Some Studies on the Sainthood of Alasha Khān in Kazakh Turks Culture
KAZAK TÜRKLERININ KÜLTÜRÜNDE ALAŞA HAN EVLIYALIGI ÜZERINE BIR INCELEME
Yessen S. Kassenali A.
2022Ankara Haci Bayram Veli University
Turk Kulturu ve Haci Bektas Veli - Arastirma Dergisi
2022#2022Issue 102171 - 192 pp.
In the culture of Kazakh Turks, Alasha (Alaşa) Khan is known as a legendary saint who tried to integrate the nomadic tribes living in the steppes of Kazakhstan and also founded a khanate. In the folklore sources of the ancient period, it is said that Alasha Khan was born a child with leprosy, lived separately from society and founded a state with three hundred soldiers. In the folklore data collected by orientalists who arrived in the region during the tsarist period, the name of Alasha Khan was associated with the founding of the Kazakh Khanate. In the folklore sources evaluated by Kazakh researcher Chokan Velikhanov, the examination of Alasha Khan Tomb is known as a legendary saint, Alasha Khan is described as the hero who brought Kazakh Turks together. As a result of other evaluations, it shows that the name Alasha Khan is connected with the emergence of the Kazakh people and the person who united the three Kazakh tribes (Juz). We made a table of 34 folklore sources about Alasha Khan and these sources were classified by using comparative method. Several versions of the legendary narratives about Alasha Khan, which are preserved among the people and found in scientific studies, were examined. Alasha Khan is also known in folklore sources as a saintly person who tried to unite Kazakh, Bashkir, Nogai, Karakalpak, Kyrgyz and Tatar tribes under his Six Alaş (Alash). In this study, it was aimed to compare the folklore sources about Alasha Khan, which circulated in the Kazakh dialect literature, and the results of archaeological excavations. Thus, folklore sources and archaeological data were compared and presented with an interdisciplinary method. Historical interpretations were made on the basis of the copies of the legends and the ideas compiled by the researchers from the oral narratives about the Alasha Khan character between the 14th to 20th centuries. Based on the legends and historical researches, efforts were made to explain the cultural layers of Alasha Khan sainthood and its meaning as well as its importance as a cult. The emergence of the Kazakh people in the legends and the state formation process were reviewed. New views on the relationship between Alasha Khan sainthood and the mausoleum, its architectural features, construction date and meaning were presented. In 1998 during the restoration of the mausoleum, a skeleton of a man was found in the burial site. An anthropological study was conducted based on this skeleton. As a result, it was found that the man buried in the tomb was an Asian man aged 45-60 years, above average height, muscular, without pathological features, and with turanoid characteristics. Since 2018, we have been carrying out archaeological excavations in the cemetery areas belonging to the Medieval period in the Ulitau region, to determine the exact age and genetic origin of the sceloton in Alasha Khans tomb.
Folklore , Legend , Sainthood , Tomb
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Doktora Ögrencisi, L.N. Gumilev Avrasya Milli Üniversitesi, Tarih Fakültesi, Arkeoloji ve etnoloji Bölümü, Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan
Kazakistan Milli Müzesi, Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan
Doktora Ögrencisi
Kazakistan Milli Müzesi
10 лет помогаем публиковать статьи Международный издатель
Книга Публикация научной статьи Волощук 2026 Book Publication of a scientific article 2026