural villages of "Kusi," "Ismail," and "Nogay" as well as the "Mukas" village of Yurmati Ulus. Earlier, Kusi and Nogay villages were located towards the east of our village, in a region called "Kusi-Yurtu" along the Yigen river. Those of our ancestors who joined them later moved on to the Irendik region of Ural, but mine stayed where they were. However, they continued to intermarry. There is a river called "Bitire" [from "bitirmek," i.e. coming to an end] on the Eastern side of the Ak-Biyik yaylak. The road leading to the town of Timech crosses it several times. Perhaps 150 years ago, two bridal processions had met on their respective journeys, one going to "Kusi," the other arriving from Kusi, coming to us. The bride going away from us was crying, weary of seeing the crossings called "turkun," which were constant reminders to her that she was getting further and further away from her mother's home, complaining with: "you keep telling me that the end is in sight, what an endless end is this?" The other bride, arriving from Kusi, to express her desire that she did not wish to see the crossings come to and end, for she did not have a notion of what awaited her at the "Yigen" river basin, was repeating with running tears: "If the crossings came to an end, and my heart caught fire, could the waters of Yigen extinguish the flames?" I had many times visited the Kusi and Nogay villages at Irindik after I turned fourteen, and stayed with old "friends" and "elder sisters," and had taken down "Muradim" (Edige) [fixing them on paper] which we also knew, adding it to our versions. One of my first works of scholarly research were the papers I published in 1911 in connection with this dastan. During spring, our horse herds, as they grew accustomed to from the times of our ancestors, would go to the Ak-Biyik yayla without any supervision. During the aforementioned visits, I had learned that the inhabitants of Kusi also had the tradition of taking their horse herds to Ak-Biyik during hot summer days as well, and even related songs keeping those memories alive. In those songs, the general theme was as follows: "God gave us a mountain such as Ak-Biyik, so that we could erect our white goat-skin tents. Wild colts playfully and voluntarily rushed into the rope stables, as if saying 'tie us, no need to use the catching-ropes.'" This means the climate of this place was very cool even during the hottest days, so the colts liked to be in the rope stables. This yayla is perhaps one hundred kilometers from us. Our ancestors lived in yaylak and wintering quarters far away from each other, and died in batllefields equally distant. The tombs of some are known. About one it was said that "he died in Kuban." It is the Northern Caucasian city. About another ancestor, it was said that he had gone to Mansil in "Tumen" and became a martyr in a battle fighting against the Russians and the Kalmaks on the Eastern side of the Urals, in a lake region called Chubar-Kol. The elders, such as my grand uncle Veli Molla and Gusam Aga of Uggut, knew the old dastans very well. These dastans were in verse, narrations about the Golden Horde (Edige, Cirence, Isaoglu Emet, etc.). One of our ancestors, named "Allah Berdi," remembered as an individual who knew these dastans extremely well, was buried at a high yayla called Karli-Bulek some three kilometers from our village. He was known as "Allaberdi [God-given] Nogay" and his burial place was called "Allaberdi Olugu [Where Allaberdi is buried]." Since it was reported that there were quite a few tall individuals among our ancestors, my father exhumed this Allaberdi's remains and determined that he was indeed tall, and discovered pieces of sword in the burial as well. Along with Allaberdi, a contemporary Nogay Bey is also remembered, named Burnak, and a yaylak was associated with him, along the Nigush river, near Ak-Biyik. When other Nogay Beys [leaders, rulers] migrated to the Kuban basin, it is said that along with this Burnak, Allaberdi had stayed here. In addition, there were "Nogay Ogullari," members of the ulema, who were said to be of Nogay Mirza lineage, in the city of Isterlitamak. One of their ancestors was said to be buried in this "Allaberdi Olugu." They were my father's and my uncles' teachers. They used to visit us as guests, and despite being of the ulema, they were addicted to alcohol. My fifth generation ancestor Ishtogan (from whom my last name is derived) of the "Kuzen Ogullari" had died at Kemelik, very far from us, fighting the Russians. Around our village, there are places called "Russian died," "Russians broken." While ploughing, pieces of weapons used to be discovered at those locations. Though all of the foregoing constitute only oral traditions concerning the history of my lineage, nonetheless they influenced my development. This stresses the point that my ancestors, in contrast to the Bashkurts of our neighbors, have descended from martial, nomadic, and much traveled stock. Our homeland, termed "tubek," was actually "Yigen Boyu" region, but the Ak-Biyik yaylaks and Irendik district of Eastern Baskurdistan became the homeland of my ancestors. They have travelled throughout this zone, participated in all political events deliniated by Mansil in Western Siberia, Erkaragay in Tobol, Kemelik in Western Baskurdistan, Kuban river in Northern Caucasia; in the retinues of Khans, Beys, "Mirzas," fighting against not only the Russians, but also the Kalmuks. The small Kalmuk village neighboring ours had arrived at the time when our ancestors were fighting against the Buddhist Kalmaks. However, the identities of those individuals regarded as belonging to the leadership, such as Kusuk Sultan, and among our direct ancestors, Burnak Biy [Bey], Allaberdi and Kuzen Biy were unknown. It was after I grew up, learned Russian, started working at the archives of the "Land Boundaries Commission" in Ufa during 1912, followed the Russian publications pertaining to Western Siberian history, acquired information on Bashkurt genealogy that I discovered "Kusuk Sultan" to be the grandson, living during the 17th century, of the famous Kucum Han of Western Siberia and also the son of Ablay Sultan; that Burnak and Allaberdi Beys were Nogay Beys who had lived during the 16th century; that our ancestors were in the retinue of Kusuk Sultan, and under his leadership, as well as his brothers Abaga and Qansuvar Sultans have fought against the Russians in Western Siberia, around Astrakhan and Kuban, and since these princes were deriving their maintenances from scattered lands they controlled, they were widely dispersed. The Turkish language ferman given to a Bashkurt Bey by Kucuk Sultan in 1663 was published in the "Historical Materials" by the Baskurdistan Academy of Sciences during 1943. The participation of our ancestors in the campaign of this prince was also recorded in a geneology owned by Hidayet Sufi residing in the Askar village. The genealogy of the Burnak and Allaberdi Beys, along with the geneologies of their descendants, the "Nogay Yurmati," living today in a village close to ours, were among those published by the Baskurdistan Academy of Sciences during 1960. It is recorded in the Russian sources that during his fight against the Russians, Kucuk Sultan had 6400 Nogay troops, and those Bashkurts in his retinue stating: "We are fighting to establish an independent state, similar to the one formed by Kucuk Han." "Sultan Murad," son of this "Kucuk Sultan," was among the leaders of the uprisings, had travelled to Crimea and later to Istanbul, met the Sultan; had been taken prisoner during the fighting in Daghestan and executed. "Sultan Gerey" was the nephew of "Kucuk Sultan," had assumed the names of "Kara Sakal" and "Suna" while he was hiding from the Russians. It is not known when our great ancestor "Kuzen Qart," who gave his name to our village, had lived. However, the mountain next to our village is also named after him. Two of the grandsons of this Kuzen, Aydaq and Curaq, along with 42 other Beys of the Yurmati Urug of Teltim oymak, had sold land belonging to them during 1757 to the Tatars of Said (Kargali), who were situated along the headwaters of the Isterli river. Photographs of the Turkish and Russian language texts of the contract were published in the Materials Pertaining to the History of Baskurdistan during 1956 by the Baskurdistan Academy of Sciences. (See Photo 1). Other documentation concerning land and familial lineages were present among my family papers. The names of the "sultans" who led our grandfathers, "Sultan Murad," "Bahti Gerey," "Sultan Gerey," were among those most often given to children until recent times. Our urug [extended family] is Soqli-Qay; a branch of the Qay or Qayli, to which belong also the Senekli-Qay, Yurektav-Qay, Tavli-Qay, that were near us. According to tradition, before arriving in its present location, this urug was resident in the Irendik region of Eastern Urals. Large groups of Qay (Qayli) tribe are found in Western Baskurdistan. It can be determined that the "Yalan Qatay" and "Orman Qatay" tribes, which are close to us, on the banks of the Iset river, had constituted military groups during the time of the Khans, from the existence in history of "Katay Kalesi" (Katayskii Ostrog) and "Kay Kalesi" (Kay-Gorod) from the beginning of the 17th century. The other urug in our village is Unggut, and this tribe was also prominent with the designation of "Ak-Tatar" during the time of Chinggis Khan. I surmise Qay, Qatay tribes joined the Bashkurts at the time of the Karahitays, and Tabin and Ungguts, at the time of the Mongols. Since the Katay tribe was one of the mainstays of the descendents of Shiban, of Chinggisids, after their occupation of Maveraunnehr they were called "Katay Hans." This was related by Herberstein, the German ambassador of the 16th century. My father knew little of the Bashkurts to the West of our village, as all his relations were with the Eastern Bashkurts. This is the result of their fighting, on the same side, against the Russians during the time of Kucum Han and his sons. My father caused me to become engaged to the daughter of Haci Mehmet Yaksimbet-oglu of the Tungevur Bashkurts, living on the banks of Yayik river, when I was still fourteen years of age. From a cultural standpoint, it will be observed that no person of prominence in learning or other fields had emerged from my family. Despite that, Soqli-Qay had played a role within the enlightened circles of our country. The house of Velid Bay, my great [probably Great-Grandfather] ancestor, was a central place of meeting during the first half of the 19th century, where public banquets were also given, Bashkurt Canton Presidents, Russian Generals and Governors were received among the guests. It was said that an old "Kimiz ayagi" [on which the kimiz container was placed] and a very old torn carpet in our house were presented to our sixth ancestor by a Bey as a momento. Military memoires of our ancestors-- It was said that the majority of our family friends were from among those who had served in the old Bashkurt army alonside our fathers. Prominently, Karmishogullari from the Makar village, six kilometers from our village, and Kackinbayogullari from the Alagoyan village. Kackinbayoglu Shemseddin Molla and my great uncle Veli Molla had served together as non-commissioned officers. A very old man, Omer Haci of the Karmishogullari was the Canton President. Contemporary members of this family, as teachers and officers, had served in our national movement, in the front ranks of our army. It is said that a Yusuf Karamishev had reached the officer rank of major. Our people had always liked to listen to the songs dedicated to him, and the melodies on the ney. My friend, the late Dr. Tagan, and Prof. Jansky had published those scores in the scholarly journals of the Vienna Academy of Sciences. Some members of these families also learned Russian, due to their military service. Veli Molla was one of them. Prior to his military service, Veli Molla had studied in a medrese. Veli Molla was posted to Sirderya, and my father to Daghestan. Both made time to learn good Arabic and Persian. Veli Molla had works in Arabic and Persian, but, since I was very young, I only learned from him, in Turkish, the historical national dastans Edige, Cirence, Isaoglu Emet. While my father was serving in Gunib of the Caucasus, where Seyh Samil's headquarters were located, he had met the scholarly secretary of that Seyh named Dibr al-Indi, and had corresponded with him, and his brother, in Arabic, until the 1905 revolution. There must have been other good reasons for my uncle and my father to learn Arabic, but I could not determine those. However, it was reported by a Daghestani Omer Akay, who would visit my great ancestor Velid to teach Arabic to his sons among whom was Veli Molla, that after completing his military service, my father had stayed on in the Caucasus for another year studying Arabic. No attachment among the Bashkurts to Russian culture is discernible among those who had served in the Bashkurt army until 1860 [when disbanded], nor among those educated in Russian military schools who served only in Russian military units. Major Yusuf and other officers wore official Russian military uniforms while on home leave, but had never shown favor to Russian music, songs and were never attracted to Russian dances and games. In the home of the Karmishogullari, there was no Western or Russian furniture, the house and gardens were entirely in the Turkistan style of the Syr Darya. Some Bashkurt historians' writings, published during the Soviet period, suggest such an attachment is at the behest of today's Russians. Otherwise, though the technical superiority of the Russians was acknowledged, from the moral culture perspective, it was generally and absolutely believed that, like other Muslims, Bashkurts were superior. Those Russians who entered our midst such as ironmongers, grocers, etc. would quickly learn our language, often their children would come under the influence of Islam, and sometimes, contrary to prevailing Russian laws, they would become Muslims. In addition to those Russians who had considered the Bashkurt life original, and wrote about it, Polish (origin) General Siyalkowski, the military governor of Orenburg, while a guest of Major Yusuf in the Makar village, had expressed his fascination with the originality of the Bashkurt life, and expressed his great admiration for Bashkurt music. He recommended that Bashkurts reserve their traditions. The presumption that their ancestors also held the West in adoration is also prevalent among the educated of the Turkish Republic. The wish of some of the educated Turks to regard Fatih Sultan Mehmed as a lover of the European, especially Italian renaissance, is contrary to history. Fatih was a proper representative of the Islamic civilization of which he was a member. As he looked down on the European civilization, was proud of his own, so did the 18th and 19th century enlightened Bashkurts, who were willingly or otherwise in contact with the Russians. They knew their national culture, which is in origin Central Asian, and were proud of it. Togan Memoirs Part 2 or Togan Memoirs: Index For Further Reading: Thanks and best wishes, J. Barry O'Connell Jr. |
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