Magtymguly Pyragy

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Portrait of Magtymguly Pyragy.
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Portrait of Magtymguly Pyragy.

Magtymguly Pyragy (Persian: مختومقلی فراغی Makhtumqoli Faraghi; Turkmen: Magtymguly Pragy) (17331783) was a Turkmen spiritual leader and philosophical poet whose efforts to secure independence and autonomy for his people in the 18th century figured prominently in the Ruhnama.

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[edit] Education and early life

Pyragy was born in the Haji Qushan village near Gonbad Kavus city in the Iranian province of Golestan. He received his early education in the Persian and Arabic languages from his father Dowletmammet Azady, a leading scholar at that time. He went on to study and write poetry, developing a realistic style of writing about 18th century Turkmen that proved very popular and ultimately led to him becoming one of the most cherished Turkmen poets of all time. He was also a devout Sufist who was said to have travelled throughout all the lands comprising modern Turkmenistan, teaching and praying for the salvation of his people. Pyragy is buried in Aqtuqay village in north-eastern Iran. Iranian government has inaugurated a mausoleum on his grave.

[edit] Political ideals

He promoted the idea of keeping the Turkmen way sacred, as well as maintaining the unity and integrity of the Turkmen nation. During his lifetime, his efforts had minimal success overcoming the existing tribal loyalties and rivalries. In 1991, the state of Turkmenistan was established and President Niyazov's writings, the Ruhnama - including some of Magtymguly Pyragy's writings - began to be forcibly imposed on Turkmen society.

[edit] See also

[edit] Quotation

"Know that what I built,
Is the peg of this world.
Forever it will stay independent,
This is the edifice of the Türkmen."

[edit] External links

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