Poetic language features of Abdurakhman from Kakashura

Akamov Abusup'yan Tatarkhanovich Doctor of Philology Director, Chief Scientific Associate, G. Tsdasa Institute of Language, Literature and Art of Dagestan Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences 367000, Russia, respublika Dagestan, g. Makhachkala, ul. Ul. Magomeda Gadzhieva, 45, of. 208 akamov@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Bekeeva Aigul' Muratovna Scientific Associate, Tsadasa Institute of Language, Literature and Art of Dagestan Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences 367000, Russia, respublika Dagestan, g. Makhachkala, ul. M. Gadzhieva, 45, of. 208 bekeeva-92@mail.ru Other publications by this author

The language of a work of art in many cases goes beyond the limits of the literary language into the field of the national language, using all its stylistic resources. It can include linguistic features and even whole fragments of various functional styles, which is due to the author's idea and the content of the work. The author needs non-literary elements to create a local color, speech features of characters, and enhance the expressiveness of the text. The main criterion for the selection of language means is not their normality, but their relevance and expediency, which indicate the talent and skill of a writer or poet in using all the richness of the language.

The work of Abdurakhman from Kakashura (1760-1841) is one of the attempts to present the Sufi teaching in a popular, large-scale way in the common Turkic language «tyurki», taking into account the Turkic poetic traditions. Therefore, the figurative and poetic interpretation of the ideas of Sufism, carried out by the poet, is of particular interest from the point of view of the study of the little-studied (as it is emphasized by I. V. Stebleva) ^{[1, p. 5]} the figurative system of classical Turkic poetry. One of the tasks of studying this poetry is to identify a system of traditional images in it and establish their possible philosophical content ^{[2, p. 154–156]}. However, such a study, due to the close connection of this poetry with the philosophy and aesthetics of Sufism, is impossible without knowledge of specific Sufi symbolism, which, in turn, requires special study ^{[3, p. 20–22]}.

In the figurative-semantic structure of texts, in the general context of all the verses of Abdurakhman from Kakashura, such words-images and phrases are distinguished by their use and functional significance, as: beli k"ysg"a bojlu uzun at (a horse with a short waist and a long neck); azhzhal og"u (the arrow of death); segiz ayak"ly on gezlyu at (an eight-legged and ten-eyed horse); k"yldan inche, k"ylychdan itti kepyur (a bridge that is thinner than a hair and sharper than a sword); din terek (the tree of religion); musapir (the traveler); manzil (a parking lot); yulduz jimik sozulg"an gezyum (eyes like a sparkling star); k"alam jimik k"yjylg"an k"ashym (eyebrows like a feather); mig'manhana (a guest room); k"apasda k"ush teki zhanym (the soul is like a bird in a cage); tamursuz terek (a tree without roots); zulmat u'j (the room of darkness); k"anatly k"ush (a bird with wings); avchu (hunter); pana dyun'ya (the mortal world); zhansyz at (the dead horse: a bier) etc.

Naturally, Sufi elements occupy a significant place in the artistic system of Abdurakhman from Kakashura. Of course, the poet uses many terms and expressions that are purely specific to the Sufi artistic world. These expressions, common to Sufis, had not only semantic and terminological meanings, but apparently also carried an artistic load, thereby awakening certain aesthetic emotions in the reader. These semantically different words, each of which is an almost unambiguous concept in the «natural» language, change their characteristics and the nature of their relations in the poetic language of Abdurakhman. For example, in the poem «Ata dedim, ana dedim k"almady» («Neither my father nor my mother remained»):

G'avchu sag"a: «Kimsan?» – deyup soramas,

Urar, jyg"ar, «K"oj», – diyana k"aramas ^{[4, p. 7]}.

The hunter (Azrael – A. A) will not ask you who you are,

He will beat you, knock you down, despite your pleas.

Here, these words-images, while maintaining their independent semantics, act as visual and expressive means, in particular as comparisons and metaphors.

The works of Abdurakhman from Kakashura are characterized by an influx of feelings, emotionality of their expression, excitement. The author uses all his talent to create works that can evoke a response in the soul of the reader and listener, influence them, educate them in piety. In the «tyurki» of the poet, the information embedded in them is not so important as their emotionality, expressiveness, the ability to influence the mind and feelings, and to a greater extent on the feelings. The poetry of Abdurakhman from Kakashura is distinguished by imagery, metaphoricalness, conciseness, and therefore his «tyurki» unfold with a wide canvas of poetic outpouring, expression. Verbosity, repetitions, details, details are evaluated by us in these «tyurki» not as a disadvantage, but on the contrary: the more the themes and content of the poems echo, repeat, the more the power of their emotional impact on the listeners increases.

K"ara er k"arnynda yataniyam men,

K"ara erde vatan tutaniyam men,

K"abur azaplaryn kyutaniyam men –

Aman, Munkar-Nakir, k"ork"uvum senden ^{[4, p. 11]}.

(«Bu pana dyun'yadan gechaniyam men»)

In the belly of the earth I will lie,

I will find my abode in the womb of the earth,

I will fully experience the torments of the afterlife,

Oh, Munkar and Nakir, I'm afraid of you!

(«I'm leaving this mortal world»)

The composition of the work under consideration, based on two syntactic means – repetition and parallelism, is not accidental, but conditioned, determined by an artistic task. The «tyurki» of Abdurakhman from Kakashura were intended primarily for singing during the mawlids, dhikrs and were a kind of «nazmas» – religious chants. Their structure had to meet the conditions under which these texts could easily be translated and have an emotional impact. Syntactic repetitions and parallelisms create good conditions for this. «Syntactic unity is at the same time an intonational unity, and syntactic parallelism gives a certain direction to the development of melody. This fact is especially important for understanding the connection between compositional constructions of a song-like nature, so common in romantic lyrics, and the desire for a sound, emotional and lyrical impact that distinguishes such lyrics» ^{[5, p. 461]}. This statement about the connection of syntax, intonation, melody and their consequence – an emotional impression is fully applicable to many works of Abdurakhman from Kakashura. It can be assumed that their composition, the choice of syntactic techniques is due to the poet's desire to give the text a song character with a pronounced rhythm and emotional impact. It is also important to note that these means – syntactic parallelism and repetitions are the basis of archaic Turkic folk verse, the main expressive feature of emotionally elevated poetic speech, characteristic of folk Turkic poetry ^{[6, p. 28]}.

Thus, the basis of the poetic structure of the «tyurki» of Abdurakhman from Kakashura is the Turkic poetic tradition coming from the depths of centuries with its own artistic representations.

First of all, it should be noted that the Sufi teaching was spread from the Arabs and Persians, and the Dagestan followers of Sufism assimilated and used the literary means already developed and established in Sufi practice. Therefore, it is not surprising that many stylistic features of Abdurakhman's «tyurki» from Kakashura – pronounced Sufi texts are similar to the stylistic features of Arabic and Persian-speaking Sufi writings. Such a coincidence of style elements can be seen when analyzing, for example, the composition of Abdurakhman's poems. A common feature of the style of Sufi compositions is the use of special compositional techniques, the functions of which are to hold the attention of the listener or reader. Among others, these include the inclusion in the poetic text of quotations from the Koran and collections of hadith in Arabic, without translation. For instance, «Musapirsen, elung tany» («Traveler, know your way»):

K"urar mizan siratikum,

Ohur shunda ayatikum,

Alam a, g'ad ilyajkum –

YAbani adama seni ^{[4, p. 21]}.

They will build the Sirat Bridge,

They will read this verse,

Alam a, gyad ilaykum-

Yabani adam, you.

These fragments in the «tyurki» of Abdurakhman from Kakashura represent a Sufi interpretation of the above-mentioned verses from the suras of the Koran, i.e. an exposition of the philosophical provisions of the Holy Scripture that are not easy to comprehend. Observing the composition of this presentation, you can see that it is built taking into account the already mentioned task – to hold the attention of the reader or listener, to maintain interest in the perception of the text in him. Among the Arab Sufis, insert fragments of an entertaining nature often serve for this purpose. In Abdurakhman from Kakashura, such a role is played by the description of paradise for the righteous and hell for the lost:

Mu"minler zhannata getar,

YAmanlar zhag'namda yatar,

Tengiri g'ak" divan etar –

Bu tiller tutulazhak"dyr ^{[4, p.31]}.

(«Ahyrat sapary g'ak"dyr»).

The above text seems to illustrate the previous religious and philosophical sentences of the author. For a true «Arif» («knowledgeable»), Abdurakhman's description of heaven and hell contains certain postulates of Sufi teaching in the language of Sufi symbols. However, for an ordinary Muslim, bayts that tell about a wonderful paradise and, on the contrary, a terrible hellish life are primarily interesting stories about which it is known in advance that they are saturated with Sufi symbols that you can try to unravel. Thus, the words of the poet and the preacher sink into the reader's soul.

A characteristic element of the «tyurki» style of Abdurakhman from Kakashura is high expressiveness. The poet uses all possible means to enhance the emotional impact, emphatic pumping.

First of all, this includes numerous repetitions – phonetic, verbal and syntactic. It should be noted that repetitions are generally the basis of any poetic technique ^{[7, p. 99–112]}. In the Sufi poetry of Abdurakhman from Kakashura, they have a special meaning. With the help of repetitions, the poet pumps up emotional excitement and, turning the text into a spell, as it were, gives listeners a means that can cause a state of exaltation:

Mu"minler zhannata getar,

YAmanlar zhag'namda yatar,

Tengiri g'ak" divan etar –

Bu tiller tutulazhak"dyr ^{[4, p.31]}.

(«Ahyrat sapary g'ak"dyr»)

They took my dear soul,

My body has become soulless.,

My family has dispersed –

I can't wake up my body.

(«My dreams are far away»)

Lexical repetitions, as carriers of an expressive style, also occupy a prominent place in the structure of Abdurakhman's poetry from Kakashura. The same word can be repeated many times in the same work. The function of this language technique is to emphasize the main idea, the main idea in this text, and at the same time to strengthen the emotional impact.

Another characteristic feature of the expressive style of Abdurakhman from Kakashura is a direct appeal to listeners (readers) in an imperative form. It should be noted that the use of verbs in the imperative form is singled out by researchers as a special feature of the language system of Sufi works. This technique is often used, for example, by Ibn al-Arabi: «Know, may Allah help you!»; «Know, may Allah grant you success!», etc. ^{[8, p. 133]}. In Abdurakhman, this technique goes beyond the usual rhetorical figure of address and becomes an element of the author's expressive style:

Zhuvun zug'ru salatyna,

Bak"ma dyun'ya adatyna,

K"oshul G'ak" ibadatyna –

Ohu K"uran, ajla taat ^{[4, p. 43]}.

(«Azreil k"atylg"yncha»)

Do ablution in the lunch prayer,

Don't follow worldly traditions,

Join the service of God –

Read the Koran, show humility.

(«Until Azrael came»)

The works are almost entirely based on this technique: «Aj zalim, napsyng assi etma» («Don't torment your soul»), «Mu"minler, geche tyushyumde» («Muslims, I'm in a dream»); «Aj Allag'ym, dertim chohdur» («O Allah, I have a great grief») etc. In the above example, it is quite obvious that Abdurakhman from Kakashura consciously seeks to use verbs in the imperative form to enhance the emotional expressiveness of the text, emphatic pumping. However, it should be noted that the use of imperative forms of verbs becomes the carrier of an expressive style only in the general system of the artistic style of Sufi poetry. In "non-Sufi" poetry, this technique does not fulfill the noted function. Abdurakhman from Kakashura prefers and often uses verb forms in his «tyurki»:

G'aramdan g'alal izleme,

Gishini malyn gezleme,

ZHag'nemge taba yuzleme –

Iman eldashyng ala bar ^{[4, p. 45]}.

(«Aj misgin, mundan getersen»)

Do not look for what is allowed in what is not allowed,

Do not dig into the property of another,

Don't go in the direction of hell –

Take Vera with you as a companion.

(«Oh, poor fellow, you will leave the world»)

Due to this feature of the verb use, an extremely concise phrase appears, from which everything insignificant is omitted, and this gives the poetic text dynamism and generality-properties necessary for the works of Sufi poets-preachers.

Thus, Abdurakhman's «tyurki» stand out for their simplicity, expressiveness and dynamism. These three qualities are due to the artistic function common to the poet's poems – to strengthen the impact of Sufi exhortations on listeners and readers.

The poetry of Abdurakhman from Kakashura expresses a special world of the poet's feelings, the world of his spiritual experiences. It opens the world of feelings of a passionate, sincere and deeply religious person, whose soul feels the supreme beauty of the world created by the Almighty, and admires this beauty.

«Tyurki» by Abdurakhman from Kakashura is an example of high poetry in the «common Turkic» language. The expressiveness of poetic images, the absence of any technical tricks and at the same time the pronounced expressiveness of many of his texts – all this is an undoubted advantage of Abdurakhman's poetry. The poet often used the traditions of oral folk art. This is manifested, in particular, in works with constant appeals, imperative forms of verbs, inverted, colloquial syntax, concreteness of images. Here it is appropriate to quote the statement of E. I. Mashtakova about the work of Turkish Sufi poets, who «sometimes resorted to artistic methods of oral folk art, its images, poetic dimensions, sometimes-to plots...» ^{[9, p. 47]}.

There are different points of view among specialists regarding the place of literary and artistic style in the language system. One of the main problems that have not received an unambiguous solution is the relationship of literary and artistic style to functional stylistics. The language of fiction has a special, aesthetic function, which is expressed in a very specific use of language means. The poetry of Abdurakhman from Kakashura should be considered not only as poetry aimed at spreading the ideas of Sufism, but also as the poetry of "progress", which aimed to heal from the moral ailments that plagued human society. In his poetry, there is a genuine, deep love of humanity, a hot hatred for all those who build their well-being on the misfortune of the masses. Accepting all the provisions of the Sufi teaching, seeing the benefit in leaving the worldly vanity, Abdurakhman from Kakashura still did not look indifferently at the life around him. There was a genuine living soul in him, who responded to everything good and bad that was happening in society.