Karaçay-Malkar Halkının Aynası: Aktamak Manzumesi
A Mirror of the Karachai-Balkar People: The Poem of Aktamak

Summary/Abstract: The Karachay-Malkars, a small Turkic people on the Caucasus, have a rich oral literature. Their written literature began in a very late date (1917). Ismail Semen is considered one of the most prominent repre-sentatives, as well as the latest master of their oral literature. He is al-so of the first generation of the written Karachay-Malkar literature. He indeed did not write poems, but recited them within his compozitions, thus he is a typical minstrel; but he influenced the contem-porary written poetica, too. His poem Aktamak is his masterpiece, written for his first wife Anisat within such a long time as 22 years. Though some parts of that work are lost or forgotten, it is a very vo-luminous piece. Besides expressing his feelings toward his wife, İs-mail Semen included traditions and costumes, world wiev, lifestyle and lands of the Karachay-Malkar people in that great poem. From that aspect, Aktamak is a precious poetical work, its main theme being a love story, but meanwhile telling about the people with many de-tails. It saves still its popularity among the people, and is recited in ac-cordance with the melodies composed by the poet. This study is an examination of Aktamak in terms of traditions, beliefs and lifestyle of the Karachay-Malkar people.

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