Reflection in the Sanjyr of the History and Genealogy of the Kyrgyz People

The sanjyra, as a historical source, consists of a structure made up of legendary and several historical layers. The legendary part mainly encompasses tales about the forty maidens, which form the basis of ancient historical tradition.

Stories about Khan Ughuz and Turk Ata, as well as the name of the famous medieval Sufi Sheikh Mansur al-Hallaj, likely entered the sanjyra under the influence of book culture and the activities of Muslim missionaries. Among the legendary ancestors, the last mentioned in the sanjyra is Shaa Mansur or Analak (Analhak). Among the legendary ancestors, Dolon Biya holds a special place as the progenitor of two branches of the Kyrgyz.

According to the sanjyra, from the descendants of his sons Ak Uula and Kuu Uula comes the division of the Kyrgyz into the right wing (on kanat) and the left wing (sol kanat). It is from these events that the transition from the legendary to the historical part of the sanjyra begins.

The historical part of the genealogical traditions of the right wing usually also contains the names of legendary leaders. Judging by historical accounts, among those mentioned, Tagai Biya may have been a real historical figure. This version was first proposed by historian Belek Soltonoev. Relying on some similar points in the biographies of the two figures, the historian identified Tagai Biya with the leader of the Mogolistan Kyrgyz, Muhammad-Kyrgyz. All genealogical names following Tagai Biya in the right wing are actual historical figures of the 17th-18th centuries. The sanjyra reports their names in connection with the events of the specified eras when the Kyrgyz defended their independence. The cycle of historical traditions about the Kyrgyz's resistance to the invasion of the Dzungars encompasses an entire historical period.

Comparative study shows that the events recorded in the sanjyra from those times largely coincide with written sources.

The sanjyra covers a complete historical chronicle of these events.

The information in the sanjyra of a historical-legendary nature is of great significance in studying the issue of the ethnogenesis of the Kyrgyz people. Based on this data, one can trace the formation of an ethnopolitical dual organization and the formation of the ethnic composition of the Kyrgyz.

S. M. Abramzon divides the Kyrgyz ethnonyms found in the sanjyra into three layers. The scholar dates the first layer to the 6th-11th centuries AD and attributes to this period the ethnonyms associated with the circle of ancient Turkic and early medieval tribes. These are tooles, munduz, kypchak, kand, kushchu, aryk, uyghur (a sub-group within the teit), bughu, azyk, solto, sayak, bagysh, sary bagysh, chon bagysh, zhediger.

The origin of the next layer of Kyrgyz ethnic groups refers to the 12th-14th centuries. According to the scholar, this period is characterized by two major historical events: the Khitan and Mongol invasions of the territory inhabited by several Turkic-speaking tribes, including those that later became part of the Kyrgyz nationality. These are: kitan, noigut, konurat, katagan, baaryn, naiman, kereit, merkits, kara kunas, ardai.

The third layer refers to the period of the 15th-18th centuries, which mainly included Mongolian elements: baaryn, balykchy, barak, duulat, kereit, kushchu (kutchu), monoldor, noigut, bargy, bulgachy, cherek, which once became part of the core of the Kyrgyz people, hence their names are fixed in the sanjyra.

Sanjyra and the genealogical connections of the Kyrgyz