Ruys of the Kazakhs. Battle cries

WE decided to find out what they are unique features of one or another Kazakh family and how they differ from each other.

Since ancient times, all Kazakhs were divided into clans, which in turn were part of three zhuzes: Junior, Middle and Senior.

SENIOR JUZ:

Sary-Uysun
Shapyrashty

Sirgeli
Shanyshkyly

MIDDLE ZHUZ:

Karakesek

YOUNGER ZHUZ:

Tortkara

Karasakal

Zhagalbayly

Baybakty

Kyzylkurt

Yesentemir

It so happened that with the course of history, some clans found their character traits, and some of them have survived to this day. WE decided to find out how Kazakh clans differ today and what distinctive features they have.

MAKSAT SARSENBEKOV, 53 years old
Director of the public foundation "Dominanta", copyright holder international festival author's song "Astana"

I am a representative of the Argyn clan. My family has an amazing penchant for music and creative professions. If we remember all the domestic popular musicians, then surely there will be Argyns in their pedigree. If we draw parallels in the world, then the analogues of the Argyns in Kazakhstan can probably be gypsies or African Americans, who have music in their blood. In general, this feature of the Kazakhs remembering their ancestors is remarkable.

BATYRBEK MUSIN, 57 years old
Director of the branch of KaR-Tel LLP, TM Beeline

Some features did not belong to a separate clan, but to the whole zhuz into which they were united. For example, representatives of the Middle Zhuz were better adapted to humanitarian and creative work. Many biys and akyns came out of this zhuz. They are also distinguished by tolerance and calmness. The Junior Zhuz are warriors. They have a faster reaction to emergencies and bright temperament. People from the Senior Zhuz are known for their prudence; many rulers came from there. They had well-developed hospitality, which sometimes even bordered on self-sacrifice. By the way, the greater Russification of the north is associated with this, since the Younger Zhuz had difficulty making compromises with its neighbors, and the Middle Zhuz was better at making contact with the Russian Empire.

OLZHAS MAKATOV, 43 years
auditor, Kedentransservice JSC

When Abylai Khan wanted to unite the entire Kazakh people, he hoped that we would all forget about the borders that exist between us, since they divide people. Therefore, highlighting certain features can cause conflicts and misunderstandings. Rodas and zhuzes are needed only in order not to accidentally marry or marry your relative. But in general, in all genera there are both negative and positive features.

MARAT NURGUATOV, 50 years
Deputy Director of the Chamber of Entrepreneurs of the West Kazakhstan Region

Within the Junior Zhuz there is a clan called Berish. Makhambet Otemisov and Isatai Taimanov were its famous representatives. In the Middle Ages, they were part of squads that defended their territories. Due to this, they had a large physique. This feature has been preserved to this day, and if you now meet someone from this family, you will recognize them by their strong physique.

Also in Western Kazakhstan there is the Baibakty clan, which is now jokingly called “thieves”. There is even a parable about two brothers from this family who Once again gathered to steal livestock. But it soon became clear that they would not succeed. Then one of the brothers quietly opened the other brother’s boot with a knife and stole his insole. Baybakta had a belief that if luck suddenly turns away and no profit is in sight, then you need to bring at least something with you so that luck doesn’t turn away completely.

ZHAYSAN AKBAY, 89 years old
writer, publicist

Of course, all significant differences between the genera are a thing of the past. For example, the Berish clan is distinguished by its belligerence, the Sherkesh from the Younger Zhuz is a clan of rulers. The Kurmangazy clan is Kyzylkurt, many composers and musicians came from it. Ysyk from the Younger Zhuz is a family of brave and rich people. Some of these traits, in a modified form, can be traced in representatives of these genera even now.

The battle cry is designed to motivate fighters to attack and defend, to encourage, provoke and destroy fear. It is not customary to go on an attack silently. It is customary to walk loudly and intimidatingly.

Of course, the most famous and replicated battle cry of the Russian troops is “Hurray!” Historians are still arguing about where it came from. According to one version, “hurray” comes from the Tatar word “ur,” which translates as “beat.” This version deserves the right to exist, if only for the reason that Russians throughout history have come into contact with Tatar culture, our ancestors more than once had the opportunity to hear the battle cry of the Tatars. Let's not forget about the Mongol-Tatar yoke. However, there are other versions. Some historians trace our “hurray” to the South Slavic “urrra,” which literally means “let us take over.” This version is weaker than the first. Borrowings from South Slavic languages mainly concerned book vocabulary.

There are also versions that “hurray” comes from the Lithuanian “virai”, which means “men”, from the Bulgarian “urge”, that is, “up”, and from the Turkic exclamation “Hu Raj”, which translates as “in paradise” " In our opinion, these are the most unlikely hypotheses.

One more version deserves special attention. It says that “hurray” comes from the Kalmyk “uralan”. In Russian it means “forward.” The version is quite convincing, especially considering the fact that the first documented use of the cry “Hurray” dates back to the time of Peter I. It was then that the irregular Kalmyk cavalry appeared in the Russian army, which used “uralan” as a greeting.

In such an unproven matter as the search for the origin of the battle cry, of course, there were some pseudo-historical hypotheses. These include the version of the “historian” Mikhail Zadorny, who assures that “hurray” is nothing more than praise Egyptian god sun Ra.

Saryn on the kitchka!

Another Russian battle cry, which is believed to have been used by the Cossacks, is “Saryn na kichka!” Although Dahl's dictionary explains both what a saryn (mob, crowd) is and what a kichka (bow of a ship) is, the origin of this battle cry remains a mystery. If you believe Dahl, then such a cry was accepted among sea robbers ushkuyniks, who, attacking the boats, shouted “Saryn on the kichka!”, which meant “all the mob on the bow of the boat, don’t get in the way.” There are other versions, they seem no less interesting. Thus, art critic Boris Almazov suggested that “saryn na kichka” goes back to the Polovtsian “Sary o kichkou,” which translates as “Polovtsians, forward!” Also of interest is the Saka version, according to which the cry we already know comes from the Saki “Seriini kγske”, which translates as “Let's fight!” Kus is strength, seria is army.

It is interesting that battle cries used to be a kind of marker of the clan. As an example, we can recall the Kazakh “uraniums”. Each clan had its own “uranium”; most of them cannot be restored today, since battle cries outside the battlefield were considered taboo vocabulary and kept secret. Of the most ancient Kazakh “uraniums,” the popular one is known - “Alash!” We know about the battle cry of the Kazakhs from the manuscript “Baburname”, which was written by Tamerlane’s great-grandson Babur. In particular it says:

“Khan and those who stood next to him also turned their faces to the banner and splashed kumiss on it. And then they roared copper pipes, the drums beat, and the warriors lined up began to loudly repeat the battle cry. From all this, an unimaginable noise arose around, which soon died down. All this was repeated three times, after which the leaders jumped on their horses and rode around the camp three times...”

Geronimo!

The American Army does not have a combined arms cry. But the Navy SEALs have a battle cry - “Huuu”, and the paratroopers - “Geronimo!” The origin of the latter is not without interest. In 1940, before jumping from an airplane, a private of the 501st Experimental Airborne Regiment, Eberhard, suggested to a timid colleague during the jump that he could shout “Geronimo!” Before this, their regiment watched a film about the Indians, and the name of the legendary Apache leader was on the soldiers’ lips. And so it happened. After that, all the American paratroopers growled “Geronimo!” during the landing.

Other cries

The phenomenon of the battle cry has existed as long as war has existed. Warriors Ottoman Empire shouted “Alla!”, the ancient Jews shouted “Acharai!”, Roman legionnaires “Bar-rr-a!”, “Horrido!” - Luftwaffe pilots, “Savoy!” - Italians in World War II, “Bonzai!” - Japanese, “Hurra!” - Finns. And so on. However, I must admit that often during combat operations I motivate fighters to attack not with such shouts, but with others. But the law does not allow us to write them in this material.

“And let the battle cry be “Kok bori” - the gray wolf.”
(“The Legend of Oguz Kagan”, 13th century. A manuscript of epic content, the only copy written in Uyghur script. Stored in National Library in Paris),

Most Kazakh tribes, along with their ancestral tamga, also have their own uran - a battle cry. Most of the cries today are familiar only to a narrow circle of people who trace their ancestry back to one ancestor and represent one specific clan. But there are often cases when one tamga and one common uranium are used by several clans that consider themselves descendants of one distant ancestor. Such uranium could be called ordinary or standard. But in the history of the Kazakh people there were also unusual, one might say, great uraniums, such as, for example, the nationwide battle cry - Alash. No less important were once the uraniums of three famous Kazakh tribal unions– Senior zhuz, Middle zhuz and Junior zhuz, respectively: Baktiyar, Akzhol...

The role of the latter for the ordinary steppe dweller was much more important and significant than his own ancestral uranium, because in difficult times they helped him to feel unity not only with his close relatives, but with the entire people, which could inspire him to accomplish unprecedented feats. But it should be noted that in the steppe, contrary to the prevailing stereotype, there were no continuous armed clashes with foreigners, when Kazakhs were constantly forced to gather under the banner of zhuzes or flock to the national banner. That is why the demand for great uranium was not an ordinary phenomenon. In the Kazakh steppe, large wars in themselves were an extreme phenomenon. The Dzungarian invasion is the exception rather than the rule. Moreover, it occurred during the era of the decline of the Kazakh Khanate and its collapse into three separate, stable tribal unions competing for influence. Proof of this is the fact that Junior Zhuz almost did not suffer from the Dzungar invasion, the Middle Zhuz was partially affected, while the main blow of the Dzungar hordes fell on Senior zhuz, which is why the maximum damage fell on the Kazakhs wandering in the south of the country. What efforts were then required to expel the invaders can be evidenced by the fact that the occupation of Semirechye and vast territories along the Karatau Mountains lasted for three whole decades.

If we dwell in a little more detail on the issue of management strategy big wars nomads, it should be noted that here the question of the role of a specific individual in the community comes to the fore. For success in such campaigns, a real leader had to appear among the nomads, capable of uniting the people by all available means and methods. A leader who can unite everyone into one powerful fist. And doing this in a nomadic environment has always been extremely difficult, because numerous tribes, where conservative-minded elders ruled, jealous of their high position, they were always hostile to any encroachments on their power. Leaders like Mode, Kultegin, Genghis Khan or Tamerlane They weren't born that often. And in the long eras of timelessness, when weather conditions in the steppe were favorable to normal farming, the nomads, according to their simple nature, were rather inert and preferred to lead an idle lifestyle.

It is no coincidence that almost all travelers of the Middle Ages noted this - “As long as kumys lasts, they do not care about other food”(Guillaume de Rubruck, "Journey to eastern countries", XIII century).

But one should not think that the Kazakhs generally sat with their hands folded. Nomad, probably more than anyone else, understood that large military campaigns required great expenses and were fraught with great dangers, which is why he preferred the common, familiar profiteering of horses from his neighbors. In addition to stealing livestock, they often went to steal girls and women, which saved them from the burdensome payment of kalym, and they also did not hesitate to rob caravans. All this, of course, did not contribute to the rapprochement of disparate tribes and the rapid formation of a single people, and, in the end, led to the fact that the great uraniums gradually went out of use altogether. In a word, the peak of the great uranus, which arose at the dawn of the formation of nomadic communities, came and was most in demand during the era of the rise, prosperity and unprecedented power of the nomads - the Sakas, the Xiongnu and Huns, the Turks, the Golden Horde, when some battle cries gathered dozens under one banner, or even hundreds of thousands of armed horsemen. It was probably during those times that the ancient common Kazakh uranium – Alash. But after the collapse of Genghis Khan’s empire, the role of the great battle cries began to steadily decline and slowly fade away. The primary reason for this was the appearance in the steppe large quantity weak rulers who hastened to divide the powerful state into separate fiefdoms.

And the more of them there were, the deeper they became mired in the struggle for power. All these endless internal conflicts and squabbles could not contribute to the prosperity and increase in the military power of the nomads. On the contrary, quite soon the once large tribal unions began to break into pieces and pass from one khan or sultan to another. It was in such timelessness, in the second half of the 15th century, that the dissatisfied sultans Kerey and Zhanibek took with them from Khan Abulkhayir part of his subordinates, who later formed the backbone of the future Kazakh Khanate. At the same time, in the places of their former migrations, many of their fellow tribesmen remained with the same ancestral tamgas and the same urans. A hundred years later, this multi-tribal composition of nomads who left to “Cossack” was joined by large group Mangyts (their descendants are today's Nogais). They also had their own tamgas and uraniums. Hence, as part of many Turkic peoples genera with the same names and similar tamgas appeared. In this era of decline and timelessness, new battle cries that were meaningful to the majority could hardly appear. It seems that then the nomads had to make more use of their ancestral uranus or some kind of cries that temporarily replaced the previous ones.

Let's take a closer look at the issue of nomads using their uranium. Reached to this day manuscript "Baburnama", written by the great-grandson of Tamerlane himself, the ruler of Samarkand, Emir Babur. There are such interesting lines: “The Khan and those who stood next to him also turned their faces to the banner and splashed kumiss on it. And immediately the copper trumpets began to blare, the drums beat, and the soldiers lined up in a row began to loudly repeat the battle cry. From all this, an unimaginable noise arose around, which soon died down. All this was repeated three times, after which the leaders jumped on their horses and rode around the camp three times...” It follows from this that uraniums were shouted out repeatedly during the review of troops even before setting out on the campaign. This kind of medieval triple “Hurray!” It seems that the uraniums were shouted out immediately before the start of the battle, when the opposing sides lined up in battle formation face to face. But the nomads entered the battle differently: with a drawn-out polyphonic cry “U-U-Ur!!!”, which literally means the Russian “Beat!” By the way, the famous Slavic-Russian word “Hurray!!!” also takes its roots from here. Later, advancing on the enemy, the warriors also began to shout “U-U-Ur!”, and already gnawing into the advanced ranks of the bristling enemy, they forcefully exhaled a drawn-out “a-a-a...”. From the merger of these two syllables, one word, familiar today to every resident of the post-Soviet space, was formed: “Hurray!” It would probably be useful to say here that the root of the Turkic word “Uran” itself is - ur (beat).

It is noteworthy that the Russian “Hurray!” has already become deeply rooted in the consciousness of today’s Kazakhs. This happened even after, along with the collapse of large tribal unions and the fragmentation of strong nomadic communities, their great uranus faded into the background or were completely consigned to oblivion. In this situation, the role of ordinary tribal war cries took over. foreground and became much more significant. Of course, when the dashing horsemen drove away herds of their neighbors' horses in the pitch darkness, they tried to keep their mouths shut, but shortly before, when they were just about to set out for the barymta, they probably encouraged themselves by pronouncing the ancestral uranium. Battle cries were also pronounced during various types of gatherings. For example, during a big toy or funeral feast, organized by the descendants of some large feudal lord or elder. At this time, horse racing was held - bayge or kokpar - goat pulling. At such gatherings, other competitions were also organized, such as kures - wrestling or kyz kuu - catch up with the girl. Gluttons often competed with each other to see who could drink more kumys or eat more meat. And, of course, during these competitions and fun, the morale of the competitors was supported by nothing more than loud shouting, or even better, shouting down generic uranium.

In conclusion I would like to bring rare case the steppe dweller’s use not of his ancestral uranium, but of a special battle cry, invented in a difficult hour by himself for himself. This will help shed light on how among the nomads one uranium was replaced by another. This unusual fact preserved in legends about the great Kazakh Khan Abylai. As you know, Abylay Khan at birth was given a different name - Abilmansur (Abilmansur). It just so happened that his relatives were massacred by the Sarts (nowadays they are usually called Uzbeks) and he, being then nine years old, miraculously escaped from the hands of villains and ended up in the Kazakh steppe. There he had to forget about his noble origin for a long time and hired himself as a farm laborer for the famous bey of the Senior Zhuz - Tole bi. At that time, he was called only Sabalak - a shaggy, lousy dog. With this contemptuous nickname, the future khan went on a campaign as an ordinary militia against the hated Dzungars. In the very first battle, Sabalak decides to accept the challenge of the famous warrior, who cut off the head of more than one Kazakh, the Dzungarian noyon Sharysh-bahadur. To the surprise of his fellow tribesmen, before entering into combat, he pronounces not one of the many generic uraniums, but a completely different word, hitherto unheard of by anyone - “Abylay!” With this battle cry, he miraculously manages to defeat the experienced warrior, and when, after the massacre organized by the Kazakhs over their sworn enemy, they look for him and ask where he got this uranium, Sabalak admits who he really is. And he took the uranium “Abylay” in memory of his grandfather, whom the Sarts nicknamed for his mercilessness “Kanisher Abylay” – Bloodsucker Abylay.

His relatives recognize him as their sultan and over time they begin to call Abilmansur himself nothing more than Abylay. So one day the name turned into uranus, and uranus transformed into the name. True, history is silent about whether Abylai Khan used his unusual battle cry until the end of his life or, after some time, decided to change it to the original uranium of the Tore-Chingizids - Arkhar. But this is no longer so important, the main thing is that uranium could easily disappear over time, giving way to new, more significant ones at that time, as happened once in the steppe with the despicable shepherd Sabalak...

Popular existing battle cries.

The most famous battle cries

Some of the most famous and formidable warriors of all times - Roman legionnaires - shouted “Bar-rr-ra”, imitating the roar of an elephant.

In addition, the cry “Nobiscum Deus!” was attributed to either the Romans (from the late empire) or the Byzantines. that is, God is with us translated from Latin.

By the way, there is a version that the legionnaires did not use their cry constantly, but only as encouragement for recruits or when they realized that the enemy was so weak that they could be suppressed primarily morally.

The use of battle cries by the Romans was mentioned when describing the battle with the Samnites, but at the Battle of Mutina the legions fought in silence.

An intermediate conclusion can be drawn as follows: elephants seemed scary to the Romans, and they were also fully aware of the fact that if the enemy was superior in strength, then no battle cry would help.

By the way, the same Romans used the word baritus to designate the cry of elephants, as well as the war songs of Germanic tribes. In general, in a number of texts the word “barite” or “baritus” is an analogue of the phrase “battle cry”.

And, since we are talking about the war cries of ancient peoples, it would be worth mentioning that the Hellenes, that is, the Greeks, shouted “Alale!” (in their opinion, this is exactly what the terribly scary owl bird screamed); "Akharay!" was the cry of the Jews (translated from Hebrew it means “Follow me!”), and “Mara!” or “Marai!” - this was a call for murder among the Sarmatians.

In 1916, during World War I, French General Robert Nivelle shouted the phrase: “On ne passe pas!” It was addressed German troops during the clash at Verdun and translated as “They will not pass!” This expression was actively used by the artist Maurice Louis Henri Newmont on propaganda posters. About a year later it became the battle cry of all French soldiers, and then Romanian ones.

In 1936, “They Shall Not Pass!” sounded in Madrid from the lips of the communist Dolores Ibarruri. It was in the Spanish translation “No pasaran” that this cry became known throughout the world. He continued to inspire soldiers during the Second World War world war and in civil wars Central America.

The emergence of the cry “Geronimo!” we owe it to the Goyatlay Indian of the Apache tribe. He became legendary personality, because for 25 years he led the resistance against the American invasion of his lands in the 19th century. When an Indian rushed towards the enemy in battle, the soldiers cried out in horror to their Saint Jerome. So Goyatlay became Geronimo.

In 1939, director Paul Sloane dedicated his western "Geronimo" to the famous Indian. After watching this film, Private Eberhard of the 501st Airborne Regiment jumped out of the plane while making a test parachute jump, shouting: “Geronimo!” His colleagues did the same. Today, the nickname of the brave Indian is the official cry of American paratroopers.

If someone hears “Allahu Akbar”, then the imagination immediately draws unpleasant pictures of radical jihadists. But this phrase in itself does not carry any negative connotation. "Akbar" is superlative the words "important". Thus, "Allah Akbar" can be literally translated as "Allah is Great."

In ancient times, when China was ruled by the Tang Dynasty, people widely used the phrase “Wu huang wansui,” which can be translated as “May the emperor live for 10 thousand years.” Over time, only the second part of the expression “wansui” remained. The Japanese adopted this wish, but in the transcription of the Land of the Rising Sun the word sounded like “banzei”. But they continued to use it only in relation to the ruler, wishing him long health.

In the 19th century the word changed again. Now it sounded like “banzai” and was used not only in relation to the emperor. With the advent of World War II, "banzai" became a battle cry Japanese soldiers, especially kamikazes.

It is interesting that battle cries used to be a kind of clan marker. As an example, we can recall the Kazakh “uraniums”. Each clan had its own “uranium”; most of them cannot be restored today, since battle cries outside the battlefield were considered taboo vocabulary and kept secret.

Of the most ancient Kazakh "uraniums" the popular one is known - "Alash!" We know about the battle cry of the Kazakhs from the manuscript “Baburname”, which was written by Tamerlane’s great-grandson Babur.

In particular, it says: “The Khan and those who stood next to him also turned their faces to the banner and splashed kumiss on it. And immediately the copper trumpets began to blare, the drums beat, and the soldiers lined up in a row began to loudly repeat the battle cry. From all this, an unimaginable noise arose around, which soon died down. All this was repeated three times, after which the leaders jumped on their horses and rode around the camp three times...”

This fragment of the Baburnama is important because it shows that the battle cry was used not only in battle, but also before it. This was a kind of formula for setting the mood for a successful battle. The then uranium of the Kazakhs, “Ur-r,” shouted out like our triple “Hurray.”

There are many versions of the etymology of the battle cry “Hurray”. Philologists are inclined to two versions of the origin of this word. It is used in English and German cultures. There are consonant Hurra, Hurah, Hooray. Linguists believe that the cry originated from the High German word “hurren”, i.e. “to move quickly”.

According to the second version, the cry was borrowed from the Mongol-Tatars. From Turkic “ur” can be translated as “hit!”

Some historians trace our “hurray” to the South Slavic “urrra,” which literally means “let us take over.” This version is weaker than the first. Borrowings from South Slavic languages mainly concerned book vocabulary.

Of course, the most famous and replicated battle cry of the Russian troops is “Hurray!” Historians are still arguing about where it came from. According to one version, “hurray” comes from the Tatar word “ur,” which translates as “beat.” This version deserves the right to exist, if only for the reason that Russians throughout history have been in contact with Tatar culture; our ancestors more than once had the opportunity to hear the battle cry of the Tatars. Let's not forget about the Mongol-Tatar yoke. However, there are other versions.
Some historians trace our “hurray” to the South Slavic “urrra,” which literally means “let us take over.” This version is weaker than the first. Borrowings from South Slavic languages mainly concerned book vocabulary.

There are also versions that “hurray” comes from the Lithuanian “virai”, which means “men”, from the Bulgarian “urge”, that is, “up”, and from the Turkic exclamation “Hu Raj”, which translates as “in paradise” ". In our opinion, these are the most unlikely hypotheses.

One more version deserves special attention. It says that “hurray” comes from the Kalmyk “uralan”. In Russian it means "forward". The version is quite convincing, especially considering the fact that the first documented use of the cry “Hurray” dates back to the time of Peter I. It was then that the irregular Kalmyk cavalry appeared in the Russian army, which used “uralan” as a greeting.