Tradition of wisdom in Kazakh Folk Literature and place of Sırım Datoğlu within this tradition

Wisdom statements are the expressions of the thoughts and feelings of the society in an artful dialect. These statements contain deep philosophic meanings. The main structure of Kazak community had the characteristics of steppe civilization until the last century. There were some factors determining the management structure of this civilization: Administering Han, torah (man descent of Han), qadi, the wise man and the public. The qadi and the wise man are the bridge between the Han and the public. This structure is sociological, rather than an economic base. The wise man and the qadi, who take their powers from the public, give their judgments via the wisdom statements, and they are known as verbal law rules. The wise man and the qadi do not judge solely. Steppe laws, life and rules of the community are also binding for them. While making judgment, both the custom rules are considered and they refer to re-interpreting and taking decisions according to the new circumstances, considering the values changing depending on the culture. The wise man knows the philosophic, historic, social, cultural, and religious structuring very well. Furthermore, he has to think, read, benefit from the past information, and act to access new information continuously, in order to improve his knowledge. If the wise man does not these, then his prestige ends. Humanitarian values are essential in wisdom statements. The main aim of this judgment is to establish a social order, which lives in peace. Unfortunately, the wisdom statements, particularly the reviews related with Sırım, are very few in academic articles, primarily in the Russian researches. Those who communicated the wisdom statements from generations to generations, and sustain till today, are the members of the society. The aim of this thesis is to examine particularly those, which are associated with Sırım, among the wisdom statements that have been communicated from one generation to another. The fact that the wisdom statements related with Sırım Datoğlu are full of knowledge is due to his struggle for life. Sırım has struggled continuously for a fair life. He has communicated all requests of people to the Han and torahs. Sırım has been awarded the most prestigious Trahan of the age, the Tsar government has tried to act cautiously because of his power; Khanates of Petersburg, Hiva and Iran have also appreciated the wisdom art of Sırım. Sırım has been deemed as one of the philosopher intellectuals of his age. Sırım is an important hero, who has fought and leaded for the struggle. Multilateral life of Sırım is the indicator of the richness of his people's moral life. Keywords: Kazakh, the wise man, Sırım Datoğlu, aphorism, folk culture, society