Notes from the Field | Kamil Tilyabaev, Uzbek and Karakalpak Poetry in Translation
As a citizen of Uzbekistan, a post-Soviet Central Asian country, I am very pleased to share some pieces from Uzbek and Karakalpak literature translated into English for the CAS readers. Both literatures have long oral and written traditions and common Turkic roots. Poetry has been particularly valued in the East, including Central Asia, touching on a variety of matters. In order to overcome the stereotypical vision of Central Asian poetry as one mainly about wine and love, I want to share some poetry pieces on other topics.
Speaking of the historical, social and political context of the poetic lines selected it has to be said that they comprise a layer of the late Central Asian Turkic and early Uzbek-Karakalpak literary tradition, stretching in time approximately from the middle of the 19th to the first third of the 20th century. This period in Central Asia is characterized by the transition from the traditional Khan-Bek social structure to life under the rule of the Russian Empire, then by radical transformations of the voices of the intelligentsia and education in the era of "national revival" (Jadidism), revolutions and Soviet modernization. It was in this context that the poems Ogahiy, Berdaq, Furqat, Abdulla Avloniy, Abdulla Qodiriy and Cho‘lpon were born and sounded (Academic Studies Press, 2019).
In the second half of the 19th century, Russia completed the colonization of most of the territories of Central Asia (Khiva, Bukhara, Kokand) and integrated them into the imperial economy and administrative system. This had several consequences at once: the destruction of old power ties, the entry of local elites into imperial relations, the penetration of the Russian system of education and law, and the intensification of trade and migration. In the cultural sphere, clashes began to grow between the traditional Islamic/madrassa education system and growing demands for "new methods" (“usul-i jadid”) of teaching, secular subjects and new writing. This brought Jadids to the historical stage who set themselves the task of modernizing education, language, and public consciousness (Khalid, 2009)
So, what was happening in Uzbek society at that time? The key phenomena are the growth of urban culture (Tashkent, Samarkand, Khiva, etc.), the development of the press (newspapers and magazines in Turkic languages), the creation of "usul-i jadid" schools, debates about writing and language, the emergence of a formal secular sphere (theaters, magazines), the formation of the national intelligentsia and its conflict with religious conservatives and with the colonial administration. This was the era of "national revival" and modernization claims, accompanied by social polarization and later, with political repressions (Khalid, 1999).
In general, most of the authors included belong to the "intelligentsia" stratum: teachers, journalists, playwrights, translators – people who were engaged in educating the masses and participated in the formation of a new social agenda (Jadidism and so on). Berdaq is closer to the folk tradition, a poet "from the people" (Sobirova, 2024).
Additionally, it is important to explain why these particular verses are chosen. The selected fragments and titles (Ogahiy, Berdaq, Furqat, Avloniy, Qodiriy, Cho'lpon) represent different voices of the era — from classical versification and folklore to modernist and Jadid lyrics and journalism. Together they give a wide panorama.
These pieces are put in chronological order but also grouped thematically. Ogahiy’s poem opens it with the topic of justice for all, which a ruler should be a source of. Ogahiy was a court poet, so like many before and after him, he believed that his didactic advice can “enlighten” a ruler and help establish justice in the society. In contrast, Berdaq addresses his words to plain folk, namely the younger generation. Although being didactic as well, Berdaq demonstrates empathy to ordinary people oppressed by their rulers. Unlike many hypocritical writers of his time, Berdaq uses his words as a weapon against oppression.
Berdaq is very straightforward in his message. Unlike him, Furqat touches on the same topic of oppression but in a rather metaphorical way, picturing the oppressor and the oppressed as a hunter and a prey. Later, in Uzbek poetry this theme will be considered from a different perspective. Avloniy, Qodiriy and Cho‘lpon as representatives of the Jadid movement kept the didactic tradition but viewed oppression as something caused by ignorance of not just rulers but ordinary people as well. Cho‘lpon goes even further and contemplates on how women in particular experience oppression. Unfortunately, their voices calling for awakening were silenced over the years of Stalin’s Purges.
As it can be seen, the selected verses are thematically diverse, representing the reflections on royal justice (Ogahiy), popular justice (Berdaq), public satire (Furqat), educational program and critique (Avloniy), social diagnostic prose (Qodiriy), aesthetic and national modernism (Cho'lpon). They also demonstrate social depth: they read the layers of the "popular" and the "intellectual", the conflicts between conservatives and modernists, and anxiety about identity. They show how literature conducted a dialogue with real social tasks — education and power.
Thus, the lines and authors you choose are not just literary texts. They are historical documents of the era of colonial and post-colonial change, when the issues of education and writing were at the center of national self-identification and political struggle. The authors, representatives of various strata (from the people's poet to the Jadid intelligentsia), participated through poetry and journalism in the creation of a new public discourse, which was later transformed into Soviet culture and national history of the 20th century. Despite the fact that the poetry of all the above-mentioned authors surely reflects the specifics of their times, some of their ideas are still valid today. In the light of current sociopolitical course towards the third Renaissance (Kun.uz, 2020) (the previous two happened in 9-12th and 14-15th centuries) in Uzbekistan the voices of our ancestors, calling youth for justice, education, liberty and labor for the country’s prosperity seem especially strong and inspiring.
Ogahiy (1809-1874)
Ogahiy is a 19th-century poet (originally from Khorezm), a member of the old intelligentsia of the poet-historian active in the pre-colonial and early colonial eras, and his stanzas reflect the traditional great poetic tradition and reflections on the fate of the world. (Azimkulova and Hamidov, 2024)
King, treat the good and bad the same. When being generous, be just.
Those who are ruined and who thrive should feel your care, it’s a must.
Even if you’re like Solomone, who built his throne on the wind[1],
one day you’ll leave this world behind. You will be nothing then but dust.[2]
Berdaq (1827-1900)
Berdaq is a Karakalpak/Turkic folk poet (late 19th – early 20th centuries), close to folk tradition and folklore; the voice of the "common people", often with a social orientation and criticism of untruth (Inlibrary.uz, 2023).
“Country Folk” (excerpts)[3]
Boy, don’t leave the work you’ve started, partly unfulfilled.
If your flower buds are blooming, may they never wilt.
May your wrists and hands be zealous, tireless and skilled.
Spend the energy you own for your country folk.
If you’re friendly and prepared for good deeds to do,
If you want your life unspared for your country too,
If you make with no despair its great dreams come true,
Then my soul will be happy for my country folk.
The oppressors do not hear those who’re in need,
Thinking just of their profits, their tums to feed.
Even having things to share, due to their greed,
The oppressors will not ever help their country folk.
I am suffering and grieving from this time and fate.
My black eyes are bleeding tears that cannot abate.
I am cursing the oppressors’ cruelty I hate.
Pain just makes my soul suffer for my country folk.
“Will spring be coming e’er?” (excerpt)[4]
Where is the truth? Tell, where?
This pain is everywhere.
The well-fed do not care.
Will spring[5] be coming e’er?
My words won’t die, nor will I have cessation.
I will avenge my foes with my nation.[6]
Since the creation of the world, no ruler has been just,
Nor poets have been using pens unable to adjust.[7]
Furqat (1859-1909)
Furqat — Zokirjon Xolmuhammad o‘g‘li (1858–1909) — a representative of early modernism in Uzbek literature; he acted as a writer, translator and publicist, was involved in social and literary activities, sometimes had to "welcome" Russian modernization, but at the same time formed modern literary speech (Britannica, n.d.)
“Hunter, leave your prey” (excerpt) (1890-1909)[8]
You’ve been abusing this poor thing. His arms and neck are fixed with ties.
You have been dragging him away with the intent to sacrifice.
His breast has marks of your abuse that are as black as tulips’ eyes.
Sell him to me. I’ll pay for him. Just tell me your revenge’s price.
Abdulla Avloniy (1878-1934)
Abdulla Avloniy is an active Jadid teacher, founder of schools according to the "new method", journalist and public figure; a representative of the new (urbanized) enlightened intelligentsia focused on educational reform (Ziyouz.uz, 2012a).
“An Example of the Situation in the World” (excerpt) (1912)[9]
The stone of trouble fell on us, when ignorance blurred our sight.
Our successors’ will is weak, so our nation lost its might.
It’s ignorance that made us fall and took away all our pride.
It’s ignorance that made us poor, left with no home and with no right.
“School” (excerpt) (1915)[10]
School gives you gems that have no price.
School helps you enter paradise,
Fight ignorance, and grow wise.
Put effort into studies, son!
Abdulla Qodiriy (1894-1938)
Abdulla Qodiriy was a member of the urbanized Uzbek intelligentsia of the 1920s; writer, journalist, and one of the founders of the new prose; socially and politically active; later repressed in 1938, which indicates the difficult situation of the intelligentsia in the Soviet years (Ziyouz.uz, 2012b).
“Our condition” (1915)[11]
Just look at us! We are so mindless!
We sell our souls with no concern.
We don't teach wisdom, manners, kindness,
We don't encourage kids to learn.
If we've some patriots around,
We call them atheists and shoot.
Let us be strong and all come round,
Intelligentsia and youth!
Cho‘lpon (1897-1938)
Cho'lpon was a modernist poet, translator and publicist, a representative of the youth intelligentsia of the 1910s and 1930s, who combined aesthetic searches with political optics; he was also later repressed (Academic Studies Press, 2019).
“A Daughter of the East” (1920)[12]
They say that there will come a gorgeous spring,
when this too cold and gloomy winter dies.
The birds will fall for blooms. The birds will sing.
Blooms will reward them with coquettish sighs.
It’s only me, a daughter of the East,
Who’ll miss her spring, which could be gaily spent.
Before the long and gloomy winter’s ceased,
perhaps, I’ll meet my autumn, winter’s friend.
The pleasure of this light-filled world for me
is gazing at four walls when I can rest.
The time at which I feel the greatest glee
is when I stir odd feelings in my breast.
The East has been a nest for dreams. Likewise,
my flesh and heart are their nesting spot.
My dark black eyes are like a deer’s eyes
that see a hunter ready for a shot.
They say, in summer every plant and beast
Can freely breathe, feel happiness, and thrive.
They never say when women of the East
are going to enjoy this light-filled life.
References:
Academic Studies Press Blog (2019) Uzbek author Cho'lpon's Equivocal Legacy. Available at: https://www.academicstudiespress.com/blog/uzbek-author-cholpon-night-and-day/ (Accessed: 19 October 2025).
Azimkulova, M. & Hamidov, K. 2024. Ogahiy is a prolific and prolific poet, second only to Navoi. Interonconf: Scientific Aspects and Trends in the Field of Scientific Research. Vol. 2, No. 18, pp. [online] Available at: https://interonconf.org/index.php/pol/article/view/12303 (Accessed 19 October 2025).
Britannica (n.d.) Furqat (Zokirjon Xolmuhammad oʻgʻli). Available at: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Furqat (Accessed: 19 October 2025).
Inlibrary.uz (2023) As the founder of Karakalpak literature: Berdaq [article]. Available at: https://inlibrary.uz/index.php/ijll/article/view/39018 (Accessed: 19 October 2025).
Khalid, A., 1999. The politics of Muslim cultural reform: Jadidism in Central Asia (Vol. 27). Univ of California Press.
Khalid, A., 2009. Culture and power in colonial Turkestan (No. 17/18, pp. 413-447). Institut Français d’Études sur l’Asie centrale.
Kun.uz (2020). Shavkat Mirziyoyev: «O‘zbekistonda yangi bir uyg‘onish – Uchinchi Renessans davriga poydevor qo‘yilmoqda». [online] Kun.uz. [in Uzbek]. Available at: https://kun.uz/news/2020/08/31/shavkat-mirziyoyev-ozbekistonda-yangi-bir-uygonish-uchinchi-renessans-davriga-poydevor-qoyilmoqda [Accessed 19 Oct. 2025].
Sobirova, N.J. 2024. Berdaq she’riyatidagi mazmun-mohiyat. Modern Education and Development, 15(4), pp. 20-25. Available at: https://scientific-jl.org/mod/article/view/4555 (Accessed: 19 October 2025).
Ziyouz.uz, 2012a. Abdulla Avloni (1878–1934). Available at: https://www.ziyouz.uz/en/uzbek-literature/40-literature-of-jadids-period/99-abdulla-avloni-1878-1934 (Accessed: 19 October 2025).
Ziyouz.uz, 2012b. Abdulla Qodiriy (1894–1938). Available at: https://www.ziyouz.uz/en/uzbek-literature/40-literature-of-jadids-period/93-abdulla-qodiriy-1894-1938 (Accessed: 19 October 2025).
Notes:
[1] In Islam it is believed that Solomone could control wind.
[2] The year it was written is unknown. It was included in the poetry collection prepared in 1872. The original is available at: https://tafakkur.net/ustina-radifli-gazal/muhammad-rizo-ogahiy.uz [Accessed 8 Nov. 2025].
[3] The year it was written is unknown. Most of Berdaq’s poems were preserved largely due to the transmission through oral tradition, which ensured their circulation and survival among the populace over time. The first publications of his poetry occurred in the 1930s.The original is available at: http://www.kitapxana.com/kitap/berdaq_tanlamali_shigarmalar_jiynagi/287 [Accessed 8 Nov. 2025].
[4] The year it was written is unknown. First published in the 1930s. The original is available at: http://www.kitapxana.com/kitap/berdaq_tanlamali_shigarmalar_jiynagi/292 [Accessed 8 Nov. 2025].
[5] Here spring symbolizes a better life.
[6] The year it was written is unknown. First published in the 1930s. The original is available at: https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/berdaq-prezentaciyapptx/257112995 [Accessed 8 Nov. 2025].
[7] The year it was written is unknown. First published in the 1930s. The original is available at http://www.kitapxana.com/kitap/berdaq_tanlamali_shigarmalar_jiynagi/286 [Accessed 8 Nov. 2025].
[8] The original is available at: https://n.ziyouz.com/portal-haqida/xarita/uzbek-sheriyati/o-zbek-mumtoz-adabiyoti/furqat-1859-1909 [Accessed 8 Nov. 2025].
[9] The original is available at: https://n.ziyouz.com/books/uzbek_zamonaviy_sheriyati/Abdulla%20Avloniy.%20Tanlangan%20asartlar.%201-jild.%20She'rlar.pdf [Accessed 8 Nov. 2025].
[10] The original is available at: https://zakm.uz/media/books/%D0%90.%D0%90%D0%B2%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%A2%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B3%D0%B0%D0%BD_%D0%B0%D1%81%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%80.pdf [Accessed 8 Nov. 2025].
[11] The original is available at: https://wikisource.org/wiki/Ahvolimiz [Accessed 7 Nov. 2025].
[12] The original is available at: https://wikisource.org/wiki/Sharq_qizi [Accessed 8 Nov. 2025].
Compiled and translated by Kamil Tilyabaev, a senior lecturer at the Department of Global Education, School of Law, technology and Education, Westminster International University in Tashkent; k.tilyabaev@wiut.uz.
To cite this essay, please use the entry suggested below:
Kamil Tilyabaev, “Uzbek and Karakalpak Poetry in Translation,” criticalasianstudies.org Commentary Board, November 17, 2025; https://doi.org/10.52698/YEVS1287.