Childhood Years of Semetey. Part - 2
Semetey did not know that his father was Manas, his mother was Kanykey, and his homeland was Talas. Considering himself the son of Ismail, he enjoyed the khan's power and amusements.
At this time, Chiyyrdy had reached the age of ninety-five. From old age, she had become weak, powerless, and a hunched old woman. She had never seen Semetey. From Kanykey, she had heard that he had become the khan of the city of Bukhara.
One day, Chiyyrdy said to Kanykey:
- This year I must die; before I die, give me the chance to see the orphan left by the lion at least once.
Having said this, she stopped eating, lay down on her bed, and did not get up again.
Unable to bear the suffering of Chiyyrdy, Kanykey lost her composure and did not know what to do. She decided to show the old woman Semetey, but was afraid that he might somehow learn the truth about his origins. Therefore, after obtaining a firm promise from Chiyyrdy not to ask Semetey anything, she went out to the road along which he was to pass, surrounded by his batyrs, returning from hunting with his dogs and falcons.
Meeting him on the way, Kanykey said:
- Brother, wait a moment; I need to tell you something.
Semetey stopped, and Kanykey began to tell him how Manas had died, how they had suffered in Talas, how they had fled, and how they had come under the protection of Temir-khan. Thus, she conveyed to him everything they had experienced from beginning to end.
- Temir-khan, Ismail, and Semetey - these are the three for whom I live in Bukhara.
Brother! You must at least occasionally come to visit me; see how your helpless widow aunt lives. Come into my house and eat what there is, oh my khan! - having said this, she could not help herself and burst into tears. Seeing the bitter tears falling from Kanykey's eyes, Semetey's heart also bled.
When Kanykey brought Semetey into her house, it became unbearably bitter for her that she was forced to call her own son the son of another. Out of grief, she hunched over and thought, "What a vile and despicable life!" Her throat dried up, and she almost cried out, but coming to her senses, she struggled to calm down.
Seeing the condition of the house, Semetey said:
- When Manas was alive,
You were not like this at all, edje!
Oh, I, the unfortunate one!
Why was I born after the death of Manas!
How I wish I were his son!
My dear edje Kanykey,
You should not be my edje!
Oh, how good it would be if you were my mother!
Oh, how wonderful it would be to be the son of Manas,
To be a little camel for my edje!
To Manas, riding in Altai,
I would be a wonderful horse,
And for this precious poor edje
I would be her son!
This unfortunate edje of mine
Should not have been left childless.
How did she end up without children?
And the son-in-law who went to another world,
How could he remain without an heir?
Having said this, he cried bitterly and began to pray for the repose of Manas.
Kanykey, trying with all her might to hold herself together, began to tell Semetey about her flight to Bukhara, how she had brought with her the gray-haired mother of Manas, and also told him about the condition of the old Chiyyrdy now.
At that moment, Chiyyrdy's eyes had clouded from old age, her chest had sunk, and she was wheezing; she resembled more a corpse that had come out of the grave. Trying to get up, she could not do so and remained lying in bed.
Kanykey approached her and said:
- Mother, get up! Your little son-in-law has arrived.
Chiyyrdy, coughing loudly, got up from the bed and looked at Semetey for so long that during that time meat could have boiled.
- Dear Kanykey, is this the very brother of yours who was recently proclaimed khan? Hello, dear son-in-law, how do you live and thrive? - she said and kissed Semetey tightly. She wanted to tell him everything openly, but she did not dare to do so. Turning away, she cried so much that tears mixed with blood flowed from her eyes, and she fell, losing consciousness.
Kanykey tried to divert Semetey's attention to another subject, saying:
- After the death of your son-in-law Manas, she suffered a lot and shed many tears, which is why she has come to such a state.
She covered Chiyyrdy, who was lying down, with clothing.
And Chiyyrdy, biting her clothing, cried out loud. But who else could cry if not Chiyyrdy? After all, today she saw for the first time the twelve-year-old boy, the only orphan, who had been given for upbringing as a six-month-old infant.
When all the dishes that Kanykey had served to the guest were eaten, she opened her chest, took out a robe, pants, boots, and the olpok of Manas, and handed them to Semetey.
- My dear nephew, do not give these things, left by your son-in-law, to anyone; wear them yourself. You have many enemies; they want much evil for you, and through this clothing, a bullet does not pass. I sewed this for you; your son-in-law always wore his olpok during campaigns, and a bullet never pierced it.
Semetey, dressed in the clothes given to him, became exactly like Manas. When he mounted his horse and rode off, Kanykey stopped him and said:
- Brother! Eight khans are plotting against you; they have decided to destroy you by deceit. Promising Temir-khan to build you a luxurious palace, to marry you to a beautiful girl, and to proclaim you khan, they asked him to hand you over to them, to which my foolish father agreed. If you go to them, you will surely perish. Therefore, as soon as you get home, immediately drive out and destroy these eight khans (74).
Hearing these words, Semetey became very angry and, raising his white tulpar, galloped towards the eight khans who were in Bukhara. This was on the very day they were planning to capture Semetey. Arriving at their location, Semetey said:
- Have you decided to poison me with poison? To whom of you have I done evil? Now get out of my sight, or I will destroy you all.
Having said this, he engaged them in battle. In this battle, sixty batyrs were killed, and the rest fled in disarray, scattering in different directions.
Temir-khan had a brother named Sarytaz. For seven years, he contested the Bukhara throne with him; many people died in the process, and yet Sarytaz was defeated. As punishment, he was expelled from the palace and sent to the forest of Gultokoy, where he was to work as a charcoal burner, burning eighty camel loads of coal each month.
Unable to endure these torments, Sarytaz decided to die, but in the end, he resigned himself to his fate.
Temir-khan feared that Sarytaz would tell Semetey the truth about his origins. Therefore, he warned Semetey many times not to hunt with his falcon in the forest of Gultokoy, telling him that many enemies - Chinese - roamed there. He frightened him by saying that many people had gone into this forest, but no one had returned.
But Semetey did not listen to his grandfather. One fine day, he felt the desire to go to this forest at all costs: - "If I meet enemies in the forest," he thought, "I will fight them; if there are no enemies, I will open the way for the people." He mounted his horse, armed himself for the campaign, took his uncle Ismail's falcon, and set off. Soon he arrived in the forest they had spoken of. While hunting, he caught many ducks and geese.
Sarytaz had heard from passersby that Kanykey, having fled from Talas, had arrived in Bukhara and that Semetey had already turned twelve and had become khan. He wanted to somehow meet Semetey and tell him about his origins.
While hunting in the forest, Semetey released his falcon on a pheasant. The falcon began to chase the pheasant, but it took refuge in a grass hut made by Sarytaz, and the falcon perched on the hut. Seeing Sarytaz burning charcoal, Semetey rode up and greeted him.
Sarytaz did not respond to the greeting and continued his work. Then, angry, Semetey ordered Sarytaz to give him the falcon and finish off the pheasant. Sarytaz did not respond to him, not considering Semetey his equal.
Semetey became enraged, bloodlust ignited within him, and bending down, he struck the whip on the rear of Sarytaz, who was extinguishing the charcoal. From the blow, he bumped his head into the coals and loudly began to speak to Semetey:
You are a scoundrel, orphan, and slave,
You have no native yurt!
You struck me to blood,
But I have no reason to take revenge,
And you should take revenge on the forty-tribed Kyrgyz who betrayed you.
You broke the back of mine to blood,
But in me, there is no revenge of your seven ancestors.
You are a wayward orphan and slave!
For it was not I who killed your powerful father Manas,
Wounding him in the chest,
But the Chinese Konurbai who lives in Beidzhin.
Therefore, tighten your belt tightly
And take revenge on him, not me.
This is Gultokoy, not the Chinese people,
This forest is not Chinese land.
Your father's friend Almambet,
Lying in wait, was shot
By Kodzhodzhash, a Chinese, not me.
Therefore, homeless orphan and slave,
Gather the wandering Kyrgyz people in Talas
And demand retribution from the Chinese people living in Beidzhin.
Your father Manas was brave,
The brave lion subdued the whole world.
And you, Semetey, son of the brave lion,
Arriving in the city of Temir-khan as a vagabond,
What do you represent, tell me?
My relatives have disgraced me like a dog,
I did not have the strength to fight these scoundrels.
Temir-khan has inflicted a blood feud on me,
Here I am, burning charcoal, all smeared in soot.
In the great forest, I became a charcoal burner.
What do I represent?
When your father, the gray-maned Manas, died,
Your unfortunate mother endured many humiliations in Talas.
Abike and Kyobesh, becoming her enemies,
Counted and divided the property left after your father.
Exhausted, becoming a vagabond,
Your mother fled to Bukhara.
Thinking to save your life by deception.
She did everything according to custom,
And gave you to Ismail.
Where, tell me, is the Kyrgyz people living in Talas?
You, who do not know your khan-father,
Living as a vagabond,
What do you represent, tell me?
And now, orphan, listen to me!
Where, tell me, is the full-fledged Kyrgyz people?
You, by origin the son of the great,
Becoming an orphan and slave, listen to me!
Is there a reason for you to be a vagabond?
You are the son of the buudan of Manas,
Came to Bukhara and lived as a vagabond,
Until you turned twelve years old.
In this Bukhara city
To your grandfather Temir-khan,
To whom you belonged body and soul,
Like a defenseless bird, you allowed yourself to be pecked!
Is there anyone more shameless than you?
Know, you, who allowed your mother to be called a vagabond,
That Bukhara will never be your homeland,
Even if you live here for ninety years.
These Tajiks will still not become your people.
Here, the Kyrgyz are your people.
Akhun-khan will be your father-in-law,
And Aychurek will be your bride.
During Manas's campaign to Beidzhin
I was the leader of the elephants loaded with equipment,
And I was also a participant in the campaign.
I had to see the lion's bravery of your father, the gray-maned one.
Sarytaz told Semetey everything he had heard and seen.
Then Semetey easily, like a bird, jumped off his horse, placed the belt around his neck, and said:
- I entrust you my horse and my head; I have done foolishness, forgive me! - And he began to plead and urge Sarytaz to repeat once more everything he had just heard. Sarytaz repeated his story again.
- If everything you said is true, - said Semetey, - I will reward you and proclaim you khan of the Kyrgyz people; but if all this turns out to be false - watch out! Then I will slaughter you here, near this charcoal!
Having said this, he took his white falcon, mounted his horse, and rode towards home, thinking to himself:
- Why did Temir-khan and Ismail hide all this from me? What kind of people are they!
Arriving home, he approached Ismail's palace and, not entering through the gates, in terrible anger, laying a sweat cloth under himself and placing a saddle under his head, lay down on the ground.
Semetey. Childhood Years of Semetey. Part - 1