Folklor instituti

Kлючевые слова: Азербайджан, Гагауз Ери, Kомрат, Буджаk, мани и баяты.


ONE OF THE YOUNGEST LITERATURES-LITERATURE BY GAGAUZ TURKS

Abstract: Of other Turkic people Gagauzians were late to form their written literature and started this process in the nine­teenth century. Although Azerbaijan was introduced to Ga­gau­zians in the twentieth century sources dating back to Middle Ages inform about the existence of Gagauz village here.

The capital of the Autonomous Republic of Gagauz Yeri situated in Moldovian Republic is Comrat. This region is still called Boujag by the people and geographic units nowadays. The holy place and mountain in Qebele in Azerbaijan bears the same name Comrat. That place had 7 Boujag villages at the beginning of the twentieth century. Though they decreased to 3, other toponyms bearing the name boujag were registered as well. It falsifies the chance coincidences.

Though the development of Gagauz written literature accelerated in the first decades of the twentieth century given the translations of religious books, prayers, historical and ethnographic articles by a man of religion, Michael Chakir, yet the most important change in the literature came in 1957 after the new alphabet was created on the basis of Cyrillic alphabet. As a result, lessons started to be held in mother tongue in secondary schools, newspapers were printed and text-books were published in Gagauz.

Besides Michael Chakir (1861-1938), it was Nikolay Arabaji (1893-1960), Nikolay Tanasoghlu (1895-1979), Dionis (Deniz) Tanasoghlu (1922-2006), Nikolay Baboghlu (1928-2008), Mina Kose (1933-99), Dmitri Karachoban (1933-86), Gavril Gaydarji (1937-98), Stepan Kuroghlu (1940-2011), Georgiy Tashoghlu (1948), Vasi Philioghlu (1949), Petr Moysa (1951), Maria Merjanka (1951), Stepan Boulgar (1953), Andrey Kochanji (1953), Todur Marinoghlu (1955), Petr Chebotar-Gagauz (1957), Dmitri Ayoghlu (Novak) (1957), Todur Zanet (1958), Lyubov Chimpoyesh (1958), Petr Yalanji (1964-2004), Tanas Karachoban (1965), Tina Surma (1965), Tudora Arnaut (1970), Gullu (Valentin) Karanfil (1972) who played active role in the formation of written literature of Gagauz Turks.