Why is the city called Bishkek?
Darytai, grunting, approached the hearth, leisurely adjusting the hot ember that had rolled out, grimacing—his back ached.
“It must be the weather,” he thought, smirking. He had fought all his life against enemies, but the greatest enemy—old age—had slipped by unnoticed. It had stealthily silvered his temples and then all his hair. But the eyes of the elder were youthful, and his memory held many wonderful tales and legends.
On long winter evenings, he loved to tell children about the past campaigns of great heroes. After sipping tea with milk and salt, he slowly began his story, leading his listeners into the amazing world of their ancestors...
“You ask why our city is called Bishkek? Then listen and remember. Later, tell your children.
In ancient times, a warlike khanate of the Oirat people emerged in the territory of Western Mongolia, whom we Kyrgyz call Kalmak. They defeated the last Mongolian rulers and pushed the Kyrgyz from their ancestral lands—Issyk-Kul, Chui, and Talas valleys. Thus began the dark days of grief and humiliation for the Kyrgyz people.
But not all Kyrgyz left these lands. In the area between the rivers Alamudun and Ala-Archa, a Kyrgyz named Taichi was preparing to migrate to the summer pasture with his brothers. His wife, the plump Baichike, walked around the nearly folded camp, searching for a lost whisk for churning kumys—bishkek. An irreplaceable item in the household. And where would she find it now? And waiting for the craftsman to make a new one—when would that be!? She was angry.
She waved her hands in frustration, resembling a naughty girl. Her appearance made her husband smile. “What troubles you, my wife? It seems the Almighty enjoys teasing those like you. Even in pregnancy, He does not leave you without attention.
Baichike was expecting her tenth child. Taichi did not hope she would give birth to a boy; all the previous nine were girls! That’s why he told his wife that the Almighty was playing a trick on her. Yet she continued to search for the lost item, muttering, “Bishkek, bishkek!” As if it could hear her and respond!
— “Why don’t you ask Allah? Promise to name the child Bishkek. If it’s a boy, he will be a hero, charging into the ranks of our enemies on a white horse, just like a whisk plunges into the white flesh of kumys. If it’s a girl—she will be an unprecedented beauty, with skin whiter and softer than kumys.
— “You keep joking, old rascal, but how will I really name him Bishkek? I won’t be giving birth anytime soon, in about two months. I went to old woman Saltanat today, and she said so; she never makes mistakes.
As soon as she uttered these words, and with the spirits of goodness watching over her, labor pains began.
That very day, Baichike gave birth. And what a hero! The elders were astonished, saying that only Chiyrdy had given birth to such a one. The boy’s father slaughtered sheep without count, and they feasted for nine days and nine nights. Guests praised the host for his generosity and the mother for the hero, prophesying that the boy would lead warriors against the cursed Kalmak and cleanse the land of his grandfathers and fathers from foes. And the elders named the boy Bishkek, believing it to be a sign from above.
The lad grew quickly, becoming a support for his sisters and then for the entire clan. People sent their sons with Bishkek on raids against the Kalmak. The cursed had no peace on Kyrgyz land. Bishkek drained the strength of the Kalmak khanate. A substantial reward was offered for the head of the hero, but people helped the warrior and his comrades even more in their struggle.
Many glorious deeds are remembered by the people about Bishkek. And when the glorious warrior fell, his friends buried him in the area where he was born, erecting a dome over his grave. Since then, the area between the rivers Alamudun and Ala-Archa has been called Bishkek-Ata. When Russian soldiers built a city here in the middle of the last century, they named it Pishpek (it was easier for Russians to pronounce the word “Bishkek”).
Thus ended Darytai the elder’s tale.
Bishkek was indeed a legendary, yet quite real figure. According to genealogy, his descendants still live in the Chui and Talas valleys. Today, the Bishkek clan counts 13 generations. This means that its ancestor lived in the late 17th to early 18th centuries, making him a contemporary of Peter I.
It is also true that Bishkek the hero was buried somewhere near the river Alamudun. His dome was seen in the late 19th century by the prominent Russian orientalist V. V. Barthold. Apparently, the dome was very large, as the scholar even referred to it as a fortress, which, however, was already in ruins. According to V. V. Barthold, the structure was located at the eastern entrance to our city, somewhere in the area of the Modern Eastern bus station. Kyrgyz informants referred to the dome as “Bishkek-Ata.”
Among the Kyrgyz and Kazakhs, geographical names that include the word “ata” indicate the sacredness of this place for the people. This word cannot be translated literally (“father”) to avoid absurdity (“Alma-Ata” — “Father of the Apple,” “Kochkor-Ata” — “Father of the Ram-Breeder,” “Bishkek-Ata” — “Father of the Whisk,” etc.)
The elder was mistaken in one thing—the Russian soldiers were not the first to choose this place for building a city; it was the Kyrgyz themselves. Here is a brief chronicle of settlements named Bishkek:
In 1766, the Kyrgyz settled in the fortress of Bishkek and withstood a siege by the warriors of Khan Ablai.
By the early 19th century, the fortress was already in ruins.
In 1825, the Kokandians built a powerful fortress on these ruins, also called Bishkek, which became their main stronghold in northern Kyrgyzstan.
In 1862, a Russian detachment, with the support of the Kyrgyz, captured and then destroyed the fortress. A Russian settlement named Pishpek (distorted from “Bishkek”) emerged here, which quickly developed and received city status in the Russian Empire in 1878.
On May 12, 1925, in honor of the outstanding state and party figure M. V. Frunze, who was born here, the city was renamed Frunze.
On February 5, 1991, the Parliament of the Kyrgyz Republic decided to restore the historical name of the city, in its correct phonetic form: Bishkek.
Legends and Myths