The place of our wise father in the history, outlook, and destiny of our people is clearly expressed in the wise words of our Hero Arkadag: “Magtymguly Pyragy, the wise poet of the Turkmen people, has been glorifying the Turkmen people with his name and unique artistic poetry for almost three hundred years. The dignity of the poet is his permanent place in the history, social-political, cultural-literary life of Turkmen. Magtymguly became the greatest faith in Turkmen’s soul, and in his mind, a touchstone that accurately analyzes the good and bad of life, was an indelible light for his peers” [1, p. 3].
Comprehensive study of Magtymguly Pyragy’s poetry, commenting on the ideas deeply expressed in his poems, based on different scientific approaches, is of great importance in conveying the unlimited spiritual wealth of the poet to the present and future generations. Pyragy’s works serve as an inexhaustible source for research in various fields of humanities.
In most languages of the world, nouns, including personal nouns, have a unique lexical layer that can perform a variety of functions. It should be noted that names can also be a productive resource in generating terms for various branches of science. Names that perform such a service are known in linguistics by the Greek word eponymos. The word “Eponym” means “the one who gives one’s own name” [2, p. 538]. In the modern scientific literature on linguistics, it has been proven that these words serve as a source of eponymous terms. Calling them “eponymous terms” is recognized by the majority of scholars who have conducted research in this field. It should be noted that there are still no scientific studies based on solid evidence about the reasons and cultural environment of names in literary works, especially names as eponyms.
In Magtymguly’s works, nouns are not only a language tool, but as a literary and artistic tool, they give a special colour to the content of the poems. Among the names mentioned in the poet’s poems are the names of historical figures, folk art, heroes of Eastern classical literature, figures associated with the Islamic religion, and mythical characters. These words create a great difficulty in translating the works of our sage into world languages and require professional skills from the translator.
The emergence of the immortality of the nouns in Pyragy’s works can be proved by analyzing their specific usage cases. When conducting such an investigation, information collected from various sources will help to find a solution to the problem under consideration. The results of the research will provide an opportunity to demonstrate that most of the names found in the poet’s works are eponymous, that is, they perform the service of giving names to the popular concept among the people. Finding sufficient evidence to call them eponymous terms, as in the fields of science, is one of the urgent tasks of linguistics and literary studies.
Magtymguly’s philosophical thoughts are of great importance in expressing his desires in his poems. In the collections that reveal the desires of the Eastern nations, the famous personalities, attitudes, and enduring works of the Eastern people are vividly portrayed. In his poem titled “Söýmüşem seni” (I Dreamed of You), several proper nouns are mentioned: Ybraýym, Sara, Ýakup, Ýusup, Züleýha, Mejnun, Leýli, Perhat, Şirin, Seýpelmelek, Mahjemal, Warka, Gülşa. Besides striving for perfection in style, they convey complete cultural information.
The perpetuation of nouns worthy of the great sage depends on various grounds. As a reliable source in this regard, it was recommended to use the “Explanatory Dictionary of Magtymguly” by A. Meredov, who is famous in the Turkmen scientific world. It provides detailed information about the nouns mentioned above. Some parts of that information reveal the historical and cultural significance of these names.
Names in the poet’s lines: ” Misli Ybraýym Sarany / Söýen dek söýmüşem seni” are extolled as an example of holy love. According to the information given in A. Meredov’s dictionary, Ybraýym is one of the greatest prophets, Sara is the name of his wife. Detailed information provided in the relevant dictionary articles describes religious legends related to divine views [3, p. 301; p. 408-409].
Yusup, who is mentioned in the poem “Misli Ýusup Züleýhany / Söýen dek söýmüşem seni”, is also the hero of legends related to religious sources, and these names deserve to be praised in Pyragy’s lines as an example of pure love.
Some of the names mentioned in this poem by Magtymguly – Mejnun, Leýli, Perhat, Şirin, Seýpelmelek, Mahjemal, Warka, Gülşa, Tahyr, Zöhre, Garyp, Şasenem, Nowruz, Gül-Fehrar, Wamyk, Uzra, Ganbar, Arzy – are widely used in Eastern literature. Those names remained an example of boundless love among peoples who consider this great literary heritage sacred. So, all these names are not limited to naming specific individuals and characters. Their additional meanings have taken a permanent place in the history of the Eastern peoples as an expression of the concept of “holy love” today. It can be said with certainty that the names of Leýli, Mejnun, Şirin, Perhat, Zöhre, Tahyr, Şasenem, Garyp, among the dessan characters mentioned by the wise poet in his poem, have been preserved in the minds of the Turkmen people as wonderful symbolic names of love.
The poem “Magtymguly, dünýä pany, / Ötüpdir Rüstemler, kany?” The plural use of the name Rüstem, mentioned in the lines, reveals the eponymous function of the word. As mentioned in A. Meredov’s “Explanatory Dictionary of Magtymguly”, “… Rüstem is the greatest epic hero of many Eastern folk legends…Rustem’s bravery is widely described in “Şanama”… Rüstem is considered a symbol of courage and valor in literature” [3 , p. 290]. The use of Rüstem in the plural form in Magtymguly’s poem indicates not only this hero himself, but also legends and historical figures who have shown equal enthusiasm for his bravery. There is a reason to recognize that names such as Görogly (Görogly gardaşy, serhoşdyr seri) and Aly (“Alydyr!” diýdiler, tutdy destimden) perform the same eponymous service as a “model of heroism” in the culture of the Eastern peoples.
Some names have become expressions of different concepts for our people, who have taken over the intellectual heritage of Magtymguly. Names that are mentioned as an admonition to a person to get rid of their faults in order to know the value of life, existence, and wealth are often found in the poet’s philosophical poems. Names such as Nemrut and Karun mentioned in the poet’s work ” Dünýe heý ” are considered to be words that express deep meaning concepts in this regard (Nemrut, Karun, Süleýmanyny nätdiň?). Nemrut, who is mentioned here, is the governor in Babylon, where he attacks the famous fortress, “…proclaims himself as god, throws the prophet Abraham into the fire…” [3, p. 242]. His name is considered to be an expression of concepts such as ambition, oppression. Karun, who is mentioned in the above line of Magtymguly (or in the line of the poem ” Iliňni ” ” Karuna ogşatma tutan päliňni “) is a rich, but very shy and greedy person, who does not have any dreams except for charity and worldly goods. As a word denoting a reprehensible character in a person, this name has taken a place in the cultural heritage of many peoples. The use of the same name in the works of Pyragy is a symbol of the eternal continuation of evil in the mind of humanity, which degrades human dignity. So, Karun’s name performs an eponymous service in the field of literary heritage and cultural environment. This information supports the idea that stable concepts such as ” baý, maly köp, gurply, ýöne gysganç, husyt “, ” karunyň baýlygy “, ” köp baýlyk “, ” karunyň hazynasy ” have been preserved in the folklore related to this name.
Poems of the sage Pyragy are of great importance in perpetuating the names of great scholars, great historical figures who called for unity in the past of our people, who protected our beloved land dearly with their lives and bravely defended it. Their names can serve as a rich and reliable source of information for a particular scientific study to carry out an investigation in accordance with the idea advanced in this article.
References
- G.Berdimuhamedow. “Magtymguly – ynsan kalbynyň ruhy lukmany” // “Magtymguly. Eserler ýygyndysy” atly kitabyň sözbaşysy. – Aşgabat, “Ylym”, 2014.
- Ahmanowa O.S. Словарь лингвистических терминов. – М., 2013.
- Meredow A. “Magtymgulynyň düşündirişli sözlügi”. – Aşgabat, Günbed Kabus. – Elektron nusgasy, 1997.