Koroglu's immortality

ELCHIN

Бакu 2018

Translated by Ian Peart

Saadat Ibrahimova
Sevinj Zeynalova
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The artistic thought expressed in the rich history and traditions of Turkic epic
literature is, generally speaking, one of the most distinctive features of that
culture.
Ozans - bards - (ashiqs, naghilchis, akins, bakhshis, sesens, manaschis,
kaychis, jurays in the various Turkic cultures) have been creating epics since
long before our times - and are still producing them. As the centuries have
succeeded one another, the ancient epic form has sprouted new branches, to
become the artistic-aesthetic expression of the Turkic nations in developing new
patterns for its spiritual heritage.
The epics dating from the times of the Turkic Empires (Saq, Hun,
Goyturk, Uyghur, Khazar) began with the epic Creation (Genesis) dealing with
the creation of the world and mankind by the god Kara Han. Alp Er Tonga tells
of the eponymous hero of the Iran-Turan wars, a legendary ruler of Turan (also
known as Afrasiyab, and afforded the title khagan in Mahmud Kashgari's
Dictionary of the Turkic Language). The epic Shu is based on the confrontation
between the young Turkic ruler Shu and Iskender Zulkarneyn (Alexander the
Great or Alexander of Macedonia). Ergenekon concerns the struggles between
ancient Turkic tribes and khans (Oghuz khan, Sevinj khan, Il khan ...) after the
collapse of the Hunnic Union; in essence it calls for Turkic unity. Bozgur
originated with the Goyturks, who established their own states in a vast area
between the Black Sea and India. Koch (Migration) is a patriotic epic about
Bugha khan, ruler of the Uyghurs, and his fight against the Chinese; there are
other epics dating back to the pre-Islamic period, as well the commonly-held
Dede Qorqud. Manas belongs to the Kyrgyz peoples, Alpamysh to the Uzbek,
Kazakh and Kara-Kalpak peoples. Gyrkh Gyz (Forty Girls) is also from the
Kara-Kalpak, Kay is of Turks in Southern Siberia, Olokhon belongs to the
Yakut people and Maaday Gara to the Altai. Later epics include some created
as recently as the 20th century - in Azerbaijan alone: Asli and Kerem, Ashiq
Qarib, Qurbani, Abbas and Gulgaz, Shahsenem and Qarib, Qachaq Nabi,
Qachaq Kerem). All of these epics display impressive creativity in their history,
artistry and aesthetics, clearly demonstrating the genre’s high standing in the
context of the history, fate, inner world and character of the Turkic nations.
Turkic epics have evolved aesthetically and their artistic expression of the
ideals of heroism and patriotism, love and devotion, courage and benevolence
has been enriched over the centuries. Standing within this setting, and held in
special regard, is the epic Koroghlu, in various versions spread wide across the
Turkic nations.
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George Sand, the classical author of 19th-century French literature, considered

it “the richest and the most beautiful epic in the world”. Perhaps with a touch of
feminine envy, she declared it to be “national genius”, equating this unique
poetic work with the whole of Victor Hugo’s output.
Of all the landmarks in Turkic literature Koroghlu carries particular
artistic-aesthetic and patriotic spirit for the breadth of its prose, poetry (three
forms of folk poetry are used in the epic: bayati, gerayli and qoshma) and
multidimensional content. It is no easy task to confine its characteristics within a
single concept, or even to propose a specific classification.
Academia regards the work as a heroic epic, but it is equally the poetry of
romance. The artistic expression of Koroghlu’s love for Nigar (Agha Yunus in
the Turkmen version, Agha Yunis, Miskal Peri, Gulnar Peri and Gulnar-Ay in
the Kazakh and Uzbek versions) is no less impressive than that of his courage,
audacity and hatred of the enemy; equally, the literary aesthetic force of his
sword Misri is no less than that of his saz.
Koroghlu, of course, is hero and fighter, and this is how Ashiq Junun, one
of the epic’s most colourful characters, introduces him to people who have
heard about, but not seen the hero:
In the home of brave men, in Chanlibel,
A stone castle rises, built by brave Koroghlu,
Challenging the spiteful pashas,
Taxing so many horses, is brave Koroghlu.

Swooping like a bird onto the enemy,

Pulling prey from the lion’s teeth,
Felling khagans with his mace,
Twisting ears and arms, is brave Koroghlu.

If mountains have a foggy wreath,

If swords are rusting in their sheath,
If Egypt, Istanbul and Damascus fall beneath,
Standing to the fore, is brave Koroghlu.
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He casts nets in rocks, catches hawks,

In a flash destroys enemies by the horde,
Sardars are trampled by his Arabian horse,
Making brave men quake, is brave Koroghlu.

Junun, sitting before you are the brave,

Fierce war sweeps troops away in waves,
With seven thousand, seven hundred wild knaves,
Attacking the shahs, is brave Koroghlu.
Koroghlu is well aware of his own worth, but sometimes his bravery is
sounded from his mysterious, three-stringed saz, which independently composes
a melody honouring his courage:
I am Koroghlu, I will gallop,
I will break like a storm...
Or:
I am Koroghlu, son of a brave man, brave I am,
I will never leave the battlefield...
Or:
I am Koroghlu, no coward stands near,
I love brave men more than myself...
On the one hand, Koroghlu declares, “I can never drink enough of the
enemy’s blood” (his physical appearance is also mighty: “Tall, broad-
shouldered, the chest of a buffalo, log-thick neck muscles and the twisted
strands of his moustache hung behind his ears”) on the other hand, his inner
world is entirely related to the saz. When this hero, knight and Ner (Brave)
Koroghlu, remembers Chanlibel, his Nigar, the wild knaves and Eyvaz, as well
as nature’s exquisite landscapes, “he rejoices” and the three-stringed saz
replaces the sword (Misri) in this gerayli:
Oh cranes crossing the sky in fives,
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Our lands still stand?

Oh cranes, one more beautiful than the other,
Our lands still stand?

We talked with the saz,

Sang of the ducks and geese,
Are the slender-waisted girls
And their sweet voices still there?

The wild knaves I loved and chose,

Whose voices awoke me,
Who were supported by me,
Are they still there?

… Who I was pleased to have,

Was glad to have at my back,
Admired on the day of battle,
Do those wild knaves still stand ?...
Koroghlu's affection for Nigar whom he calls “My stringed Nigar”,
mirroring his affection for the "three-stringed saz ", remains unchanged from
the youth who first saw the beautiful young girl on a visit to Istanbul, to his
elder years. The saz and Nigar are equals in his inner world, bringing him the
same spiritual force and source of power.
“Hazel-eyed Nigar khanim”, longing for Eyvaz and unable to return to
Chanlibel, is crying; seeing her disappointment Koroghlu is deeply saddened,
even shaken:
If you cry, my heart will shed blood,
Do not cry, my Nigar, do not cry.
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I'll fall victim to your eyes

Do not cry, my Nigar, do not cry...

- However, in the same lyric he continues:

...I will roar on the battlefield,
I will pull flames from the sky,
I will crush mountains and rocks
Do not cry my Nigar, do not cry...
He becomes angry and since his words are consistent with his actions, we
(reader, listener) believe him; we know that Koroghlu will do what declares; he
is well capable of doing so.
The love between Koroghlu and Nigar is touching and convincing. Their
mutual love has found the highest artistic-aesthetic expression in this epic (as
did the love between Leyli and Majnun and Romeo and Juliet!).
A song sung by Nigar while waiting for his return from a journey, says
much about her love and devotion: “Koroghlu ... suddenly sees someone
playing saz and singing. He listened and understood that it was Nigar. Such was
her singing that the birds would fold their wings and listen to her. As he looked
he saw Nigar standing at the top of the meadow near the enemy's position and
singing:
Oh, khans and pashas,
I wish that one coming was my love!..
So God decreed our destiny,
I wish that one coming was my love!..

I have no wish to see gardens without fruit,

Quince without pomegranate,
Beautiful girls without beloved,
I wish that one coming was my love!..
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Oh you without heart, I am spent,

Your arrowing glance sheds my blood,
Nigar khanim will fall sacrifice for you
I wish that one coming was my love!...”

The beautiful, fascinating aspect of this episode is that Koroghlu is too far
from Nigar to see her clearly, but the love they share is so great that it envisions
what cannot be seen, and hears what cannot be heard, contrary to all natural
law.
What is more, Nigar is not only the beloved of Koroghlu, for as he
himself says: “Nigar is mother for all the brave men and women in Chanlibel.”
There is one other intriguing feature I should like to highlight: we have
already seen that Koroghlu loves Nigar heart and soul. She is his first and
eternal love but, at the same time, Koroghlu is a master ashiq, quite capable of
seeing and evaluating the beauty of woman. Thus, when by chance he spies
Kars Pasha’s daughter Huru khanim, his three-stringed saz speaks for him and
to him (Koroghlu!) with some amusement:
… Your black hair covering your back,
Your dark eyes charm,
Do not look so, I will die,
Lady, whose beloved are you?

Koroghlu speaks true, was taught in truth,

Your budding bosoms were brushed by the wind,
Your dark eyes inspired by those rosy cheeks,
Or, my girl, are you a bee on the honey?..

When Koroghlu realises that this beautiful girl has fallen in love with
Eyvaz, he takes her on Qirat’s back to Chanlibel and there celebrates their
wedding. "Nigar khanim dressed and adorned Huru so beautifully that one
could hardly avert one’s eyes.. They say that Eyvaz's wedding lasted forty days
and forty nights... Eyvaz and Huru had their dream come true".
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So this heroic epic includes other loves than Koroghlu and Nigar; as well
as Eyvaz and Huru there is that of Balli Ahmed and Mahbuba khanim. The love
between Balli Ahmed and Mahbuba might have inspired an epic in its own right
and it is no accident that after witnessing their mutual love and the self-sacrifice
made for its sake, Koroghlu celebrates their wedding over seven days and
nights.

There are four literary symbols in the Koroghlu epic that have been raised
to literary legend: the three-stringed saz, “misty, damp Chanlibel (Shamlibel-
Chamlibel in southern Azerbaijani versions) surrounded by steep cliffs on all
sides”, Qirat, “bred from the winged seahorse” and the sword Misri, forged
from lightning.

When we speak of Koroghlu, we associate him with the three-stringed

saz, Chanlibel, Qirat and the sword Misri (so when we hear mention of any one
of them, an image of Koroghlu immediately lives in our imagination). For
myself, one rarely comes across legends (like Don Quixote and his donkey
Rosinante!) so closely associated with their symbols - not just in folklore, but in
the world’s written literature - and for them to be as celebrated as the heroes.
We have already discussed the saz. As for the other artistic attachments,
let us see what “brave Koroghlu” has to say in picking up the saz while taking
Nigar for the first time to Chanlibel:

The top of the dewy mountains,

Nigar, this is Chanlibel, this!
Brave men battle here, 
Nigar, this is Chanlibel, this!..

… Rulers cannot capture it,

Cannot take its brave men,
None can occupy here,
Nigar, this is Chanlibel, this!

This is the highest of peaks,

No enemy can come near,
This is the home of brave Koroghlus,
Nigar, this is Chanlibel, this!

In poetic competition with Ashiq Junun, Koroghlu declaims in heroic

passion:
I can crush rocks and break mountains,
Khans will drink poison, sultans will weep,
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Chanlibel is the home of brave Koroghlu,

Not even the shah will I allow to approach Chanlibel!

To ancient Turkic thinking, the horse was not simply an animal, it

descended from the sky (in the beliefs of Shamanic Turks), or from the sun (in
the Yakut imagination) and Qirat was also no ordinary horse. In the episode
when Koroghlu intends to take Nigar to Chanlibel, they speak of Qirat, and to
Nigar’s anxious, “What miraculous force does this horse have that can save us
both from this army?” Koroghlu responds with this lyric in goshma form:
He blows like the wind from the mountain peak,
In trouble, Qirat will be my heart.
Make one-month’s way in a day,
A well-trained horse, my Qirat.

Galloping Qirat sends dust to the sky,

Catching the enemy unaware,
Charging the enemy in the field,
Spurring me on, my Qirat.

When Koroghlu is in the saddle,

Enemies choke with fear,
My horse leaves no barley in the trough,
In trouble, help will come from my Qirat.

To summon his steed, he pulls his saz to his chest and calls: "My apple
eyed Qirat with young girl’s fringe, come!" Koroghlu’s love for Qirat is such
that when Kechel Hamza (Kempir qari in Turkmen and Uzbek versions) slyly
steals the horse, Koroghlu - this valorous, steel-straight, superhuman (supermen
have now reached the 21st century!) appeals in emotional desperation to the
traitorous, dishonourable thief:
My dear Hamza, Hamza my eyes,
Hamza, do not torment Qirat!
Hear my words, Hamza,
Hamza, do not torment Qirat!

Qirat is my stronghold,
My heart will melt away,
By bread and salt,
Hamza, do not torment Qirat!
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Qirat is both my eyes,

How can I endure this grief?
Hamza, hear my words,
My son, do not torment Qirat!

Pashas and beys will hear of this,

And relate the happy news,
Koroghlu is asking a favour of you,
My child, do not torment Qirat!

Realising that he has been deceived and becoming aware of Kechel

Hamza’s greedy, opportunistic nature, in sorrow for the horse’s fate, he declares
its value:
Stay a little, I’ll tell you of Qirat’s worth,
Do not exchange it for eighty thousand soldiers or goods!
Do not exchange it for eighty thousand white-fleeced rams,
Do not exchange it for eighty thousand-coined treasure!

Not for eighty thousand herds, or eighty thousand horses,

For eighty thousand gifts from the regions,
For eighty thousand ploughs, eighty thousand couples,
For eighty thousand buffalo-drawn ploughs!

It is also notable that in the many versions and variants of Koroghlu,

Qirat is not the only special horse celebrated for supporting and comforting the
“knaves” (in their heroic deeds). See: Durat, Duldul, Kohlenshir, Hachadil,
Qaragoz, Aghjaquzu, Sariner, Qamarday etc.
Misri, the lightning-forged sword, is a source of such support, strength
and close friendship for Koroghlu that, “If his heart is wounded by traitors, his
arms held by steel bonds, and Misri unsheathed, then corpses will cover the
earth and heads will bemoan their pain”.
As well as these distinctive symbols, the magical Qoshabulaq [double
spring], in whose foam Koroghlu bathes and whose water he drinks, also figures
in the epic and contributes to Koroghlu’s make-up as both ashiq and hero.
“…every seven years a star from the east and another from the west
would appear and collide in the sky. When they collided, Qoshabulaq would fill
and overflow. Whoever swam in its foam would become an unrivalled hero.
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Whoever drank of its water would become an ashiq. And his/her voice would be
so strong that its roar would scare a lion, tigers would lose their fur, birds would
drop their wings from fear, mountains and rocks would tremble, horses and
mules would shed their hooves.”
This is the roar that Koroghlu makes in the Durna teli episode: “he roared
so that Kara han was made deaf”. It is also in the tale of Koroghlu and Deli
Hasan, that when Koroghlu and Deli Hasan were fighting:
“the sword brought no result, so they switched to the mace. The mace
brought no result, so they switched to the spear. Neither did the spear affect
change. They dismounted and fought hand-to-hand. First one seemed the
stronger, then the other. Qoch Koroghlu let out an insane roar, grabbed Deli
Hasan and laid him out on the ground”, or “Koroghlu let out a roar, grabbed
Kurdoghlu and knocked him to the ground”, or see the brave Demirchioghlu,
who doesn’t know Koroghlu yet, saying: “I’m scared of neither his sword, nor
sneeze, nor his wild ones. But they say he has a way of roaring when he fights.
If there is one thing I could be scared of, it would be his roaring.” This
illustrative expression is an important artistic-aesthetic characteristic of the epic
in all its versions, from Turkmen to Uzbek to Tatar-Tobol.
Allow me to note further that through Qoshabulaq, the sword Misri and
Qirat, there are interesting ties between this epic and the cosmos in every
version of Koroghlu. Despite the epic’s role in studies of mythology in Turkic
countries (see for example, the research by M. S. Tahmasib, M. Seyidov and
others in Azerbaijan) I think this particular aspect requires deeper research into
mystical-mythological perspectives.
Folklore specialists note that no other folklore epic exists in so many
versions as Koroghlu.

3.
It is generally classified in academic literature as epic, but the lyrics within this
work are not confined even to that genre’s broad range; however, they do go
hand in hand.
Azerbaijani folklore enjoys other forms of poetry that appear in this epic,
including qoshma and gerayli, and perhaps their author was not the true
Koroghlu, but a mythical Koroghlu - ashiqs contributing to the myth over the
centuries. This shows that the image of Koroghlu, as hero of both epic and
nation, and thanks to the power of folk art, has contributed significantly to the
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development of the character of the ashiq in Turkic nations - its poetic colour
and development as both epic and lyric in character.
It could be supposed that this literary phenomenon is typical of all Turkic
folklore, in which Koroghlu (Goroghlu, Qoroghlu, Qurquli), is not only the son
of a blind man (the groom Ali, Ali bey in Turkmen and Mirza Sarraf in the
southern Azerbaijani version), but a son of the land, the mountain, the light and
fire, and this played no minor role in enriching the lyrical-poetic Turkic
folklore.
Further, listening to the series of melodies in Koroghlu (Koroghlu
gozellemesi, Misri Koroghlu, Qanli (bloody) Koroghlu, Deli (crazy) Koroghlu,
Shahseveni and other Qazakh mekamlari in Azerbaijan; Koroghlu çeşitlemesi
(variants), Kiziroghlu Mustafa bey, Aldi Kosa bey etc in Turkey; Ashik
bolmusham, Novayi, Sen etir etc. in Turkmen versions) you sense that their
creation and centuries-long existence added much, not only to the performance
of the saz, but also to the musical creativity of the Turkic nations, being artistic-
aesthetic travellers along the road taking this music from the national to the
universal (I suppose it may suffice to recall Qara Qarayev's Third Symphony
alone).
The role that this epic has played in the progress of Azerbaijani literature
(and, as far as I know, that of other Turkic nations as well) should also be
underscored, in particular in the development of folklore studies. Hundreds
(perhaps thousands!) of academic articles have been written and analysed, many
monographs published and research into Koroghlu has deepened over the
decades (in Azerbaijan: by V. Khuluflu, H. Alizade, H. Arasli, M. H. Tahmasib,
P. Efendiyev, F. Farhadov, K. Koroghlu, V. Valiyev, A. Nabiyev, N. Jafarov,
M. Hakimov, I. Abbasov... and countless other scholars; in Turkmenistan: B. A.
Kariyev, in Uzbekistan: K. T. Zerifov and other famous literary researchers, in
Turkey: D. Yildirim, P. N. Boratov, F. Bayat and other academicians) and as
academic studies have advanced, so has folklore been constantly enriched.
In 1937, while bloody repression swept across the Soviet Union,
including the Turkic republics, autonomies and towns (Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan,
Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Crimea,
Altay, Uyghuristan, Yakutiya, Tuva etc.), the great Uzeyir Hajibeyov's opera
Koroghlu appeared and the hero, who jumped on Qirat’s back, unsheathed Misri
and lifted it over his head, called upon the Azerbaijani people, indeed all the
Turkic nations, to fight cruelty and persecution. It is no coincidence that during
the struggle for independence in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the opera’s
overture became an anthem of the campaign in Azerbaijan.
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This opera was staged in Ashgabad in 1939 and some time later in
Dashkend. Years passed and after the collapse of the powerful Soviet Empire
the number of Turkic states on the world’s map increased. And at that time, a
TURKSOY project staged Uzeyir bey’s opera in Turkic state capitals with a
cast from Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tatarstan and
Bashkortostan. It met with great success.
Another interesting fact is that at a time of prosperity the philately of the
Soviet Union (and its ideology) received a valuable new postage stamp; it was
dedicated to the opera Koroghlu, depicting Koroghlu on Qirat wielding Misri
above his head.
It is also worth recalling that a stamp dedicated to Koroghlu was issued in
1989, as the Soviet Union teetered. It was accompanied by the text: "Koroghlu
is an epic creation of the Azerbaijani people. Their heroic ideals, the strength of
their struggle against despotism and injustice have been expressed in the
character of this knight-bard".
That was a turbulent period, with Armenian militarism laying claim to
Karabakh, encouraged by the silence and passivity of the Soviet leadership, and
it seemed that with that Soviet stamp the people of Azerbaijan rose up against
that same injustice, following the example set by Koroghlu.
And in 1990, one of the last stamps to be issued by the Soviet Union, by
now rapidly becoming a page in history, depicted a graphic by the Turkmen
artist I. Klichev based on Goroghlu (Koroghlu). This stamp included the text,
“the hero of the Turkmen people’s epic – Goroghlu - protects his motherland
(the ancient Turkic lands exemplified by Turkmenistan. - E.) and fights
despotism.”
The printing of these stamps was, I believe, an important and perhaps
even mystical event in the history of philately.
At this point I would refer to another postage stamp, this one issued in
Turkey. Koroghlu’s words, “The brave will stand, traitors will flee” (the first
line of the final gerayli spoken by Koroghlu in the epic) were engraved on the
stamp under the heading, “This is the Turkic homeland”:
The brave will stand, traitors will flee,
The battlefield will be in turmoil...
My wild knaves will enter the battlefield,
And the enemy will roll...
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Take a look at Tahir Salahov's portrait of the hero: he is no longer the

literary hero of the Azerbaijani epic, but the national hero of all Turkic nations,
and our great contemporary painter likely imagined this portrait from epic
descriptions.
The monument to Koroghlu by Tokay Mammadov that stands today in
Baku is a symbol of the union of Turkic nations resting on the one hand upon
the sword Misri and on the other hand upon the magical saz (Koroghlu’s saz
composing poems under the influence of his love for Nigar and glorifying love,
fidelity, courage, compassion, kindness, devotion and commitment!) The
monuments to Koroghlu in Turkey, Turkmenistan and other Turkic countries as
well as Azerbaijan, are contemporary monuments raised from genetic memory.

And, if we now see the portrait of Koroghlu on the currency of

independent Turkmenistan, it is certainly not only a source of pride for
Turkmens but also for other Turkic nations, from Kyrgyzstan to Crimea, from
Kazakhstan to Altai, from Anatolia to Gagauzia, as well as from Uzbekistan to
Uyghuristan.
Forty years after Uzeyir Hajibeyov, the great Turkic composer Ahmad
Adnan 's opera Koroghlu was staged in Istanbul and achieved great success,
proving once more that the epic has consistently produced artistic-aesthetic and
experiments in patriotic spirit over the centuries, being within the cultural flow
of the Turkic nations, running with the development of this culture and its
modern achievements.
The inclusion of this epic in UNESCO's "Intangible Cultural Heritage of
Humanity" in 2015 has re-confirmed the important role of Turkic nations in the
artistic-aesthetic development and enrichment of human culture.
There are many, many Koroghlu fortresses in Turkic lands (let us simply
note the Koroghlu castles on the ancient caravan road in Gedebey, Tovuz,
Gazakh etc. in Azerbaijan), and the Chanlibels, Koroghlu Rocks, Koroghlu
Ravines, Koroghlu Mountains and Koroghlu caves. There are other
geographical locations and ancient historical monuments, too, that are
connected with the name of Koroghlu in Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan,
Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. All these are manifestations of the genetic memory
of the Turkic people are branches of patriotic spirit sprouting from the same
root.
These fortresses were certainly all built by Koroghlu (Goroghlu,
Karoghlu, Gurgulu, Guroghlu). He rattled Misri and played his saz in all these
Chanlibels (Shamlibel, Chanbilbel, Chandibel) and his seven thousand, seven
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hundred and seventy-seven (7,777) wild knaves (seven and sometimes forty in
Central Asian versions): like Dali Hasan, Giziroghlu Mustafa, Balli Ahmed and
Demirchioghlu, rode all those mountains and rocks and persecuted their
enemies.
This hero is not only Rovshan, the son of the groom Ali left blind by
Hasan Pasha, he is also Goroghlu- a baby born in the grave (Gor) from his dead
mother, he is the symbol of light in darkness, the moon in planetary space, the
shining stars and the sun turning night into day; the victory of good in the fight
between good and the evil.
B. A. Karriyev, the well-known Turkmen philologist, writes in the
foreword of the Turkmen version of the epic (Goroghlu) that "the Azerbaijani
version of this epic contains more historical elements than all other versions
(Qёr-oqlı. Turkmenskiy qeroiçeskiy epos, Moskva, «Nauka», 1983, str. 7.)
While the Azerbaijani scholar F. Jalilov says that, “the ancient version of the
real Koroghlu remains in Turkmenistan” (“Sharq” newspaper, 22 September
2016) among other contradictory approaches.
Alexsandr Chodzkho, the Polish orientalist, who translated the epic into
English, and published it in 1842, in London; O. Wulf, who translated it into
German; the well-known 19th century French writer George Sand, who
translated it into French (a translation that was re-published and illustrated by
the painter Maurice Sand (George Sand's son) and S. S. Rennin, who translated
the epic into Russian. Contemporary researchers have been on a quest for
the historical identity of Koroghlu: was he the ruler of the Jalali dynasty or
leader of Shirvani rebels? In which Turkic lands did he live and fight - in
Azerbaijan, Anatolia or in Turkmenistan? Which enemy did he fight - the
Gizilbash, Shah Abbas I, Hasan Pasha or Bolu Bey?
Some turkologists and folklore researchers believe Koroghlu to be an
even more ancient all-Turkic epic than Dede Qorqud, associating its hero with
Hercules and claiming that Qoroghlu (Koroghlu) appeared in the mythology of
ancient European people as Hercules. Sources of the Koroghlu story could be
found in international plots; they cited Herodotus’ History and researched
ancient Scythian narratives, raising interesting parallels. The late Israfil Abbasli
put the question like this: “into which epic classification should Koroghlu be
placed? Is it mythical, or is it more historical in character?” (Israfil Abbasli.
Koroghlu: what is there and what is not?”, Baku, 2013, page 85)
Many such questions can arise during research into Koroghlu and all
these thoughts and contemplations, ideas, suggestions, discussions, probabilities
and questions are undoubtedly subjects of scientific research. However, despite
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them all, there is an important reality above and beyond these scientific issues:
regardless of the epic’s version, period of emergence or connection with other
ancient mythologies, Koroghlu was developed from Turkic artistic-aesthetic
thought and the self-expression of patriotic spirit.
Thus, Koroghlu appears to emerge from the epic and become the national
hero of the Turkic people.
It is not so important to clarify whether Koroghlu was a historical figure,
whether he lived in the 12th century or at the end of the 16th or early 17th
centuries. According to some literary researchers, the epic only emerged in the
17th-18th centuries - or did it?
Today, one of Baku’s most modern metro stations is named after
Koroghlu, and it seems that modern trains will carry Koroghlu into the future.
At the end of the epic, Koroghlu is an elder ("I grew old, Nigar, I
aged..."). As Junun says, "Koroghlu sent his daring-knaves off and remained
inactive".
But how could Koroghlu remain inactive in the face of injustice?!.
When subsequent khans (Agha khan and Mehdi khan) attacked Chanlibel
with large armies, old Koroghlu mounted Qirat, unsheathed his Misri and with
his wild knaves smashed the enemy and in reply to Ashiq Junun’s question,
“What do you think now?” he answers, “No, Ashiq Junun! It is true that I
decided not to fight and to be Koroghlu no longer. But now I understand that is
entirely impossible while traitors, shahs, pashas and khans rule in this
treacherous world”.
Koroghlu's life has no time limit. As long as Turkic people live, so will
Koroghlu.
He is wrapped for eternity in the history and destiny of the Turkic
nations; he never leaves the winged horse, never dismounting from Qirat, whose
feet do not touch the ground.
The sword Misri and the saz are always with Koroghlu.
ELCHIN
Baku, 2018