The Legend of the First Kyrgyz Khan
ORMON-KHAN
Time passed. The old generation of manaps peacefully departed to the other world. A new generation took their place.
Now, Ormon, the beloved son of Niyazbek, ruled the Sarybagysh branch of Esengul, a "generalized copy" of his ancestors. Ormon was hot-tempered like Niyazbek, quarrelsome like his grandfather Esengul, cruel and despotic like his distant great-great-grandfather Manap. His cruelty frightened those around him. It is said that he tested the accuracy of his rifles on slaves.
Upon becoming the chief manap, he erected a gallows. This gallows, built on a hill, was visible from afar. From time to time, some unfortunate soul would end their life there. The authority and fame of manap Ormon grew. He managed to secure the support of the Kurmankozho and Kulzhyghach clans of the Sayak, and to strengthen his influence, he migrated with the clans under his command — Temir, Bolot, and Cherikchi — from the Chuy Valley to the Kochkor Valley.
A significant role in reconciling the Sarybagysh with the Sayaks was played by Jantay Karabskov, the grandson of the famous Atake.
Grateful Sayaks "rewarded" him with a miracle bride, Ak-Moor. This further solidified the bonds of friendship. And Ormon acquired a wife, but not in the usual way. He, like any despot, always took advantage of the right of the strong when the opportunity arose.
He took the beautiful wife Uulbala from the subordinate manap Alybek. And when the akyn Kaligul began to reproach him for the injustice he had committed, Ormon declared:
— The girl was sent to me, and this worthless one intercepted her. I merely restored justice.
Offended, Alybek, along with his relatives, moved to the Bugins and accepted the supremacy of Borombai. Ormon remembered this... The main thing was not what Alybek did, but that Borombai did not refuse him. Soon, relations between the Bugins and the Sarybagysh deteriorated due to Ormon's capture of the Bugin Balbay One-Ear.
To soften relations, Ormon married his beloved daughter to Borombai's son Omurzak. The two largest Kyrgyz manaps became relatives.
A multitude of people gathered in the Kutmaldy area (Issyk-Kul). Why not! Just three months prior, the chief Sarybagysh manap Ormon had sent messengers in all directions across the Kyrgyz lands: to Central Tian Shan, to the Chuy and Talas valleys, to the lands of Pre-Issyk-Kul, inviting them to a kurultai. And where there is a kurultai, there are, of course, multi-day games and spectacles.
Representatives of the Sarybagysh, Bug, Sayak, Solto, Sary, Kushchu, and Cherik clans gathered.
Everyone understood that Ormon had a purpose in organizing this event. It was no joke — a kurultai, that is, a gathering of all clan leaders! And in the memory of their grandfathers, there had never been anything like it, while many had only heard of kurultais from legends about Genghis Khan. Ormon was famous.
His wealth was countless, and his influence over his kin was limitless. He had his own banner, his own fortress, and from the Khan of Kokand, he received the highest rank in the state of parvana and the right to collect zakat from all tribes of Northern and Central Kyrgyzstan.
Guests were received with honor. And there was no need to speak of the feasting: lambs and foals were slaughtered without count. Kumys, bozo, and arak flowed like a river. The feast lasted a whole week, and throughout this week, Ormon said nothing.
However, his loyal people were working hard. And at the festive dastarkhan, conversations began:
— Shouldn't all the tribes, descendants of Manas and his comrades, unite? Why do we need the power of Mally Khan of Kokand if we can have our own Khan-Kyrgyz? The Kazakhs have had their own khans for a long time, and what are we worse?
Then Ormon himself spoke up:
— The zakat that we give to Kokand could easily stay with us if we had our own khan. Wouldn't the name of the Kyrgyz be glorious if we had our own state?
And so, on the day of the Friday prayer, an unprecedented event occurred: according to the traditional ceremony of the nomadic world, the most noble clan leaders placed a red-topped hat on Ormon, lifted him on a white felt, and thus proclaimed him the Khan of the Kyrgyz — for the first time in many centuries.
The powerful clan leaders, including Borombai Bekmuratov, had no choice but to accept this fact.
The new khan immediately announced the separation from Kokand and sent horsemen to burn the Kokand fortress in Kutmaldy...
The khan was chosen, the feast ended, and the guests departed.
And again, everything returned to normal. Manaps, biys, and bai governed their tribes and clans as it seemed convenient to them, not as Ormon wanted. Again, disputes, raids, and other "delights" of feudal fragmentation began.
The first Kyrgyz khan was a decisive man and tried to suppress local uprisings with an iron fist. But he only succeeded in reigniting the ancient enmity between the Bug and Sarybagysh.
Legends and Myths
