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- Convenor:
-
Funda Guven
(Nazarbayev University)
Send message to Convenor
- Chair:
-
Funda Guven
(Nazarbayev University)
- Discussant:
-
Dávid Somfai
(Nazarbayev University)
- Format:
- Panel
- Theme:
- Gender Studies
- Location:
- 308 (Floor 3)
- Sessions:
- Friday 7 June, -
Time zone: Asia/Almaty
Abstract:
Status of women varied in pre-Modern Turkic societies depending on geography, life style and time period. Women maintained their autonomy and authority in their spheres within Turkic societies across different time frames. This panel focuses on the representation and roles of women in Turkic societies in different periods. Presenters will explore coinage, historical texts and genealogical records to shed light on the status of women in Gokturk, Altynorda and Kazakh Khanates. Women held influential positions, particularly leadership roles in their families and kinships in Turkic societies, depending on changing customs and traditions. Gokturk princesses assisted rulers -as acting rulers in the absence of the khans- in the khaganate. At the same time, they carried symbolic significance on representing the power and prestige of the ruling elite. Women preserved legacies and their positions in the material side of their family trees proving that Kazakh culture recognized maternal ancestry equally to the paternal ancestry in the geneological records. The cultural and symbolic significance of women’s lineages in Kazakh genealogies between the 15th and 19th centuries shows us inclusivity and gender equality in Kazakh society. Investigating images of elite women on the flipped side of the coins together with male rulers, the status of concubines and princesses in Gokturks and Altynorda periods in historical texts, and the position of women in genealogical lineages in the records during Kazakh Khanates, this panel aims to contribute to having a deeper understanding of gender dynamics in Turkic societies, addressing to scholars from gender studies to history and archeology of Turkic societies, to numismatics as well.
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Friday 7 June, 2024, -Abstract:
The Kazakh people are connected through kinship, identified by tribal names. Genealogy plays a crucial role in determining their history, with each Khanate, clan, and even family maintaining their own genealogies. Chronicles, such as the "Genghis Chronicle," "Kazakh Chronicle," "Mahmut Sobyk free Chronicle," and others collected by Beybars and Ibn Haldon, along with the "Kipchak Chronicle" and "Dzhagannama" ("Oghuz karakan Chronicle"), continue to document the lineage within families and dynasties.
These chronicles primarily record male names, reflecting the patriarchal nature of Kazakh society. However, there are also references to female names, albeit fewer in number. The study of these female names found in Kazakh Chronicles is essential. Despite their smaller presence, their role and significance in Kazakh society are notable. The goal of this research article is to demonstrate the role of Kazakh Women in society at that period of time by analyzing Genealogy.
By utilizing quantitative methods, it will be identified and analyzed the historical, social, political, and cultural factors that influenced the inclusion of female names in these chronicles. This analysis sheds light on the role of women in Kazakh society and their contributions to governance and leadership at that period.
The research will further investigate this topic by examining multiple chronicles to compile a comprehensive list of female names, providing a more nuanced understanding of gender dynamics and societal structures within Kazakh history.
Abstract:
The question of women in the Golden Horde has not been raised frequently, although the question of women—and most recently men—in the Mongol World Empire and in the Il khanate in Iran has been the subject of detailed studies in recent years. In the 13th-14th centuries, it is clear that we have the most information available regarding the Chinggisid élite, including the wives and daughters of the Chinggisid khan and the female relatives of the tribal leadership (representing in most case the four leading tribes in the state). Several different categories of sources inform our discussion. For the 13th century these include Western travelers (especially William of Rubruck) and the official Chinggisid dynastic histories (especially Rashīd ad-dīn). In the 14th century the Muslim travelers Ibn Baṭṭūṭa) is an indispensable source for discussing the role of women. This paper argues that women not only had a special role in the early Chinggisid camps in the absence of the khan, they had a special ritual role at court as the wife of the khan (who was at the same time the daughter of another significant individual such as the leader of one of the “ruling tribes” in the state). This was in part because they were important elements in the marital alliances between the tribes and the ruling dynasty which formed the basis of the legitimacy of the Chinggisid khan. As in earlier centuries in the 16th century we can also observe instances of mother figures who are significant figures in local dynastic politics in the Khanate of Kazan, the Crimean Khanate, and the Nogay Horde.
Abstract:
A hundred years ago, the political elite of Alash boldly raised the position that the Independence of the Motherland is directly related to the social equality of the Kazakh woman in the society. The fate of the Kazakh girl, which was first raised in Bakytsiz Zhamal, the first Kazakh novel, focused on the fate of the Kazakh girl. Nazipa Kulzhanova, who is in the middle of the Alash group, is a person who demonstrated this position with her life.
Nazipa Segizbayovna Kulzhanova, a unique teacher, ethnographer, translator, first journalist of the Alash, was born in Torgai. Nazipa Kulzhanova graduated from girls' school in Torgai in 1902-1904. After completing her studies, beginning in 1905 she taught Kazakh language at the Teachers' Seminary in Semipalatinsk.
Nazipa Kulzhanova was the author of articles in the newspapers Kazak, Saryarka, and Alash which boldly raised the issue of women. Nazipa Kulzhanova was also a translator who gave a presentation on the work of Ybyray Altynsaryuly and translated the teacher's poem "Spring" into Russian. She also translated many other works from Russian into Kazakh.
In 1917, Nazipa Kulzhanova was a member of the special committee on the publication of textbooks, books in the Kazakh language, and press affairs of the educational commissariat of the Kyrgyz (Kazakh) AKSSR of the Academic Center opened in 1920 by Ahmet Baitursynuly.
Nazipa Kulzhanova was later included in the committee for the introduction of the new Kazakh alphabet. In addition, in 1922, she was a member of the editorial board of Engbekshi Kazakh newspaper, in 1923-1925, she was responsible for the magazine Kyzyl Kazakhstan, and in 1925-1929, she was responsible for the journal Equality of Women. Journalist teacher Nazipa Kulzhanova's informative articles on education, national culture, health, and social issues were published in Aykap, Kazak, Birlik tuyu, and Alash publications.
Nazipa Kulzhanova is a public figure who realized 100 years ago that a Kazakh girl should be involved in the social life of the society and directly participate in its existence at the national level. Ahmet Baitursynuly Nazipa Kulzhanova gave a fair assessment to Mrs. Akhmet Baitursynuly in his poem that she set an example for others with her honest work in those hard times. Akhan has two white poems written for his wife: A letter to my mother and To Mrs. Nazipa Kulzhanova.
Abstract:
Günümüzde eski Türk toplumunda aile ve kadın konusu üzerine birçok çalışma bulunmaktadır. Esas olarak, sosyal tarihle uğraşan uzmanlar bu sorunu ayrıntılı olarak ele almışlar. Ancak eski Türkler üzerine yapılan klasik çalışmalarda, Göktürk toplumunda daha da statuslu olan hatun imajının daha merkezi bir yer tuttuğu izlenimi oluşmuştur. İslam öncesi dönemde kadınların önemli toplantılara (düğün) katıldığı ve büyük hükümdarın hanımlarıyla istişare ederek kararlar aldığı bilgisi kaynaklarda mevcuttur, onlarda baş kadın hatundan behsedilmektedir. Bize ulaşan yazılı kaynaklarda, eski Türk toplumunda çok eşliliğin (halk arasında) var olduğuna dair doğrudan bir işaret yoktur. Metinlerde hükümdarın ailesine mensup olan hatun dan başka kadınları, özellikle abıncı (cariye) ve yabancı prensesler de kaydedilmektedir. Ancak bu kadınlar hükümdarın baş eşi olan hatundan altda yer aldığı görülmektedir. Kısacası, Göktürkler toplumunda kadının yerinin yüksek bir statüye sahip olduğunu kaynakların verdiği bilgiler doğrulamaktadır. Kadınların Göktürk yönetici toplumunda farklı statuslerde yer aldığını göstermektedir.
Anahtar Kelimeler: kadın, hatun, türkler, abıncı