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(ISSN
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VOLUME
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122-129
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ABSTRACT
Herman Vamberi, a Magyar scientist and traveler, who created a large German-Turkish dictionary, conducted several
studies on Turkic languages, did a lot of work in linguistics, and is known as a famous Orientalist-Turkologist in Europe,
has a special importance in the science of the peoples of the East, as well as in world science. Despite the fact that he
was crippled and crippled since childhood, the fact that he embarked on a difficult journey from Istanbul to Bukhara,
passing through mountains and gorges and steppe deserts, shows how strong of will and endurance he has. This
article discusses Herman Vambery's life in Central Asia and his services in the study of Uzbek folklore.
KEYWORDS
Herman Vambery, folklore, mojor, tourist, ethnography, proverb, search, dervish, effendi, khanate, emirate.
INTRODUCTION
Since the second half of the 19th century, the changes
in world politics and the rich fertile lands, surface and
underground mineral resources of Central Asia began
to attract conquering countries. The attention of
foreign scholars came to folk art due to the aggressive
attitude towards the world and the colonialist actions
of the world's political leaders. First of all, they came in
the guise of local scientists in order to spy, to know the
internal political situation of the country, to study the
people's life and natural location, worldview, and
culture. One such scientist is the Hungarian scientist
Herman Vambery, who studied the history and culture
Research Article
HERMAN VAMBER'S TRIP TO THE COUNTRY OF TURKESTAN
Submission Date:
Sep 20, 2024,
Accepted Date:
Sep 25, 2024,
Published Date:
Sep 30, 2024
Crossref doi
https://doi.org/10.37547/ajps/Volume04Issue09-20
Davirova Vazira Kuvondik kizi
Doctoral student of the Institute of Uzbek Language, Literature and Folklore, Academy of Sciences of the
Republic of Uzbekistan
Journal
Website:
https://theusajournals.
com/index.php/ajps
Copyright:
Original
content from this work
may be used under the
terms of the creative
commons
attributes
4.0 licence.
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of the Khanate of Khorezm and the Emirate of
Bukhara. Today, the name of Hungarian scientist,
ethnographer, traveler and Orientalist Herman
Vambery is known and famous throughout the world.
Literature analysis
The problems of the scientist's complex personality,
social-political activity, scientific-theoretical views have
not yet been fully resolved. Different sources give
different information about his personality. In
particular, the Russian researcher V. Lazarev noted
that Herman Vambery was a famous person of his time,
a famous scientist, linguist and ethnographer,
politician and geographer, his life was extremely
complicated and extremely interesting, a scientist with
a unique talent, a skilled linguist, ethnographer and a
clever spy. In fact, Herman Vambery was of Jewish
origin, a spy of the British invaders who lived in
Hungary, and a politician who contributed to the
conquest of Central Asia. He entered Central Asia in
various cunning ways and is known as "Rashid Effendi".
He was interested in the way of life, social life and
ethnography of the local population who worked in
Khorezm Khanate and Bukhara Emirate, and worked in
Khorezm Khanate and Bukhara Emirate for several
years as a traveler. He tried to collect folklore and
studied classic Uzbek literature.
Herman Vambery was born in 1832 to a poor Jewish
family in Duna Szerdakhel, a small Hungarian town on
the banks of the Danube River. He studied at a rural
school until the age of 12, then he studied at the St.
George gymnasium. With the advice of teachers who
saw his talent in science, in addition to Hungarian and
Latin languages, he learned French, German, English
and Scandinavian languages well, and he had
knowledge of Russian and other Slavic languages.
[2.159] It was his desire to study the Magyar language
and to identify its roots that led him to Central Asia,
according to the scientist: "It is a mistake to think that
we are looking for our roots that have remained
stagnant in Asia... We are trying to determine the
etymological structure of our language, clearly we turn
to sister languages for information", [7.1] it seems that
H. Vamberi interprets his interest in Central Asia as an
obligation to learn the Magyar language. However, the
information he wrote about Central Asia, especially the
Khanate of Khiva and the Emirate of Bukhara, proves
that he had another goal in mind. The scientist first
moved to Turkey in 1852 to realize these goals.
Historian scientist H. Ismatullayev says about this: "In
those years, he moved to Istanbul, which was called
Constantinople, and began to teach himself Western
languages, mainly French, in Turkish families.
First in the household of Pasha Husayn Daim, then
under the influence of his friend and adviser Mulla
Ahmad Efendi, he almost becomes an Ottoman Turk
and goes to work in the office of Fuad Pasha. [2.159] It
seems that long preparations were made for H.
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Vambery's destination trip, and Turkey was also
interested in this work. H. Vamberi says in his memoirs:
"Being in Turkish households for several years, visiting
Islamic schools and bookstores quickly turned me into
a Turk, even an Effendi." [2] In Turkey, H. Vamberi
diligently studies the Turkish language, the old Uzbek
language, Arabic and Persian languages, and is
perfectly familiar with the laws of the Islamic religion.
METHODOLOGY
In 1858, the scientist compiled a German-Turkish
dictionary (about 14,000 words), and in 1860, a
Chigatoycha (old Uzbek)-German dictionary (about
40,000 words) and published them in Istanbul
publishing houses. With this, he proved that he was
ready to enter Central Asia. H. Ismatullayev says about
this: "In order to implement his plan, A. Vamberi came
to Tehran at the beginning of 1863. The head of the
Turkish embassy in the capital of Iran welcomes him
and they begin to develop plans for a trip to Central
Asia in the form of a dervish. According to this plan, A.
Vamberi was supposed to enter Central Asia with the
caravan of pilgrims coming from Mecca.
Armin Vamberi's name was changed, now he had to
live under the name of Rashid Effendi. Later, those in
the caravan also called him Rashid Haji. On March 27,
the ambassador of Turkey in Tehran, Rashid Effendi,
will give a big party before his trip to Central Asia..."[2]
If you pay attention to the fact that the embassy gives
a special party before the trip of an ordinary tourist, it
shows that this trip of H. Vamberi is a purposeful and
political plan. So, on March 28, 1863, along with those
returning from Mecca, the scholar entered our country
in the form of Rashid Effendi as a dervish. Literary
scientist B. Karimov says about this: "Herman Vamberi
came to Central Asia in the guise of a dervish in 1863-
1864. He publishes what he has seen during his travels
in the form of a special book. During his travels, he is
also interested in the history of our country, in
particular, literary and cultural works, examples of folk
art. He collects sources within his means and takes
them with him". [3.178-183] In fact, whatever the
purpose of the scientist's trip to Central Asia, the
information he collected and recorded from the
borders of our country is of great importance for t
H. Vamberi wrote a number of historical, ethnographic
and literary treatises as a result of his trip.
Consequently, after the scientist returned to his
homeland, the book "Journey to Central Asia" was
published in English in London in 1864. This book
consists of two parts. The 1st part contains the
memories of his trip to Central Asia, and the 2nd part
examines the history, political situation, and
geographical position of the Turkmens, Khiva,
Bukhara, Kokand, China, and Turkestan. As soon as the
book was published, it was translated into Russian and
printed in Saint Petersburg in 1865. In 1867, the work
"Guide to the Chigatai language" was published in
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German in Leipzig. The work consists of three parts -
scientific research, texts and dictionary parts. The first
part of the book contains information on the
grammatical structure of the language, and the second
part contains works such as Tahir and Zuhra, Yusuf and
Ahmad, Huriliqa and Hamra. In addition, A. Vamberi
quotes 112 Uzbek folk proverbs in Uzbek language (in
Arabic and Latin script) and gives their German
translation. Samples from the ghazals of Olloyar,
Nasimi, Navoi, Fuzuli are also included in this book.
He created the book "History of Bukhara or
Transaxonia" written in 1873. In this book, he describes
the history of Bukhara from the earliest times to the
second half of the 19th century, based on published
and unpublished manuscripts he took from Central
His book consists of two parts: "Old or History of
Movarounnahr" and "New or History of Bukhara
Emirate". Information on the study of Uzbek literature
and folklore by Herman Vambery is given in the booklet
"Chigatoy language guide". H. Vamberi gives the
original of 112 Uzbek proverbs in Uzbek-Arabic and
Latin spelling, as well as their translation into German,
in the "Chrestomatiya" part of this book. So, in this
treatise, H. Vamberi shows that he tried to study Uzbek
folklore, especially Uzbek proverbs. Folklorist Y.
Rahmatov says about this: "Herman Vamberi was
interested in Uzbek folklore, collected and published
folk tales, legends, narratives, among others, folk
proverbs. [6.22] In addition, in the researches of Y.
Nurmurodov, the following information is given: "In
1867, his Chrestomatary-dictionary "Textbook of the
Chigatoy Language" published in Leipzig included 112
Uzbek proverbs, as well as some examples of folklore
and literature, and their translation into German. [4.7]
Researcher F. Bafoyev, who comparatively studies
German and Uzbek proverbs, gives the following
information: "Initially in 1865, pages 271-315 of the
"Linguistic Information" published by the philological
department of the Hungarian State Academy of
Sciences contained materials from Uzbek folklore,
including 44 proverbs. , as well as a number of fairy
tales and riddles were published. This indicated the
growing interest in Uzbek folklore abroad. Two years
later, the Hungarian scholar Herman Vambery
published examples of Uzbek folk proverbs in his book.
[1.33]
H. Vambery's book "Chigatoy Language Textbook"
with Uzbek folk proverbs was first published in 1867 in
Leipzig (Germany), and this book was republished in
1975 in Amsterdam (Netherlands). In the preface of this
book, the scientist writes: "The languages of the
peoples from China to the Danube, their internal and
external relations, and further development are all
inextricably linked... It is very difficult to be of two
faiths at the same time. No one will say anything
because I have been walking barefoot in the deserts
and meadows of Turkestan in the form of a dervish,
collecting valuable materials related to the language
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and literature. I hope that they are of great importance
for the development of science." [5.10]
In "Chigatoy Language Textbook" Uzbek folk proverbs
are given under the title "A number of Uzbek
proverbs". The Uzbek folk proverbs given in the
pamphlet are numbered without following any
dictionary rules (in alphabetical or thematic order),
first in Uzbek in the old Uzbek and Latin script, and
then their translation is given in German. Y. Rahmatov
says about this: "Usually proverbs are included in
collections in two orders 1. In alphabetical order. The
first collections of proverbs followed this order. 2.
Subject-based order. Proverbs were thematized on the
initiative of the Russian proverb scholar V. Dal. In
Uzbek proverb studies, H. Zarif first published proverbs
by topic, but H. Vamberi does not pay attention to this
theory." [6.22] Researcher F. Bafoyev, while studying
the proverbial works of H. Vambery, says: "The scholar
first introduces proverbs in the Arabic and Latin
alphabets.
راب يغلاوق كنين مات
.
Tam has an ear
Die hat auch Ohrn.
Some proverbs are followed by additional comments
in parentheses or in the form of links. But not all of
them correctly and completely revealed the meaning
of the proverb. [1.34]
Literary critic B. Karimov also reports that tourist
Vamberi collected Uzbek proverbs while walking
among the people. [3.178-183] The proverbs were
collected from the Khorezm oasis and preserved the
dialect of the Khorezm folk language typical of the 19th
century. Mulla Ishaq, the scholar's student from Khiva,
may have helped in collecting and recording proverbs.
(Mulla Ishaq was born in 1836 in the Kungyrot tribe
belonging to the Khiva Khanate. He was a fan of
Herman Vambery, who received a madrasa education,
and helped the scientist. In 1863, he joined H. Vambery
and went to Budapest. After learning Hungarian, he
worked as an assistant in the library of the Budapest
Academy of Sciences (V.D. ))
Although H. Vamberi is not a folklorist, in order to
preserve the originality of Uzbek proverbs in the old
Uzbek script based on the Arabic alphabet, which was
introduced at that time, he gives the translation based
on the Latin script, then gives the German translation
and tries to explain it. With this, the scientist shows the
method of studying the works of folk art. Our opinion
is also confirmed by B. Karimov: "Actually,
methodologically, the method of classification is useful
in evaluating literary and historical sources.
Accordingly, it is appropriate to observe whether the
translated proverbs correspond to the original,
whether the content is fully reflected." [3.178-183] In
fact, the method used by the scientist in the
evolutionary study and comparative study of folk
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proverbs is appropriate. The scientist uses two
methods when translating Uzbek proverbs into
German. First, he used a German folk proverb
corresponding to an Uzbek folk proverb. As folk
proverbs are in their original form, the translator
translated them in German in this way, and their
content has been fully transferred to the translated
language. In this case, the translator did not feel the
need to give a special explanation for the proverb and
quoted a German folk proverb. It is known that such
universal wisdom exists as a product of human artistic
thinking. "... some of them, according to their content,
are used in the same way in all nations. It is appropriate
to accept and evaluate such equivalent proverbs in
place of the most appropriate translation. [3.180]
"If there is no head, the div is dead" - "Ohne Kopf ist
der Körper eine Leiche";
"Egoismus steht nur dem Taufel gut" - "Egoismus steht
nur dem Taufel gut";
"Hungry bears don't play" - "Der hungrige Bär tanzt
nicht". Second, it is necessary to translate proverbs as
well as comment on them. All nations have their own
unique proverbs, which serve to express the unique
spiritual world, lifestyle, values and other individual
characteristics of the nation to which they belong.
Such proverbs require an explanation, and it is easier
for the reader to understand the meaning of the
proverbs in the translated language.
"You killed the child, you killed the wife." - "Das Kind in
der Jugend, das Weib im Anfang". ("wenn du sie an
etwas gewöhnen willst") - i.e. "if you want to accustom
him to something". The explanation given by the
scientist further expands the content of the proverb
and helps the reader understand it easily.
"Ask children for messages". - Von den Kinder verlang
Nachricht". ("Kinder und Narren pflegen die Wahrheit
zu sagen"), i.e. "Children and fools speak for the truth."
With this, the scientist tries to explain the proverb by
giving it an additional meaning. In some places, the
scientist tries to analyze proverbs from an artistic and
aesthetic point of view. For example, in the folk
proverb "Soz berur, boz bermas", saj', i.e. prose, is
sensitive to rhyming, and the reader notices that the
proverb contains an internal rhyme and a play on
words. "Word" and "gray" are called "Ein Wortspiel",
i.e. "word game".
However, it can be observed that Herman Vambery
could not fully understand the subtle meanings of
some Uzbek folk proverbs. Therefore, some proverbs
have been translated incorrectly, and some proverbs
have been misinterpreted. Therefore, the proverb
"When you go to a wedding, get full" is translated into
German as "Wenn du zu einem Gastmahle gehst, so
gehe gesättigt dahin". Although the translation is
correct, the caption "denn im Gedränge könntest du
hungrig bleiben" is incorrect, meaning "Because you
can get hungry in a crowd" which does not match the
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meaning of the proverb. Because this proverb refers to
the manners of visiting a guest, the culture of
hospitality, and keeping the manners of a well-fed
person at a wedding. Or, it translates as "Tränke auch
den Esel der Hure (diene ihr), doch lass dich bezahlen
(nimm ihren Pfennig)" - "Water the monkey's ass, take
his money". This shows that the scientist does not
know the meaning of some Uzbek words. Because he
understands the word "Lo'lu" as "perverted woman",
"prostitute". In the process of explaining some Uzbek
proverbs into German, Herman Vambery could not fully
reveal their meaning. For example, the translation of
the proverb "The river that walks, the river that sits" is
"Der Fluss zieht weiter, die Natte bleibt liegen", which
means "Willst du weiter ziehen, verlass die Natte und
besteige das Schiff", that is, "The movement goes
away, and the river stays inside the ship." ", is
interpreted incorrectly.
CONCLUSION
The role of each nation in social life and its contribution
to world civilization is determined by the universality of
its ethical and aesthetic views, national values and
traditions. In this, folk oral creativity, which embodies
the nation's history, culture, outlook, beliefs, customs,
experiences and feelings, in general, its heart and
thinking, has a special place. Therefore, the study of
the nation, first of all, began with the collection of
samples of its creativity. This is one of the main reasons
why the state, which aims to take a nation under its
control and influence, first of all pays special attention
to the creation of the people, especially the proverbs
that express the history and destiny of the people. The
famous Hungarian scientist Herman Vambery traveled
to our country for whatever purpose and served to
show the unique literature, culture, history and oral
creativity of the Uzbek people in the world recognition,
especially by studying the proverbs of the Uzbek
people and trying to understand the deep meaning
embodied in them. Today's literary and scientific
community, Herman Vambery also performed certain
services in the history of translation studies, in
particular, in the translation of examples of Uzbek
literature and folklore from Uzbek to German.
REFERENCES
1.
Bafoyev F. Comparative-typological study of Uzbek
and German folk proverbs. Diss. 2021.
–
B.33.
2.
Ismatullaev H. Vamberi a scientist, a spy? "The Art
of Conspiracy" (Book 2), "Fan" Publishing House,
Tashkent, 1993, p. 159.
3.
Karim B. Herman Vambery - translator of Uzbek
proverbs // World literature. - No. 12. - Tashkent:
2018. -B. 178-183
4.
Nurmurodov Y.B. Istoriya izucheniya i problem
nauchno-literaturnogo perevoda Uzbekiskogo
folklore na nemetskii yazyk. AKD. - Tashkent:
Science. 1983. (Nurmurodov Y. Uzbek folklore in
German. - Tashkent: Fan, 1987. - P.7.)
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5.
Nurmurodov Y. Uzbek folklore in German. -
Tashkent: Science, 1987. - B.10.
6.
Rahmatov Y. A proverb and its evolution in Uzbek
classical literature. Diss. 2022.
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7.
Vamberi H. Travel through Central Asia, SPb., 1865.
