The Contribution of Naki Isanbet to the Study of the Golden Horde

Abstract

Research objectives: To systematize information about the contribution of the Tatar scholar and encyclopedist Naki Isanbet (1899–1992) to the study of the history and culture of the Golden Horde and the popularization of this knowledge among the Tatars.. Research materials: Folklore materials, scientific works, and literary works of Naki Isanbet served as the basis of the study. Cultural-historical, semiotic-culturological, comparative, and other research methods, chosen based on the nature of the analyzed text, were used. Novelty of the research: a comprehensive analysis of Naki Isanbet’s contribution to the study of the Golden Horde and the popularization of this information among the Tatars. Results of the research: The work proves that this scholar and encyclopedist began to seriously develop the theme of the Golden Horde in the late 1920s. Based on the analysis of archival materials, the chronicle of the work of Naki Isanbet on the creation of consolidated texts of the dastans “Idukai and Muradym” and “Idegey” is reconstructed. The scientific value of introductory scientific articles to these textual works and his comments is revealed. Information on the history of the creation of the tragedy “Idegey” by N. Isanbet and the history of its existence on the Tatar stage is systematized. The contribution of the folklorist to the study of the work of the Chichyans of the Golden Horde and the popularization of information about their activities in the comedy “Cirän çiçän belän Qaraçäç sılu” (“Red-haired mocker and his black-haired beauty”) is determined. The proportion of folk proverbs, riddles, phraseological units in the folklore collections of N. Isanbet aimed at popularizing information about the Golden Horde among a wide readership has been revealed.