An assessment on uzbek storyteliıng in modern afghanistan

Abstract

Until the establishment of the state of Afghanistan in 1747, this region remained under the sovereignty of the states established by Turkic nobles. Cities such as Herat, Kabul, Faryab and Ghazni became important centers of Turkic culture. Many scholars, writers, poets and thinkers such as Hüseyin Baykara, Mevlânâ Lütfî, Ali Şir Nevâyî made great contributions to the Turkic language and culture in the region. After the second half of the eighteenth century, changing of political and social conditions negatively affected the languages and cultures of the Turkic nobility. Today Afghanistan is the country where Uzbek Turks live the most, after Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Although the demographic structure in Afghanistan is far from being explained by reliable data, at least 10% of the country's population consists of Uzbek Turks, one of the ancient people of this geography. Repressive official policies and obstacles implemented by the Afghan administrations for more than two centuries have largely prevented the development of the Turkic language and literature and keeping up with innovations. Uzbek Turks tried to preserve their language, literature and culture in the classical way in madrasas, mosques or houses. As a result of the partial freedoms and some achievements achieved since the 1980s, it is observed that some positive steps have been taken in media and education life. Uzbek Turkic literature has also started to produce works in the sense of modern stories and novels. In this context, the first work of Afghan Uzbek storytelling was published in Faryab newspaper in 1983. In this study, some findings and evaluations will be made on the current situation and problems of Uzbek storytelling in Afghanistan.

Keywords

• afghanistan
• uzbek
• uzbek storytelling