“I was born with the name Saty. My parents had a hard time having children, and when I was about to be born, they decided that I would be accepted into another family so that I would stay in the family, and then they would ‘redeem’ me back. That’s why I was given such a name,” she shared.
After marriage, Saty became known as Sakish, which is what her husband’s family calls her. She was married to Toktor Eshaliev, who, unfortunately, has passed away. Their marriage took place in 1954, and together they raised 14 children. The eldest is now over 70 years old, while the youngest is 46. Here are the names of their children:
Akmonchok
Bekbolot
Gülanda
Gülsada
Chynbolot
Sapina
Jamiyla
Gülmira
Uulbolsun
Zamira
Indira
Janbolot
Kenzhakun
Mir-Za-Mirakhun
As a result, Saty has 178 grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and even great-great-grandchildren from all her children.
“Many still remember my husband. He worked as a paramedic, and we spent about 10 years in high mountain pastures. He took care of the health of people in the jailoo and taught me a lot about medicine. He himself delivered the first five of our children, and later, when we moved to the village, the rest were born in the hospital. He also assisted many women in childbirth in the jailoo. I sometimes jokingly said, ‘You’ve become a godfather to another child,’” she recounted.
Saty also recalled an interesting incident related to the marriages of their daughters.
“We married off nine daughters. Many of them chose medical professions, becoming nurses, midwives, and paramedics. Our eldest daughter studied at a medical college. One day she left for classes with a friend and didn’t return for a long time. When it got dark, they came home, but soon went out again. I felt that something was wrong and decided to go to the college to find out the reason. On the way, a car with unfamiliar people stopped me, and they said they had come to propose. My husband accused me of knowing about this in advance, but in reality, I knew nothing,” she recalled.
“I wanted to go after my daughter, not knowing where they were taking her, but my husband said she agreed herself. We returned home with the new suitors, and it was our first celebration. One daughter was taken according to the custom of ala kachuu (bride kidnapping), while another was officially proposed to, and so one after another, our daughters got married. They all found their places, and their children are now grown,” Saty added.
“I always wish my children, their children, and grandchildren only happiness and well-being. I am proud of their successes. Recently, we celebrated my 90th birthday, and all my children, daughters, daughters-in-law, and sons-in-law created a wonderful atmosphere,” she shared.
