Legends, Traditions and Written Information about Syganak

Abstract

The article will focus on written sources and folk tales about the medieval city of Syganak. Syganak, which was a city of the Oguz tribes, later passed into the jurisdiction of the Kipchak tribes. After the invasion of the Mughals led by Genghis Khan, Syganak was restored and became a religious center during the Golden Horde. After Berke Khan accepted Islam from the sages, the Yasaviya tariqa was revived in the city of Syganak. Relying on the hikmet of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, one can see the revival of the Zhyrau oral literature of the Kazakh people on the basis of strengthening Sufi literature. In this study, based on the Sufi literature of poets and zhyrau, born in the era of Nogaili and the Kazakh Khanate, the formation of genres such as «terme», «tolgau», characteristic of oral literature, is analyzed. The development of the city of Syganak and the role of the indigenous population living in it in the spread of Islam since the adoption of Islam are mentioned, as well as the work of religious scholars from this city to convert the conquered Mughal tribes to Islam. In addition, the historical significance of the city of Syganak for the Kazakh people and its influence on the formation of culture is noted. It also emphasizes the importance of recording folk tales about the once spiritual and cultural city of Syganak, which are still preserved in the memory of the people, in light of the disappearance of legends that were passed from mouth to mouth.