Poetry
Wagzy-Azat
Not translated into English
Dovletmammet Azadi · 1754
Synopsis
A poem of advice in rhymed couplets, which opens with an invocation to God and the prophets and then divides into four chapters. The first deals with the State and those who govern: it contrasts the just sovereign with the tyrant and compares a country without a leader to a flock without a shepherd. The second speaks of generosity and charity, the third of knowledge and scholars, the fourth of dervishes and the poor. Legends, proverbs and examples drawn from the life of herders and farmers support each lesson.
Context
In his last lines, the author says he completed the book in the year 1167 of the Hijra, that is 1753 or 1754, and gave it its title. The poem, in the form of a masnavi, argues that the scattered Turkmen tribes should unite under a central power capable of protecting them from raids by neighbouring countries; according to Awazbek Haýtbaýew, Azady was one of the first to formulate this idea in Turkmen political thought. Its archaic language mixes many Arabic, Persian and Chagatai elements with Turkmen.
Who it is for
A long poem of moral and political lessons, in an old language laden with Arabic and Persian words, with no French or English translation.
Prizes and reception
The main work of its author according to the Russian encyclopaedia; the National Institute of World Languages in Ashgabat bears his name.