Aqsaqal or aksakal (literally meaning "white beard" in

Turkic languages The Turkic languages are a language family of over 35 documented languages, spoken by the Turkic peoples of Eurasia from Eastern Europe and Southern Europe to Central Asia, East Asia, North Asia ( Siberia), and Western Asia. The Turki ...

) metaphorically refers to the male elders, the old and wise of the community in parts of

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the fo ...

, the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historica ...

and

Bashkortostan The Republic of Bashkortostan or Bashkortostan ( ba, Башҡортостан Республикаһы, Bashqortostan Respublikahy; russian: Республика Башкортостан, Respublika Bashkortostan),; russian: Респу́блик� ...

. Traditionally, an aqsaqal was the leader of a village or

aul An aul (; ce, oil; russian: аул) is a type of fortified village or town found throughout the Caucasus mountains and Central Asia. The word itself is of Turkic origin and simply means ''village'' in many Turkic languages. Auyl ( kk, Ауы� ...

until the Soviet times. Acting as advisors or judges, these elders have or had a role in politics and the justice system in countries and tribes. For instance, there are ''aksakals'' courts in

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...

. In

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...

, which has traditionally been a more urban society (the Uzbeks being ''sarts'' or town-dwellers, as opposed to nomadic Turks), cities are divided up into ''mahallas''. Each ''mahalla'' has an ''aqsaqal'' who acts as the district leader.

Redevelopment of the ''aqsaqal'' courts in Kyrgyzstan

In 1995, then-

President of Kyrgyzstan The president of Kyrgyzstan, officially the president of the Kyrgyz Republic (russian: Президент Киргизской Республики; ky, Кыргыз Республикасынын Президенти), is the head of state an ...

Askar Akayev Askar Akayevich Akayev ( ky, Аскар Акаевич (Акай уулу) Акаев, translit=Askar Akayevich (Akay Uulu) Akayev ; ; born 10 November 1944) is a Kyrgyz politician who served as President of Kyrgyzstan from 1990 until being ove ...

announced a decree to revitalize the ''aqsaqal'' courts. The courts would have jurisdiction over property, torts and family law.Judith Beyer, Kyrgyz Aksakal Courts: Pluralistic Accounts of History, 53 J. OF L. PLURALISM 144 (2006) The ''aqsaqal'' courts were eventually included under Article 92 of the Kyrgyz constitution. As of 2006, there were approximately 1,000 ''aqsaqal'' courts throughout Kyrgyzstan, including in the capital of

Bishkek Bishkek ( ky, Бишкек), ), formerly Pishpek and Frunze, is the capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. The region surrounds the city, although the city itself is not part of ...

. Akaev linked the development of these courts to the rekindling of Kyrgyz national identity. In a 2005 speech, he connected the courts back to the country's nomadic past and extolled how the courts expressed the Kyrgyz ability of self-governance.Former President Akaev, quoted in Beyer, ''Kyrgyz Aksakal Courts''

References

{{Reflist Turkish culture Kyrgyzstani culture Uzbekistani culture Kazakhstani culture Caucasus Customary legal systems

Redevelopment of the ''aqsaqal'' courts in Kyrgyzstan

See also

References