Berdakh, pseudonym of Berdimurat son of Gargabay ( Karakalpak: ''Бердақ; Бердимурат Ғарғабай улы,'' 1827–1900) was a Karakalpak poet. He was born in

Karakalpakstan Karakalpakstan, / officially the Republic of Karakalpakstan, / is an autonomous republic of Uzbekistan. It occupies the whole northwestern part of Uzbekistan. The capital is Nukus (' / ). The Republic of Karakalpakstan has an area of , and ...

, in a remote village near modern-day Muynak. His father was a poor fisherman and his mother, who gave him the nickname Berdakh, died when he was 10 years old. His father also died while Berdakh was still a child, and so Berdakh became an orphan. Berdakh studied in a

mektep A kuttab ( ar, كُتَّاب ''kuttāb'', plural: ''kataatiib'', ) or maktab ( ar, مَكْتَب) is a type of elementary school in the Muslim world. Though the ''kuttab'' was primarily used for teaching children in reading, writing, grammar, a ...

and at the same time he grazed his fellow villagers' cattle. His brother helped him to go to Karakum madrasah, a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

religious school A religious school is a school that either has a religious component in its operations or its curriculum, or exists primarily for the purpose of teaching aspects of a particular religion. Children A school can either be of two types, though the sa ...

, but Berdakh dropped out from the school because of his

freethinking Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an epistemological viewpoint which holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and that beliefs should instead be reached by other methods ...

poetry. The young poet began to study folk poetry and narrative classical masterpieces of the East. His tutor Kunxoja (1799–1880), who was famous for his folk poetry, helped him with his poetry. Ajinyaz (1824–1878) another famous poet of that time, also played a significant role in Berdakh's life. For a long time Berdakh had to earn money playing the

dutar The ''dutar'' (also ''Dotara, dotar''; fa, دوتار, dutâr; russian: Дутар; tg, дутор; ug, دۇتار, ucy=Дутар, Dutar; uz, dutor; ; dng, Дутар) is a traditional Iranian long-necked two-stringed lute found in Iran and ...

at weddings. He sang his songs at weddings and different festive occasions. His songs were about the fate of a deprived man whose life was very hard. His most famous poems are: ''Ahmaq patsha'' (''Tsar Samodur in Russian)'' that shows his life and poetic experience and lyrical ''Bolģan emes','' which describes the struggles and hardships of Karakalpak people. His other poems included ''Xalıq ushın'' (''For the people)'', ''Amangeldi'', ''Aydosbiy'', and ''Ernazarbiy''. During Berdakh's lifetime there was a rise in national

liberation movement A liberation movement is an organization or political movement leading a rebellion, or a non-violent social movement, against a colonial power or national government, often seeking independence based on a nationalist identity and an anti-imperi ...

s among the nations of the

Aral Sea The Aral Sea ( ; kk, Арал теңізі, Aral teñızı; uz, Орол денгизи, Orol dengizi; kaa, Арал теңизи, Aral teńizi; russian: Аральское море, Aral'skoye more) was an endorheic basin, endorheic lake lyi ...

territory, especially among the Karakalpaks. Karakalpakia became a hotspot of discord among those nations. The

khanate of Khiva The Khanate of Khiva ( chg, ''Khivâ Khânligi'', fa, ''Khânât-e Khiveh'', uz, Xiva xonligi, tk, Hywa hanlygy) was a Central Asian polity that existed in the historical region of Khwarezm in Central Asia from 1511 to 1920, except fo ...

considered Karakalpakia to be a

nabob A nabob is a conspicuously wealthy man deriving his fortune in the east, especially in India during the 18th century with the privately held East India Company. Etymology ''Nabob'' is an Anglo-Indian term that came to English from Urdu, poss ...

and was constantly imposed duties on its people. The

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n Empire was also interested in Karakalpakia as it was a gateway to

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, 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 t ...

. Berdakh wrote not only about social problems but also about the protection of

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

and dignity. He propagated equality and women's rights. His dream was to unite nations which were separated by different wars.

References

1827 births 1900 deaths People from Karakalpakstan {{Uzbekistan-bio-stub