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educating young people in the spirit of patriotism, attitudes towards their land, small homeland. The
Special As, held every year, can be called a kind of religious symposium, where cohesion, friendliness,
communication and family ties of descendants are clearly expressed. During the annual meeting,
descendants clean the area, plant trees, listen to legends and stories about their ancestors (Regional’nye
sakral’nye ob”ekty Kazakhstana, 2017: 110-113).
One of the sacred objects visited is the Otpan Tau memorial complex in Mangystau. In just a few years,
it has become the most recognizable sacred place and a kind of “new” symbol of national unity.
The Adais built a memorial in memory of their ancestor Adai ata on the memorial mountain Otpan
Tau, and hold various large, public events, among which the celebration of Amal (the onset of spring)
is the most significant, widely broadcast by all means of the media. On this holiday, a fire is lit, which is
called the Fire of Unity, which indicates the interest of the state in preserving such practices.
Various narratives have developed around the idea and practice of lighting a fire on the mountain,
referring to Zoroastrian roots, Sufi practices, or considering it as a signal fire and a call to repel enemies.
According to Zira Nauryzbayeva, historically Otpan Tau was a guard mountain on which the Turkmens,
and then those who conquered the Adai peninsula in the 18th century, were on guard and, in the event of
an enemy invasion, they lit “Uran ot” – a signal fire (Nauryzbayeva 2018). There are legends about
the Adai batyr Er Tulep, who was on guard on the mountain. In Soviet times, this place was an ordinary
object. “But according to the local historian, a direct descendant of Er-Tolep Murat Akmyrzaev, in some
families, for example, in their own, there was a tradition to occasionally visit this mountain, climb it,
arrange for relatives a Sadaq – a memorial dastarkhan” (Nauryzbaeva Z.,2020).
Next to the mausoleum, a giant bowl is installed, in which the Fire of Unity is lit on the Amal
holiday on the night of March 13-14. The bowl is supported by a kind of tripod, symbolizing three
Kazakh Zhuzes (Nauryzbaeva, 2018). Nearby there is a sculpture of a wolf Kokborі – a symbol of freedom
and strength. As in many sacred places, here you can see the dry tree Aulie agash, on which pilgrims tie
pieces of cloth. The idea of unity should be represented by two banners – the banner of the Adais and
the flag of Kazakhstan, which will be installed on the second peak of Otpan Tau – Tutube. This sacred
mountain symbolizes the Great Mother, perhaps that is why a stele with a female figure resembling a
balbal was installed here. As Nauryzbaeva writes, “in the Adai epic works, in the genealogy of the Adai,
a significant place is occupied by the foremother Khanbibi, who conceived the son of Adai from the Light
and gave birth to the Spring of Light – Nurbulak on the bank. This miraculous birth is also described in
epic works of the early 20th c.” (Nauryzbaeva, 2018). At the foot of the mountain there is one more
complex, Karashanyrak, i.e. Shanyrak of ancestors, as well as Karakazan – a miniature copy of the
Tai-Kazan from the Yassavi Mausoleum in Turkestan.
One of the less well-known sacred sites is the Karasai and Agyntai batyrs memorial complex,
located in another part of Kazakhstan – in the Aiyrtausky district of the North Kazakhstan region. The idea
of the unity of the people was also used in its construction. The complex is included in the List of
sacred places of the North Kazakhstan region. According to the formal criterion, it is classified as a
sacred place associated with historical figures, but today it looks more like a place of pilgrimage associated
with various practices of addressing the Aruach. At the entrance to the mazar, there is a long shop for
visitors at the tombstone. Shyrakshy recites suras from the Koran to each group.
To the right of the tower of Karasai batyr are the graves of his two children. The whole complex is
located on the Kulshynbai-tobe hill and is fenced off. Before entering the complex, you can put your
palm to an open book made of granite, with the text of the sura on one page in Kazakh, on the other in
Arabic. The same can be seen in other mazars. The road leading to the hill with mazars is asphalted. For
pilgrims and visitors there are living rooms, ablution rooms, a specially equipped space for sacrifice and
preparation of memorial food. According to local stories, there are numerous burials of warriors near the
memorial, and the remains of a two-meter batyr with heavy armor were found.
According to Muminov’s classification, this memorial-mazar can be classified as “with a mausoleum
and a mosque”. If we proceed from the principle of “popularity”, then it does not fit into the proposed
framework, since it is not known in Central Asia. At the same time, it cannot be limited to the region,
since it is also popular in neighboring regions of Russia (Muminov, 1996: 14-21).
The question arises about the status of holiness, because the memorial was erected to the batyrs as
historical figures, defenders of the people from enemies, at least according to the plan of the state.
In summer, you can see many tents, yurts, buses and cars here. Pilgrims gather around a person giving a
sermon, giving a personal bata (blessing), or performing some kind of ritual.
Despite the fact that the mausoleum of Karasai and Agyntai batyrs was completely created at the
expense of the state, which supports the general commemorative logic of praising the batyrs, for example,
it is believed that Karasai batyr was endowed with a special gift and was accompanied everywhere
by the sacred snow leopard and that he helped those who ask in work matters etc., the site is of interest
precisely as a transnational one. Representatives of various ethnic groups and confessions come here
with different motives. Newlyweds come from neighboring villages, school graduates with their requests,
or for blessings, there are many middle-aged women, their requests are often related to health, childbirth,
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family problems. Pilgrimage to the mausoleums of batyrs is massive, and there are many tourists and
pilgrims from the bordering regions of Russia.
The memorial complex Karasai and Agyntai batyrs is interesting because batyrs from different clans
are buried here: Agyntai bytyr from the Argyn clan of the Middle Zhuz and Karasai batyr from the
Shaprashty clan of the Elder Zhuz. These batyrs fought together against the Dzungars in the 17th century
and were friends, which is reflected in the tablets located in the hall between the mazars: “49 years out
of 73 years of his life, Karasai batyr spent with his half-century friend Agyntai in battles. This monument-
mausoleum was erected in 1999 by grateful descendants of the batyrs of the sovereign Republic of
Kazakhstan, which gained true independence in 1991”.
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