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ETHNONYMS AND THEIR RESEARCH ISSUES IN KARAKALPAK
LINGUISTICS
Nesibeli Baltaniyazova Tenelbaevna
1st-year master’s student at Karakalpak State University
named after Berdaq
Phone number: 91 376 01 96
nesibelibaltaniyazova77@gmail.com
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15826172
Annotation
: this article discusses the significance of onomastics within
linguistics, specifically its sub-field ethnonymy, and its connections with other
sciences. It also explores the research object of anthroponymics, its
interdisciplinary study with sciences such as history, literature, ethnography,
and sociology, and distinctive characteristics of anomastics.
Keywords:
history, linguistics, ethnic layers, ethnonymy, tribe, nation,
people, ethnogenetics.
In Karakalpak linguistics, while toponymy studies place names
(geographical names), ethnonymy is a branch of onomastics that studies the
origin and formation of peoples. In social-humanitarian sciences, the terms
“ethnos” and “ethnic unity” are commonly used. The term “ethnos” is
understood in both narrow and broad senses. For example, the term “people”
can refer to the world’s population, the American people, the Russian people, the
people of Uzbekistan, the people of Karakalpakstan, and even smaller groups of
people within a region. An ethnic unity is considered a social association that
emerged in specific circumstances during a natural-historical development
process. In science, there are three types of ethnic unity stages: tribe, elat (a
historical term for a tribal or ethnic group), and nation.
The names of tribes, community, people, nations are called ethnonyms in
science. The term “ethnonym” is derived from the Greek words “ethnos”
meaning “people” and “onyma” meaning “name, term” [1:10,18]. In ancient
times, ethnonyms were used as battle cries, tribe names, and emblems. They
were named after clans, tribes, communities, peoples, and nations, as well as
tribe leaders, elders, and heroes, and were also used as place names
(geographical names). Ethnonymics, which studies the history of the origin and
formation of ethnonyms, is a branch of onomastics. Ethnonymics deals with
issues such as collecting the names of clans, tribes, ethnic groups, nations, and
other ethnic units in a particular language, their origin, the main motives for
their naming, the vocabulary composition of the names, the role of substrate and
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adstrate material in them, the meaning and etymology of ethnonyms, their
formation, and the principles and rules for compiling ethnonymic dictionaries.
In linguistics, there are diverse opinions regarding the term “ethnonym”. A
notable article on this topic is A.S. Polyakov’s “On the Question of the Content of
the Concept “Ethnonym”.”
The article presents conflicting opinions and viewpoints of scholars on the
term “ethnonym”: “A.A. Belsky’s definition of ethnonyms states that they are a
type of coynonyms (coynonym - a common nickname for several authors - B.N.)
belonging to anthroponyms. On the other hand, A.V. Superanskiy argues that
ethnonyms are incorrectly included in the onomastic group and essentially
considers them a type of lexical category” [2].
Ethnonymy is also closely related to toponymy. Some place names
(geographical names), community settlements, and even cities are named after
clans, tribes, or peoples. Conversely, some ethnonyms have originated from
geographical place names. The origins and reasons for the formation of clan,
tribal, and national names are deeply intertwined with the centuries-long
history of the people. Therefore, ethnonyms play a crucial role in determining
the ethnic composition and genesis of a population. Currently, ethnonyms are
being studied in close connection with fields such as ethnonymy, history,
ethnography, and linguistics. Looking at the research on ethnonyms, we observe
that they have been comprehensively studied in both world linguistics and
Turkic linguistics.
In world linguistics, specialists from the “Onomastics” group, established in
1967 at the N.N. Miklukho-Maklay Institute of Ethnography in Moscow,
conducted specialized research on ethnonymy. Under the leadership of V.A.
Nikonov, the group members published the first collection of articles on the
issue of ethnonyms, titled “Ethnonyms” [3]. This collection featured articles
prepared by twenty-seven scholars on ethnonymy. Following the publication of
this collection, the study of ethnonyms has been undertaken, leading to the
publication of numerous scientific works, monographs, and scholarly articles.
Among such works, Professor A.I. Popov’s monograph “Names of the peoples of
the USSR” [4] stands out. This work consists of two parts. The first part of the
book discusses the ethnonyms of scythians, sarmatians, thracians, goths, huns,
bulgars, khazars, avars, slavs, antes, dums, russians, and varyags. The second
part provides a historical-etymological and linguistic analysis of ethnonyms such
as esti, chud, krevins, kors, ves, karelian, saemi, yam, vod, lithuania, golyad,
samogitian, merya, muroma, mordva, mari, udmurt, komi, burtas, pecheneg,
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gorokhs, berendeys, chernye klobuki, polovtsian, ugar, kasog, as, alban, iber,
mansi, khanty, nenets, enets, nganasan, and selkup.
In D.G. Tumasheva’s article on the ethnic relations of Western Siberian
Tatars, the ethnonyms qitay (qara qitay, qatay, qtay, kiden), telew (teli), joqsaba
(toqsaba), and kangly are discussed, along with their relationships to
anthroponyms (personal names) and toponyms (place names).
Famous Russian Turkologists such as N. Aristov, V.V. Radlov, V.V. Bartold,
S.P. Tolstov, S.M. Abramzon, L.V. Gumilyov, D.Ye. Yeremeyev, N.A. Baskakov, L.V.
Zuyev, A.N. Xanikov, B.A. Jdanko, and A.A. Valitov, among many others, have
made significant contributions to the study of ethnonymy of Turkic peoples.
Ethnonyms have also been specifically researched in kindred Turkic languages,
including Uzbek, Kazakh, and Kyrgyz linguistics. For the study of Uzbek
ethnonyms, historians like I.I. Umnyakov, K. Shoniyozov, B. Ahmedov, and A.
Asqarov, as well as linguists such as X. Doniyorov, S. Qoraev, E. Begmatov, T.
Nafasov, N. Oxunov, K. Marqaev, and N. Begaliev, have conducted numerous
researches. In Uzbek linguistics, ethnonymy is considered a less extensively
researched area compared to toponymy and anthroponymy, with fewer
dedicated research works. Notable publications in this field include K.
Shoniyozov’s “Towards an Ethnic History of the Uzbek People” [5] and “The
formation process of the Uzbek people [6], and B. Ahmedova’s “The Uzbek ulus
(nation)” [7].
In K. Shaniyazov’s monograph, “On the Ethnic History of the Uzbek People”,
historical information about the Qipchaqs is provided, detailing their division
into clans and tribes. In this work, the author categorizes the Kipchaks who lived
in the Fergana Valley at the end of the 19
th
and beginning of the 20
th
centuries
into four groups: pure Kipchaks, Kyrgyz-Kipchaks, Qitay-Kipchaks, and Sart-
Kipchaks. N. Begaliev’s work, “From the History of Uzbek Ethnonyms” [8],
includes a list of 92 Uzbek tribes [8:23-25], the Kungrad tribe and its tribal
genealogy [8:51-56]. It also presents interesting information related to the
etymology of several Turkic clan and tribal names.
Academics N.Ya. Mar, Czech scholar B. Grozny, and historians Sh. Aqinjanov,
M. Xojan uli, D. Junisov, T. Januzaqov, and S. Jusip uli have all researched Kazakh
ethnonyms. T. Januzaqov, in the “Ethnonymy” part of his work, “Sketch of
Kazakh onomastics” [9], discussed ethnonymy and its connections with other
sciences, ethnic terms, the linguistic and historical-ethnographic foundations of
ethnonyms, and anthroponyms derived from ethnonyms. Duysen Junisov, a
professor at I. Jansugirov Jetisu State University, in his article “Obsolete
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Ethnonyms and Historical Features of the Language” [10], discussed other tribes
and clans that coexisted with the Kazakh people during the period when Turkic-
speaking peoples lived in a single social environment, as well as a number of
obsolete ethnonyms related to them. Manasbay Xojan uli’s book, “Kazakh’s
Ethnonym System” [11], published in Astana in 2011, provides extensive
information on the Kazakh ethnonym system, based on historical, genealogical,
and linguistic materials related to ethnonyms in the West Kazakhstan region.
The history of the Karakalpak people and their ethnogenetic issues began to
be studied extensively, utilizing historical, archaeological, and ethnographic
materials from the works of historians and specialists in related fields. On
researching the history and ethnogenesis of the Karakalpak people, the works of
prominent scholars such as P.P. Ivanov, S.P. Tolstov, T.A. Jdanko, S.E. Malov, N.A.
Baskakov, S.K. Kamalov, D.S. Nasirov, V.N. Yagodin, L.S. Tolstova, and X.
Esbergenov, along with Berdaq’s “Family tree” (Genealogy/Chronicle), have
been of great importance. As a result of these scholars’ research, the
ethnogenesis (origin) of the Karakalpak people is considerably clarified today.
A major achievement in recent Karakalpak historiography is the
comprehensive work “Sketches of the history of the Karakalpak ASSR” [12],
which summarizes the history of the Karakalpak people. This work was written
by synthesizing extensive historical, archaeological, linguistic, anthropological,
and folkloric materials covering the ancient, medieval, and modern history of the
Karakalpak people. In T.A. Jdanko’s work, “Sketches of historical ethnography of
the Karakalpaks” [13], maps illustrate the locations of Karakalpak tribes. It also
includes a structural schema of clans and tribes, information about their tribe
emblems and battle cries (slogans), and legends gathered from the people
regarding their origins. This work features 11 maps, 16 tables, and concludes
with a list of clan and tribal names.
L.S. Tolstova and A. Otemisov’s article, “Clarification of some issues of
Karakalpak ethnogenesis” [14], explores historical legends collected from the
Karakalpaks of the Takhtakopir district. The article details legends about the
origin of the Karakalpaks’ Muyten tribe. The Muytens are divided into Aral
Muytens and Zarafshan Muytens based on their settlement areas, and their
division scheme is also presented. Additionally, an ethnographic map of the
Takhtakopir district is included, showing the locations of the Qoldauly,
Qostamgaly, Qaramoyin, Irgaqly, Teristamgaly, Muyten, Qitay, and Kipshak
tribes, along with the Kazakhs, using conventional symbols. L.S. Tolstova’s
article, “The ethnographic group “Mitan” comprising Uzbeks of Samarkand
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province” [15], provides materials collected on the Mitan (Muyten) ethnonym
during an ethnographic expedition in Zarafshan in 1963. The article includes
information about the Muytens living in the Ishrixon and Nurata districts (the
latter now part of Navoiy region) of Samarkand province, as well as their
occupations. It also maps the locations of Karakalpaks in Samarkand, including
the Muytens. The ethnonym Moyten (Mitan, Moytan) can also be found in other
works by L.S. Tolstova. Beyond these, other notable articles addressing
ethnonym issues in the Karakalpak language include D. Aytmuratov’s “On the
Turkic ethnonyms “Karakalpak”, black klobuks” [16] and “On the Origin of the
Name “Karakalpak”” [17].
To date, discussions in Karakalpak linguistics concerning ethnonyms have
primarily focused on their origin and etymology. However, the lexico-semantic
features, morphological structure, relationship to word categories, and specific
usage patterns of Karakalpak ethnonyms have not been thoroughly researched.
A comprehensive study of Karakalpak ethnonyms and the creation of an
ethnonymic dictionary are considered among the primary research objectives.
Studying ethnonyms from a linguistic perspective holds significant
theoretical and practical importance. Each ethnonym carries a specific history,
and their study allows for the acquisition of substantial information related to
the history of a people and the history of a language. Ethnonyms in any given
language consistently generate interest among its speakers, and even among
other peoples.
References
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