Wednesday, April 8, 2015

G is for Gulaim and her Warrior Maidens (Epics from A to Z)

Up front: The only English translation of this epic that I could find was a Kindle ebook, and it seems to be the tail end of the story. It is a pretty read, but very short (especially since the original recorded version is more than 20.000 lines long). I filled in the rest from Adrienne Mayor's new book The Amazons (although she doesn't disclose where she got the story from) and a more detailed summary from G.M.H. Shoolbraid's The Oral Epic of Siberia and Central Asia.

Forty Maidens (Kyrk kyz) is a Karakalpak epic from Central Asia. It was recorded in the early 20th century, and refers back to historical events in the late middle ages. The Karakalpak are a Turkic ethnic group that lives in modern day Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Their epic takes places in turbulent times when the Kalmyks invaded their land.

The Hero
Gulaim (Rose Moon), daughter of the ruler of Sarkop and the main hero of the epic, is a maiden who refuses to marry at the age of fifteen, and moves into a citadel instead with a group of like-minded girls to train as warriors. They don't only become a force to reckon with, but also transform the island their fortress is built on into a small paradise. When their homeland is invaded and men (including Gulaim's father and brothers) are killed, the forty maidens take it on themselves to revenge the murders and restore the honor and freedom of their people. Gulaim leads them into battle and ends up defeating the enemy's leader in single combat.

The Highlights
Girl heroes, all the way. That's really all there is to it. That, and pretty epic fighting, with lots of archery.

Girl Power, Guy Power
It almost feels like a cliche to call this one a feminist epic. It is obviously a story with strong and independent female characters that prove their power in battle against men multiple times. Also, on the parallel storyline, Gulaim successfully gets out of several forced marriage attempts, even against her father's will. But the part that I personally like the most is that she does not end up alone - she finds herself a worthy partner in the exiled hero of Khorezm, Aryslan. Aryslan has a sister who is also a warrior maiden, and they defend their people together against the enemy, until Aryslan's exile through intrigue. The hero ends up joining Gulaim's troops and helping her to victory - in exchange, she accompanies him back to his homeland, and they free Khorezm together.
Talk about a power couple.

24 comments:

  1. I love stories with strong and powerful female characters, who are not shown as confused and contradicting. thank you for sharing this :)

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  2. I like women-centeric stories! they are so rare and few! Here's to women power!!

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  3. Cool! Epic fighting, archery, and powerful heroines sounds awesome. :D

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  4. Didn't know anything abotu this epic, but it sounds awesome.
    I've always been fascinated by the character of the 'Amazon', there seemed to be a lot of them in sterytellings across places and times, even in cultures you wouldn't imagine. So, there must be something behind it.

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  5. Rose Moon is such a romantic name...

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  6. Sounds like a fabulous example of female empowerment and also a great fighting story :). I'm glad she found someone equal of her.
    Tasha
    Tasha's Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)

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  7. This sounds like a good read, thanks for sharing the link!

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  8. I think I dated a women like this, it was never ever about me... she was very focused on her career... wow that wasn't funny... trying to make a joke on a cool post, I am sorry... really.

    Welcome in the letter "G"... thank you!
    Jeremy [Retro]
    AtoZ Challenge Co-Host [2015]

    There's no earthly way of knowing.
    Which direction we are going!

    HOLLYWOOD NUTS!
    Come Visit: You know you want to know if me or Hollywood... is Nuts?

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  9. Very cool. I grew up in a town with a big population of Kalmyk immigrants. I wonder if they'd cast Gulaim and her friends as the villains! :-)

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  10. A shame when good stories are "lost" because they go out of print or whatever. Thanks for keeping as much of this one alive as you can.

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  11. Your A-Z entries are so educational (but fun). Am amazed at all these rich old stories out there.

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  12. Strong women real and pretend are always good to read about. Good luck with the rest of the challenge.

    Sandy at Bridge and Beyond

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  13. Sounds as if it could be a contemporary commentary! Similar dynamics, different setting. Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

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  14. Seems like a cool story! I'm surprised something so pro-female was written at that time.

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  15. Girl power is pretty rare in an epic! And it's nice to know there are 'sheroes' who don't end up alone, that's pretty much rare too. Perhaps because it was recorded 20th century, not that the century was bristling with strong female characters, but still. Fun entry but educational too.
    Best,
    Nilanjana

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  16. Thank you for sharing some fabled history that I would never have learned without your blog.

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  17. ohh one day I have to tell you the story about the warrior queen Olava and her daughter Yrsa!

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  18. Gulaim is a girl with a story after my heart. I loved the image of the warriors.

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  19. Yes, this is my favorite one so far. A power woman.

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  20. Nice! This is definitely my kind of story. Too bad more of it isn't translated (or I can't read more languages).

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  21. I love this. Not many girl power ancient texts out there.

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  22. I loved in Sweden in the 1980s and loved this post. #AtoZChallenge2015

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