Baktybuu Janylyshova, a teacher of Kyrgyz language and literature at the Bayymbet secondary school located in the village of Jangy-Talap, shares with a Turmush correspondent that she has been collecting materials about Tepkedei for eight years, who left Kyrgyzstan during the events of Urkun.
According to her accounts, her father-in-law Tursunbek Ibraimov, born in 1902, held various responsible positions in the district executive committee. During the repressions, he was arrested along with Torokul Aitmatov but was soon acquitted. He left behind numerous records of memories. One year, the poet Kazibek kazalchy gave him a notebook, but due to rumors of the arrival of police officers, the father-in-law decided to hide it through a third party. Shortly after, the police indeed came to conduct searches, and the person who hid the notebook did not return it.
Since Tepkedei was the same age as her father-in-law, she approached him with a request: "I will tell you about my experiences, and you write them down. Future generations need to know about the events of Urkun." The father-in-law, possessing knowledge of Arabic and Latin scripts, recorded her story. Baktybuu Janylyshova mentions that her husband also has a notebook with records, but it has not yet been found. Tepkedei had a photograph that she lent to a journalist for writing an article, but the journalist did not return it.
What follows is the story of Tepkedei, recorded from the words of Tursunbek Ibraimov
Flight to China
Tepkedei Sarala kyzy was born in 1902 in the Jumgal district, in the Bazar-Turuk area, in the family of Sarala Janish uulu. In 1916, due to brutal oppression from the tsarist authorities, her family, like many others, was forced to flee towards Kashgar and Turpan. Along with them, 42 families left. Sarala, Tepkedei's father, went to China with seven children. During this difficult time, Tepkedei was only 14 years old. They traveled for two months, day and night, until they reached Ak-Suu in the Turpan region. To feed his six brothers and sisters, Sarala worked for wealthy people, bringing food.
The Teenage Girl Sold for 80 Silver Coins
Tepkedei was distinguished by her hard work and physical strength. One day, a local shanya named Orozakun noticed her and demanded of her father: "Give your daughter to my brother Toktakun as a wife, I will give you a sack of corn and always help you." Toktakun was 38 years old. Sarala did not want to give his daughter away but understood that Orozakun could use force. In the end, he agreed to "give" his daughter for a sack of corn, a sack of rice, and 80 seer (silver coins). A religious scholar named Akun, who fled from Issyk-Kul, became Tepkedei's "godfather" (ökül ata).
The Years of Return and Separation
Tepkedei lived in Toktakun's house for about a year, and this period was full of suffering, as his wife Jeenbyubyu treated her cruelly. She forced Tepkedei to perform hard tasks, such as collecting dung and doing all the household chores. Tepkedei obeyed all orders without showing her dissatisfaction. By the time she had lived in Toktakun's house for more than a year, in the autumn of 1917, news of the overthrow of the tsar and the arrival of Lenin reached the valleys of Kashgar and Turpan. Refugees began to return to their homeland. Sarala also began to prepare for the return and went to the volost chief Orozakun for flour (talkan) for the journey, but was refused.
Realizing that he could achieve nothing from the volost chief, Sarala said goodbye to his daughter and, loading a few belongings onto a donkey, set off. The 14-year-old Tepkedei was left behind and cried out in despair: "Father, mother, am I really parting with you forever!".
The Oppression of Jeenbyubyu
After the departure of her parents, Tepkedei, left an orphan while her parents were alive, was further oppressed by Toktakun and his wife. She suffered from hunger and humiliation, and her clothes were worn out. Feeding on scraps of food, she continued to endure the abuse. In her suffering, she composed a song that she sang in the field while collecting dung:
I ride on a donkey, collecting dung,
The dawn shines again in the sky,
When will the time come for goodness?
Will my whole life in Kashgar pass,
Will equality ever come
For wanderers like me?
My thoughts are of returning to the village,
But I cannot find the way there,
And there is no companion beside me,
To show the way and lead me on.
Preparation for Escape
When Tepkedei sang her sad songs in the field, she was noticed by Akun's children and told their father about it. One day, Akun took Tepkedei to a secluded place and asked: "My children say that you cry while working. Tell me about your troubles." Tepkedei shared her sufferings and her dream of escape: "Will I ever see my relatives again, or let death catch me on the way." In response, Akun said: "Your words resonate with me. These people will not do us good. We must leave. I will leave openly, but first, I will help you escape. I will prepare food for your journey and a potion to kill Toktakun's red horse."
As promised, in the evening, Akun called Tepkedei, gave her some food, warm clothes, and a bronze stirrup for protection. He explained how to act: "In the morning, pretend that nothing happened, get on the donkey and go for dung. Hide these things along the way, and then return. In the evening, when you feed the horse, smear its nostrils with the potion. The horse will die in an hour. In the morning, when we butcher the carcass, you set off on the donkey for dung, pick up the hidden things, release the donkey, and go to safety without stopping." He repeatedly reiterated the route to her and added: "If you meet a wolf on the way — hit it on the head with the stirrup."
Tepkedei strictly followed his instructions. The next day, the horse indeed fell. While everyone was busy butchering the carcass, she set off on the donkey supposedly for dung, released the animal, took her things, and began her escape. For the entire first day and night, she walked without stopping. On the second day, noticing two pursuers, she hid in a mountain crevice. The pursuers, unable to find her, returned. When they left, she emerged and continued her journey. On the third day, at the foot of the Kok-Karysh pass, she saw a dead man and whispered: "Oh, poor thing, I have no strength even to bury you," and then moved on.
On the fourth dawn, as Tepkedei fled from Kashgar, she encountered a wolf that was feeding on carrion. The hungry predator approached her. Not losing her composure, Tepkedei remembered Akun's words, tightened her stirrup, and prepared for battle. She had nowhere to run. "I must kill it, or it will eat me," she thought and gathered all her will. When the wolf lunged at her, she struck it on the head with the stirrup, and it fell. Ensuring that the beast was dead, Tepkedei continued on her way. By the fifth day, by noon, she reached the border of China and Kyrgyzstan.
Meeting with Refugees
On the sixth day, Tepkedei set off again and saw a group of people lighting a fire at a cliff. Approaching them, she asked: "Are you also refugees?" They turned out to be Kyrgyz from the Chuy valley. The head of the family, named Dooletaldy, listened to her story and said: "You are a heroine." He offered her to rest: "We are already on our land, there is no danger. Let's rest for two days and go together. I will take you to Kochkor, and from there you will go to Jumgal." After five days, they reached Kochkor, and the next day Dooletaldy directed her towards Jumgal, while he went to Chuy. On the same day, Tepkedei reached the Kyzart pass, where her parents were located.
The Long-Awaited Reunion
When Tepkedei saw her parents, they could not believe their eyes. They rushed to her, embraced her, and cried, asking: "Our dear, is it really you?" They performed a purification ritual. However, Tepkedei, still feeling resentment, exclaimed through tears: "Father, why did you leave me to suffer in Kashgar, why didn't you take me with you?" She spoke for a long time about her sufferings, about the cruelty of Toktakun and his wife. The next day, Sarala organized a feast in honor of his daughter's return and gathered relatives and villagers. People listened to her stories about the escape, about the six days of travel, about the fight with the wolf, and how she survived by eating only flour mixed with cold water. Some admired her bravery, while others could not hold back their tears.
Tepkedei's Marriage
Five months passed, but the resentment towards her parents for "selling" her did not leave Tepkedei. One day she told them: "You sold me, now I will decide my own fate, do not interfere in my life." At that time, a young man named Akunaaly from Ak-Talaa, now Jangy-Talap, came to Jumgal in search of a bride. The residents of Kyzart told him about Tepkedei, and he decided to marry her. The young people liked each other and soon got married. Akunaaly took Tepkedei to the Kurtka area. In this marriage, which began in 1918, they had 17 children, but unfortunately, 13 of them died in infancy. Akunaaly worked as an irrigator, and then he and Tepkedei grazed cows and sheep together.
During the collective farm years, Tepkedei often received awards for her labor. Akunaaly ata passed away in 1971, and Tepkedei apa spent her last years in the village of Kayyndy-Bulak, with her youngest son Bakirdin, and passed away in 1995.
