The Ancient Turkic Book of Reasoning and Revelations "Īrq Bitig"
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Utopía y Praxis Latinoamericana ISSN: 1315-5216 ISSN: 2477-9555 [email protected] Universidad del Zulia Venezuela The Ancient Turkic Book of Reasoning and Revelations "Ïrq bitig" of X Century KAIRZHANOV, Abay; AYUPOVA, Gulbagira; SHALDARBEKOVA, Azhar The Ancient Turkic Book of Reasoning and Revelations "Ïrq bitig" of X Century Utopía y Praxis Latinoamericana, vol. 23, no. 82, 2018 Universidad del Zulia, Venezuela Available in: https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=27957591006 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1495802 This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 International. PDF generated from XML JATS4R by Redalyc Project academic non-profit, developed under the open access initiative Utopía y Praxis Latinoamericana, 2018, vol. 23, no. 82, July-September, ISSN: 1315-5216 2477-9555 Artículos e Ancient Turkic Book of Reasoning and Revelations "Ïrq bitig" of X Century El antiguo libro turco de razonamiento y revelación "Ïrq bitig" del siglo X Abay KAIRZHANOV DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1495802 L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Kazakhstan Redalyc: https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa? [email protected] id=27957591006 http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3724-1022 Gulbagira AYUPOVA L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Kazakhstan Azhar SHALDARBEKOVA L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Kazakhstan Received: 05 August 2018 Accepted: 14 September 2018 Abstract: e article analyzes the texts of legends in the ancient Turkic "e book of reasoning and revelations" ("Їrq bitig"). In order to reveal the implicit text layer of legends there are used methods and techniques of comparative approach, hermeneutics, component analysis, as well as some of the techniques of modern linguistics. Identified different ideological incorporation borrowed from other mythological systems to Turkic environment, which were entered by Silk Road: proto-Sumerian borrowing, ideas of Nestorian Christian, Manichean beliefs, ideas of various kinds of Buddhism, some images from the Mahabharata. Keywords: Acculturation, Buddhism, Nestorian’s, Tengrism. Resumen: El artículo analiza los textos de las leyendas en el antiguo libro turco El libro del razonamiento y la revelación ("Ïrqbitig"). Con el fin de revelar la capa de texto implícito de las leyendas se utilizan métodos y técnicas del enfoque comparativo, hermenéutico, análisis de componentes, así como algunas de las técnicas de la lingüística moderna. Se identificaron diferentes incorporaciones ideológicas tomadas de otros sistemas mitológicos al ambiente túrquico, que fueron incorporadas por la Ruta de la Seda: préstamos proto- sumerios, ideas del cristiano nestoriano, creencias maniqueas, ideas de varios tipos de budismo, algunas imágenes del Mahabharata. Palabras clave: Aculturación, Budismo, Nestoriano, Tengrismo. INTRODUCTION ere is a need in modern Turcology to study some texts of Eastern Turkestan, subjected to a "façon de parler", it is the ancient book "Їrq bitig", in which the meanings of parables is difficult to define an explicit value. Information about cultural contacts of the peoples of Central Asia and the ethnic groups that lived in the Celestial Empire, are known mainly from the Chinese annals, besides some information is far from the truth. is is not only an aberration of the range of events, but deliberate distortions in the Chinese narrative sources. erefore, a particularly large role is in filling gaps in these relations, the analysis of ancient texts, in which we discover vestiges of different cultures of ethno masses of the Great Steppe and its opponents in the face of the Chinese rulers who belittled and maligned culture of the ancient Turks. Despite the negative complementarity between nomadic and settled peoples of China, we observe the phenomenon of acculturation, when the members of the ruling minority sent their offspring to learn in medieval Chinese school. e people from Steppe, who acquired Chinese knowledge, were able to contrast that knowledge against the aggressive intentions of the Chinese emperors. In addition, we observed consequences and effects PDF generated from XML JATS4R by Redalyc Project academic non-profit, developed under the open access initiative 100 Abay KAIRZHANOV, et al. The Ancient Turkic Book of Reasoning and Revelations "Ïrq bitig" of X Cent... of the Hellenistic culture in the ancient Turkic texts, which are concepts in the language of the nomads, reflecting the most ancient contacts between representatives of the West and the Great Steppe. Ongoing research is related to important scientific tasks for the disclosure of the mental world of the ancient Turks of the X century. In addition, we use the comparative-historical method along with cognitive techniques for the analysis of the concepts of this work. e purpose of this article is to analyze and uncover the binary meanings of ancient parables, to determine which specific texts of the middle Ages affected on their appearance. "Їrq bitig" is written by the anonymous author in the first third of the 10th century AD in the Manichean monastery of "e Great Cloud"; it is found by the second expedition of A. Steyn (1906-1908). At the request of A. Steyn it has been explored, decoded and published by Wilhelm omsen in 1912 (omsen, 1912). e text contains 65 small parables, and at the end of the manuscript – a colophon, written in red ink over the Chinese Buddhist text. e book had no title, but all interpreters translated the text before a colophon by this way: "[...] this book of fortune-telling is good!" erefore this monument of ancient Turkic rune written language became known under the name "e book of Fortune-telling". However meaning of the term "ϊrq" can mean "guessing and a sign", the "reasoning and a revelation" sent by a deity and "statement" of the deity. at is why we suggest translating the name of this book like this – "e book of reasonings and revelations" (Akishev, 1978). J. Hamilton by analyzing colophon terminology hypothesize that this work has been written in the Manichean environment (Hamilton, 1974). ere are many words attest to it: manystan ("convent, the monastery") formed from Middle Persian m'nyst'n; dintar ("the Manichean priest") formed from the Sugd lexeme dynd'r, durna ("good sign") which is arising from the Middle Persian word mwrw. ese terms are usual for Turkic Manichean compositions. However the word from Sanskrit – γuru ("the spiritual mentor, the teacher") which belongs to Buddhist religion appears here. So, only in one colophon we observe symbiosis of at least two various religious systems, to be exact, one of them is anti-system of Manichaeism. us, there has been "swaying" of minds in monastery of "e Great Cloud". Actually, many researchers of this book are right that many places are rightly considered as one of the most difficult for understanding of the ancient Turkic texts. CROSSROADS OF CULTURES However the main thing apparently isn't about environment where was written this most difficult for understanding book, the most important is what has affected for the emergence of similar texts. We believe that there were number of such conjectural texts. Several literary Buddhist texts were found in Niye and Krorayna: four Sanskrit shloks, which similar to "Mahabharata" and some other texts by the contents. Our attention was drawn by the manuscript at number of 565 – the conjectural text dated for the Central Asian lunisolar calendar. e text indicated what are favored by each year of a 12-year animal cycle. Apparently, it is one of the most ancient mentions of a 12-year cycle in texts from Central Asia. e Indian term "nakshatr" which literally means "star", "constellation", and in a context it gets indirect meaning "year". Such meaning doesn't meet in one other place. e most probable is that similar texts have formed the basis for creation of the analyzed philosophical book of reasonings and revelations. However some places of this book have appeared as a result of more ancient world outlook systems’ influence which have resulted by acculturation’s processes between East and West cultures which have laid the foundation of texts "Book of reasonings and revelations". Acculturation is the process, which is representing by consequence of direct and long contact of one ethnic group with another, that changes culture paradigms of both groups’ individuals (Saiyn et al., 2017). In some parables of "e book of reasonings and revelations" we find vestige from the Ancient Chinese "Book of changes" (Blyumkhem and Komissarov, 1991; Kirabaev, 1991; Kobzev, 1989; Shutsky, 1999). e PDF generated from XML JATS4R by Redalyc Project academic non-profit, developed under the open access initiative 101 Utopía y Praxis Latinoamericana, 2018, vol. 23, no. 82, July-September, ISSN: 1315-5216 2477-9555 main idea of this book which comprises in its basis, is a variability concept. In prehistoric times before the onset of scripts perhaps during an era of protosumer culture’s influence of first sign through the Old Indian means of Indus valley of the Pre-Aryan Civilization, this idea was received by various ethnizes of Central Asia. Ancient people, by placing the person in a space continuum tried to track – whether human activity is contrary to the course of a space fulfillment or it is harmoniously incorporated in the universe course. In short, whether it connotes unhappiness or happiness to a person, and the life of the individual a priori depended on it, that was reflected in equipollency contents of "e book of changes" and in "e book of reasonings and revelations". e current system of "e book of changes" has been created under the Zhou dynasty and in contrast to the most ancient mantic (oracle) systems of earlier eras, she has received the name "e book of Zhou Changes " (Mo-zho, 1959). As to the composition this book consists of 64 symbols (ancient Turkic – 65 parables), each of which define a life situation in the evolution over time. "e books of changes" symbols’ consist of six features each.