 Lend
me Görogly’s curved sword and your spear to me, Jygalybeg !
No
fear! I shall fight to death. Give me your own crown, Jygalybeg !...
(31.)
In
early days Türkmens discovered the art of making various tools with
molten ores. “The epic of Ergenekon” shows the ancient of Türkmens.
This epic mentions the melting of ores from a huge mine, which has a
metaphorical meaning, that is, exploring and stretching out to the new
territories and world. It conveys a perfect example of the Türkmen
sword to the current era. On this sword was engraved, “The Türkmen
never unsheathes his sword against his neighbour.” (56.)
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Pay attention to the jewellery worn by Türkmen
girls; the gupba-tuvulga, çekelik-bukav protects the neck from
attacks with swords, the gül_aka protects the chest. The bracelet
covers the wrist, and various pieces attached on the front and
back of dresses prevent injuries from arrows and spears. If the Türkmen
girl wears all her jewellery, she becomes like a warrior shielded
by her jewellery.
(382.) |
 Until
the third decade of the 20th century, the Türkmen
traditionally rode on horseback in heavy armour. This was not a
sign of rank or status, but a tradition. This tradition was part of Oguz
Han’s legacy to us.
(97.)
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In
the time of Gorkut Ata, exceptionally brave men were called “mad” or
“insane,” for example, Mad Domrul, Mad Garçar. In the epic of Görogly
we find Mad Mätel and Mad Harman. These men who were called “mad”
were the ones who sacrificed their lives for the sake of the country.
(170-171.)
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Türkmen,
your ancestors were generous people; generosity and bravery were the
flag of our ancestors.
(170.)
How
can a nation which holds the country sacred and sincerely believes that
one who dies for his country is immortal not be brave?
How
can a nation which holds the country sacred and sincerely believes that
one who dies for his country is immortal not be brave?
How
can a man who rides horses, learns to fight at four or five years of age
and is trained for war not be brave?
How
can our nation not be brave and self-sacrificing, when all our books,
epics and talks are related to the homeland and bravery?
(171-172.)
“The
life of a man is thirty years,” is one of the most celebrated proverbs
of the Türkmens. Our brave youths have died in wars in the contemporary
era. A brave man is ready to accept his fate. He views one of our own
who thinks “In order to stay alive I can even be despicable,” as
being even lower than our enemies.
(170.)
 The
commanders would command the soldiers, “You should accept the prospect
of death before battle, if you want to defeat the enemy and to
survive.” The commanders were right, because the army of the enemy who
were fighting only for spoils could not triumph against lions who would
risk even death.
Cowardly
soldiers were punished by having to clean out the ashes from hearths and
were taken from village to village. Remember Görogly saying to Veli
Hyrtman, who had shown cowardice during the war, “Wear a headscarf on
your head.” Remember Celaleddin. One wing of Celaleddin’s army
defeated the Moguls in the Isfahan War, while the other wing was
defeated because some of the commanders in the defeated wing had
retreated. After the war, Celaleddin forced the ones who had retreated
to put on headscarves and walk in the streets of Isfahan. After this,
nobody showed cowardice again. Thus our ancestors answered the question,
“What is worse than death?” with “Cowardice.” Today, bravery
should underlie the foundations of work, life, thought, and awareness of
Türkmens as a nation. Türkmens should cope with their difficulties and
have self-respect. Then we will be able to find our place in the balance
of the world.
(170.)
 The
vizier of Baly Beg in the epic of Görogly said to his Soltan, “My
Soltan, if you want the Türkmen to be slaves, be sure that the first
thing that you should do is to take them off their horses.”
In
the end the enemy understood this.
They
managed to make Türkmens dismount and took away our horses at the end
of the last century.
(172.)
When
it becomes evident that Türkmens will go to war, they pay attention to
what they eat for three or four days before the battle. They feed
themselves up on melted white fat, and they exercise to become supple.
They always have logala (a round food made up of oil or dough for
the animals) for their horses. Logala is made of a mixture of the
tail fat of the sheep and salt. It is given to Türkmen horses which
will go to battle. If the war lasts a long time, then the soldier will
give more logala to the horse. It gives the horse more stamina.
It can maintain its strength even if it does not eat for a few days
after eating logala. Our shepherds still drink a half plate of melted
fat before noon in summer so that they do not become hungry and thirsty
until the evening.
(182.)
  
When setting out for warfare, our
ancestors brought
with them musical instruments, standards and flags to support the
enthusiasm of the soldiers. The sound of the kös, reminiscent of
thunder, the sounds of the zurna that shake hearts, and the sacred tone
of the g›cak have all been sources of power, courage and inspiration for the Türkmens.
Each musical group plays seven to twelve instruments. Now is the time to
show the whole world the continuity of the rich Türkmen music with its
national qualities pleasing the ear and soul, inspired by our ancestors.
And first we ourselves should own and reclaim it.
(382-383.)
Fighting
for freedom is right. The jewels of Türkmen literature, “The Book of
Gorkut Ata”, “Görogly”, Legends of Döwletýar, “The Epic of
Yusup-Ahmet”, the writings of Ýunus Emre, Garacaoglan, Burhanetdin of
Sivas, Baýram
Han,
Abdyrrahym Han, ªabendi, Andalyb, Magrupy, Magtymguly, Seýdi, Zelili,
Mollanepes, Kemine, Mätäji, are works of art which all show the
patriotism, courage, manliness, heroism of the Türkmen nation. What is
astonishing in these writings is that the word “traitor” is never
mentioned. No, not a single mention of a “traitor”. Cowardice is
criticized, timidity is denigrated, but there is not even a single
statement about “treachery” in those writings! It should also be
pointed out that all the writings mentioned above are not only kept on
the library shelves, but are kept alive and conveyed to each new
generation when they are told and recited by poets, orators and
narrators at wedding ceremonies and festivals.
(188-189.)
The
word “traitor” has no synonyms in the Türkmen language. In fact it
is a word of foreign origin which has been borrowed into our language!
In contrast, courage and patriotism have numerous synonyms!
(189.)
A
man or woman with a Türkmen spirit cannot commit a cowardly act because
life in Türkmen society makes cowardice impossible. After Cengiz Han,
each clan settled in a part in the motherland, razed its rivals to the
ground and lived independently. When a foe was mightier than the clan,
then it called on the other clans for help. Those wars took a week
sometimes, and a month at most, and revealed who were the courageous and
who the cowardly. How would you live in your village, what could you say
to your parents, how could you face your beloved and how would you mix
with others if you had proved yourself a coward in war?
Moving
to another village would not ease your plight for those villagers would
not welcome you. They would also want to know who you were, whether a
thief, a criminal or a war fugitive and would never let you settle
before they knew the answers! You would face the same things whichever
village or settlement you went to! The disgraced have no place! They
would not even bury you if you died! So we put aside thoughts of
ourselves and our property during war. Cowardice is an insult to the
spirit of our ancestors. Türkmen heroes in battle never think about
death, for they are called ‘the unblinking heroes’.
The
traitor is always cursed on Türkmen land!
(188-189.)
 If a captain or another commander should die, one with the best
capacity for grooming the horses and for cultivating the land, was to
take over. After the death of the chief of the tribe, if there should be
no son to represent him after his death, whoever might be the bravest,
the most experienced, the best informed on military affairs, with a good
record of war bravery was to be the new chief of the tribe.
You
should not keep moving from one place to another, nor staying in one
place. You should stay on the mountain pasture during the summer. You
should stay in sheltered seaside places during the winter and in warm
places during the autumn. If you follow this advice your cattle will not
waste away and their milk will not diminish. You will thrive. No matter
how many years go by, no matter how many generations pass, as long as
you follow my advice your offspring will be blessed. They will live in
abundance. Allah will help them and send his grace upon them. Their
state will be everlasting, their lives will be long and the nations of
the world will pray for them.
After
this age, there will be many kings, Hans and many sons from them. If
their advisors, and the wise people with them do not protect the order,
the Hanate and the Soltanate will be shaken. When their order is shaken,
they will long for the return of Oguz Han but it is impossible.
There
will always be many captains, commanders, and generals. Are those who do
not abide by the advice of Oguz capable of leading armies? Those who do
not listen to our advice in their own land are like those cast into
great seas who cannot swim, or they like an arrow shot into a great
forest. Such people cannot be leaders.
A
man who can order his household can lead ten people. He who leads ten
people can govern fifty people. Whoever leads fifty people has the right
to govern a hundred people. He who governs a hundred people can be the
leader of one thousand people. Whoever controls a thousand people can be
the leader of an army division. And he who can control an army division
is easily able to be the ruler of his tribe. One who can be a ruler can
also be the leader of a province.
Whoever
keeps his household in order can safeguard his property and country from
liars and thieves.
If
a corporal cannot control his household, it is obvious that his son and
wife share the responsibility. From his army unit of ten men a new
corporal should be elected. The same method should be applied to other
rulers, such as commanders, ruler of divisions and so on. If a man
commits a crime, the commander of the division should request from the
major the identity of the man. The major should request the name of the
criminal from the captain. Finally, in this way, the criminal should be
found and punished. The perpetrators of theft and robbery should be
caught and punished in the same way.
(87-88.)
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