"Mankurt" and "mankurtism" are phenomena that have decided the fate of Greater Central Asia.
Author: Mohibullah Noori, former head of the political department of the National Security Council of Afghanistan, a member of the Sangar Advisory Council.
Last year, during an internship program with young leaders of post-Soviet countries, I encountered a surprising phenomenon. Some participants were not interested in reflecting on the common history of the region, and some even reacted negatively to the idea of uniting the peoples of the region. What surprised me most was their surprise at the idea of establishing relations with the countries on the other side of the Amu Darya - Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan.
This sense of division between the peoples of the region can best be explained by the concept of "mankurtism" depicted by Chingiz Aitmatov in his novel "And More Than a Century Lasts a Day". This story is a metaphor for how external phenomena such as colonialism and imposed ideologies can weaken or even destroy a nation’s identity. Mankurt is a symbol of people cut off from their history and identity.
This feeling of alienation is not limited to the northern countries of the region. The story of mankurtism also tells the story of the hostility and mistrust some Afghans feel toward their neighbors and the people of the region. This story illustrates well how Afghanistan and the countries of the region separated from a single civilizational and regional organism and then clashed with each other. The intervention of colonialism and the imposition of different ideologies on both sides of the Amu Darya separated us from them, and them from us, to such an extent that today we hardly know each other.
Chingiz Aitmatov (1928–2008), an outstanding Kyrgyz writer, created such immortal works as “Jamila”, “Farewell Gulsari”, “And the Day Lasts More Than a Century”. Aitmatov revolutionized Soviet literature with his literary genius and received numerous awards. He died in 2008, but his name is immortalized in the history of Soviet literature.
Aitmatov’s novel “And the Day Lasts More Than a Century,” a combination of fact and fiction, brought him worldwide fame. The novel criticizes domination and the destruction of ethnic identity by governments, addressing the concept of mankurtism. In the story, the Zhuanzhuang tribe takes young men and prisoners of war, shaves their heads, and ties freshly shorn camel skin to their heads to destroy their identity and past. Due to the sun’s rays and the pressure caused by the drying camel skin, the prisoners suffer memory loss and mental disorders.
These people, called “mankurts,” are no longer able to remember their names, families, and pasts, and become involuntary slaves loyal only to their masters. In the story, Zholaman, one of the young men, does not even recognize his mother who came to save him, and kills her on the orders of his master. This story allegorically refers to the loss of identity and historical memory in dominated societies.
The story of mankurtism symbolically refers to governments' attempts to destroy the national and cultural identity of nations.
The preservation of national identity is rooted in a common history. But what if these roots are deliberately cut off? The concept of mankurtism describes a situation in which people lose their identity, memory, and even language and become identityless beings. This concept, created by Chingiz Aitmatov, reflects the bitter historical realities well.
Mankurtism is not a single story; it is a reflection of the true history of many nations. Today, in some parts of the world, we are witnessing efforts to change the cultural and linguistic identity of people. These efforts harm not only the personality of the people but also the history and civilization of the nation. By creating the character of Zholaman, who does not even know her mother and kills her on the orders of her master, Aitmatov depicts the depth of the tragedy that mankurtism brings. This story makes us think about the importance of preserving historical memory and the need to preserve national and regional identity.
Given these concepts, returning to a common regional identity becomes more important. Our past is full of rich cultural ties severed by colonial and nationalist policies. Returning this common heritage is a way to restore cooperation and unity between countries that have been divided for a long time. This return to regional roots is not only a nostalgic movement but also necessary for a future based on mutual understanding, respect, and solidarity.
