Turkestan legend of Noah's ark on top of mount Kazygurt

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to present the results of a study of the question of the time of appearance of the legends of the Kazakhs and Uzbeks of the Middle Syr Darya to stop Noah's ark on top of the Turkestan mountains Kazygurt, which differs from the traditional views both Christians and Muslims. The main sources on the topic are reports in Arabic, Turkish and Russian travelers, East of the authors, folklore, ethnographic and archaeological materials, these place names. The work is based on an integrated, interdisciplinary approach to the study of the past. The author based on the analysis of the message by K. Miller on Kazykurt recorded in the materials travel in 1738-1739 in Tashkent, Turkestan prove the existence of legends about the great flood in the late middle ages. There is reason to associate the appearance of the legends of the stop of Noah's ark on top of Kazygurt with the spread of Islam among the Turkic tribes. It is proposed that among the Turkic-speaking nomads somewhere in the period of XIV-XVI centuries there was an adaptation of short stories Ragusa about the ark of Noah to the local sacral mountain. The tradition of pilgrimage to the mountain Kazygurt retained at this time.