Aman Matchon: An Expert in Classic Literary Studies

Manzura Pirnazarov

1,2

Urgench State University, Urgench, Uzbekistan

Tashkent State University of Uzbek Language and Literature named after Alisher Navoi, Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Keywords: Tradition, Classical Literature, Epic, Mukhammas, Verse, Devan.

Abstract: This article describes how Aman Matchon has mastered the best traditions of our classical literature and

developed them artistically in his own way. It represents the closeness in spirit of Aman Matchon and Navoi

through examples of creativity. It is shown that Aman Matchon's masterpieces are the product of his infinite

love for the great predecessors and the result of the feeling of longing that tormented his soul. The extent to

which the poet tried to be close to the Navoi language is justified, as the author is based on Alisher Navoi's

thoughts and developed them. The fact that Aman Matchon is erudite in classical literature has been proven

through the analysis of examples taken from the author's works. This is a series of images created by his pen,

and at the same time, it is revealed that he is clearly visible in the polishing of classical images. It is said that

Alisher was fond of the ghazals of Navoi and Ogahi. In order to highlight the fact that emotions and

intelligence always appear in the poet's poetry, epics, and muhammas are analyzed.

1 INTRODUCTION

A sensitive poet, Amon Matjon, has captured the

hearts of the people. Since the publication of his first

works, "Ochiq oynalar" (Open Windows) in 1970, the

poet has been warmly received by his peers and

occupies a special place in Uzbek poetry.

Meanwhile, with more than forty years of creative

experience and work, the poet has published poetic,

prose, and dramatic books such as "Karvon

qo`ng’irog’i" (Jingle bells of Caravan, 1973),

"Quyosh soati" (The Sun-dial, 1974), "Dramatik

dostonlar" (Dramatic Epics, 1975), "Yonayotgan

daraxt" (Burning Tree, 1976), "Yarador chaqmoq"

(Wounded lightning, 1977), "Haqqush qichqirighi"

(The Scream of the Hawk, 1979), "Seni yaxshi

ko`raman" (I Love You, 1981), "Daraxtlar va

giyohlar kitobi" (The Book of Trees and Herbs,

1984), "Gaplashadigan vaqtlar" (Talking Times,

1986), "Ming bir yog’du" (A Thousand and One

Light, 1989), "O`rtamizda birgina olma" (A Single

Apple between Us, 1990), "Odamning soyasi

quyoshga tushdi" (The Shadow of Man on the Sun,

1991), "Qush yo`li" (Bird’s Route, 1993), "Iymon

yog`dusi" (Light of Faith, 1995), "Diydor Aziz"

(Divine Dating, 2011), and "Xaloskor ruh" (Savior

Soul, 2012).

Corresponding author

2 LITERATURE REVIEW

"Ming bir yogdu" is a brilliant reflection of Amon

Matjon's talent. In it, we can see that Amon Matjon

has carefully combined and successfully developed

the best traditions of our classical literature. For

example, when dealing with love and romance, we

witness that the poet's thinking knows no bounds and

is capable of making discoveries that make a person

feel good.

A number of works on interpretations of

"Khamsa" have appeared in the scientific literature

(Alisher Navoi, 2016). The concept of love has a

much broader meaning in our classic literature.

Peculiar definitions are given to it in some works. The

above lines of Amon Matjon remind us of some

examples of Jalaluddin Rumi's worldview and poetic

legacy. His majesty considers love to be the secret of

the creation of all existence and the reason for its

existence. According to the poet, love is the essence,

and the whole world is like its shell. All creatures

enjoy divine love (Ganjina-yi, 2004). In Jalaluddin

Rumi's "Devon," there are such lines that are proof of

the above-mentioned beautiful lines of Amon Matjon.

Content: "If this sky was not in love, there would not

be such purity in its bosom." If the sun had not fallen

in love, such a light would not have been found in its

Pirnazarov, M.

Aman Matchon: An Expert in Classic Literary Studies.

DOI: 10.5220/0012488100003792

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 1st Pamir Transboundary Conference for Sustainable Societies (PAMIR 2023), pages 381-385

ISBN: 978-989-758-687-3

381

beauty. "If the earth and the mountain were not in

love, there would not be a plant from both of them."

"If the sea was not aware of love, it would have settled

somewhere."

In his turn, Amon Matjon draws attention to one

of the most important aspects of Alisher Navoi's

career: his qualities as a statesman and public figure.

It is mentioned specifically in the sections "The

vazeer of the kingdom always wishes for justice for

the Shah," "The vazeer who stopped the Shah from in

vain wars," and "The vazeer who forgives the

wicked." In it as well, the author is based on Alisher

Navoi's points of view and develops them. Amon

Matjon expresses Alisher Navoi's opinions in these

sections: "If it is a bad king, and his vazeer is also bad,

but Haman is in charge of Pharaoh,"; it can be said

that it is based on content wisdom such as "Wazir

vizrdin mushtaqdur, and this verb is ahaq and

alyaqdur" (Alisher Navoi, 1966). At the end of the

reading of the epic "Ming bir yoghdu" (One Thousand

and One Light), we seem to have found an answer to

the question "Who is this man of high virtue?" in the

prologue of the epic. The poet describes Alisher

Navoi as "the enlightener of the Middle Ages and all

ages" (MBY, 49 (Amon Matjon, 1989); in later

editions, "the enlightener of all ages").

In our classic literature, there are few works on

the characteristics and development of the epic genre

(Hollyeva G., 2000). At the same time, the

muhammas of modern poets should be studied and

promoted separately. In this regard, it is

commendable that Jamal Kamal's muhammas on

Navoi's ghazal were translated into Russian, that they

were given special attention in the monographic plan

(Karshiev Komiljon Abdikarimovich), and that they

were brought to a relatively wide audience.

There are only two mukhammas in the literature

of Amon Matjon: the dialogue mukhammas to

Agakhi's ghazal, the mukhammas to Alisher Navoi's

radif ghazal ‘Avvalgilarga uxshamas’ (unlike the

previous). In our opinion, there is something that

connects these two mukhammas. Those "somethings"

most likely include:

First of all, both of these poems are the product of

Amon Matjon's infinite love for his great

predecessors, the result of the longing that tormented

his soul. Both poems were written "when thoughts

and imaginations come to mind."

Secondly, there is no difference in time and space

in both cases. That was achieved first of all (although

two lines are in the old Uzbek language, three lines

are in the modern Uzbek literary language) with

linguistic compatibility, and, importantly, the

compatibility of the criterion of mental restraint. As a

result, Amon Matjon's mukhammas became a

standard and an example for modern poets in terms of

tying takhmis to the ghazals of great poets and

writers. One of the unique aspects of ‘takhmis’ is the

desire of some poets to gain the fame of their

predecessors by writing similar ghazals to those of the

great poets. For example, some poets want to

popularise their works by ‘takhmis’ or quoting

famous ghazals by Alisher Navoi. It can also be

properly understood as a human trait. In many cases,

the poets create takhmis out of respect for the work of

their predecessors and the need to communicate with

their spiritual world. A clear model of it is the work

of Mohammad Reza Ogahi.

Amon Matjon's interpretation of Navoi's ghazal

was written at a time when not only "carkh avzai,"

"kotibu davru nagaram," or "human dignity" were

uncommon. That ghazal of Alisher Navoi was

originally taken from the poet's book "Navodir un-

nihoya" (ghazal 291) (Alisher Navoi, 1987). Later, it

was included in "Navodir ush-shabab" (ghazal 238)

(Alisher Navoi, 1989). Even the first verses of

Tahkmis attract readers' attention. E.g.

charkh avzoye bu dam avvalghilargha

uxshamas,...

The sound of the wheel is not the same as before.

(IY, 341) (Amon Matjon, 1995)

In our classic literature, "charkh" ("spinner" in

connotative meaning the world) is a special symbol

that has different meanings in accordance with the

unique skill and worldview of the authors who use it.

If it can sometimes be interpreted as ‘fate, destiny,"

("Is there any trouble of fate that I have not come

across?" by Babur), it can be understood as an

inevitable punishment according to human fate. The

combination of "charkhi kajraftor," a curved, reverse-

rotating spinner, and "charkhi kajraftor" was common

in old Uzbek language sources. The phrase is also

used in modern literary Uzbek as an expression of

surprise at the curiosities of fate, such as:

"The poet's heart trembles as a result of this

situation; he entered into a lively discussion about the

crowd and the people, and on the occasion of this

event, he pours out his painful thoughts about the

charkhi kajraftor's strange attitude (Alisher Navoi,

1989)."

Amon Matjon also created a unique combination in

this regard: "Tarixda-bu charkha o'yinkor shohid,"

says Tarixda. (This amusing fate has been witnessed

throughout history) (

Amon Matjon, 1995). His

Holiness Navoi's talents were so incredible that from

the beginning to the end of the ghazal, the reader

would wonder what the "previous" situation was for

the poet—whether it was good or bad compared to the

present; whether it was convenient or inconvenient—

and no answer could be found. The poet keeps the

reader in the grip of this thought until the last lines of

the verse.

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Amon Matjon was also able to keep this spirit. Only

we, as his contemporaries, can draw some

conclusions from the use of the word "avzo." The

word "avzo" has now become the literary equivalent

of the negative verb "change for the worse." It was

impossible for two historical stages of the same

language to be completely identical, despite how

much Amon Matjon tried to be close to the Navoi

language and succeeded in doing so. That is why the

meaning of the term "kotib" (secretary) does not

completely match in the old and modern Uzbek

literary languages. In particular, "kotib" is in high

heaven in Navoi's works, whereas "kotib" is in that

takhmis, among people of the earth, among people.

But the period is the same period, and the number is

the same number. The epoch or era is still the same:

someone's desire does not change according to

someone's will, as Alisher Navoi said, "Bir nafas

evrulmadi, davron mening komim ila'" (the era did

not turn away, on my comity).

In the first line, by using the word "avzo," it seems

that the mystery peculiar to Navoi seems to have been

lost but it is corrected in the third line:

"Endi inson qadri ham avvalghilargha uxshamas."

In this way, this line became a link connecting the

psyches of Amon Matjon and Alisher Navoi. It is not

without reason that the name of our contemporary

poet is mentioned at the beginning, since the spirit of

Amon Matjon is devoted to spiritual dialogue, and the

line belongs to his pen. The third line of each stanza

of takhmis serves to connect two lines belonging to

both poets. In this regard, we have the right to give a

special assessment to the skill criteria of the poets

from the point of view of the third line. And in Amon

Matjon, this task has been completed flawlessly in

every item. The basis for the assumption was that the

pain and sorrow in the soul of the lyrical hero of the

ghazal were not like the previous ones. At this point,

it can be seen that the combination of pain and sorrow

has a deep meaning in Navoi's consciousness, based

on the fact that it is used 17 times in "Badoe' ul-

Bidaya" alone.

Despite the fact that Mukhammas was written in

1988, in our opinion, it reflects the sufferings that had

lived in the heart of the poet for many years. The

reason for this is that Amon Matjon realized early on

how many "bright stars" had misled the people and

turned the hopes and dreams of many generations into

a mirage: "khonlar utar, taxt utar" (the khans will

pass, the throne will pass). But the reason why these

lines appeared in that period and emerged from the

inner world to the outer world was that the poet

realized that everyone, every person, in every era

"must be judged by the criteria of the time" when they

were sealed on the great paper, and as a result, the

lines harmonious with Alisher Navoi's lines are in

every way witnesses to the face of the world.

"What I do now is not the same as before."

Even Amon Matjon stated that with the passage of

time and the constant change of night and day,

everything we know to be eternal (except for the

Creator) will descend into the depths. However,

describing this world as a cell where night and

morning are debated is a novel discovery. It is felt that

Amon Matjon enjoyed the enlightenment of the

Qur'an with this (the Uzbek translation of the Qur'an

was not published at the time of writing, but the

Russian translation of the Qur'an by I. Yu.

Krachkovski, published in Moscow in 1963, was

popular). In the 27th verse of Surah "Ali Imran" of the

"Qur'an," it is said: "You make night into day and you

make day into night" (Tashkent: Tashkent Islamic

University Publishing House. 2001]. The poet gives a

description of the strange events that he observed as

one of the "charkhi kajraftorning bir shevasidin dogh"

(Furqat).

One of the unique features of Amon Matjon's work

and skill is his "Ishq sakhinda sher bitib" (IYo, 152)

(Amon Matjon, 1995

), which is important and, in

some cases, sharp, in which he expresses his thoughts

that are not peculiar to the time when it was penned.

Indeed, whoever sets his mind to a great task does not

care about himself, is not ashamed of it, or "becomes

blind and deaf" even in the midst of ups and downs.

But a person is happy if he can reach the goal and does

not suffer from inefficiency on this path. In the poet's

psyche, the feeling of being tired and oppressed by

social problems gradually turned into a spiritual

rebellion. Now, at the beginning of the bright dawn,

crowned by the Mother East, it was impossible to

remain oblivious; it was impossible to hide the truth

with a lie.

Amon Matjon is an erudite scholar of classical

literature. This becomes obvious in the series of

images created by his writing, and at the same time,

he polished the classical symbols. Additionally, the

poet uses some words that retain their meanings from

the old Uzbek language. For example, in the verse

"Har kima har xil yozur Arsh Mirzosi sana" (The

owner of the heaven determines different deadlines

for everyone), the word "sana" prominently carries

the meaning of the term "deadline," while in modern

Uzbek, it means "date" or "day." In the next stanza,

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Amon Matjon expresses such an important and

necessary social opinion that, in our opinion, if we

grasp the truth behind the line and act on it, our

worldview will change to an extent that we did not

expect, and it is inevitable that our lives will be

different: "Aylanur oyina bu, hech bitta ish topmas

pana."

Imagine if we all felt that we could all be seen in the

mirror of time, that no one was left behind, and that

no speck of good or evil went unanswered. If we

realized, believed, and knew that our every action was

unavoidably visible to the entirety of existence.

Unfortunately, our knowledge in this regard remains

only theoretical. Mohlarayim Nadira also said in one

of his Persian ghazals that the world is a mirror, and

everyone who looks at it (everyone who lives) is

reflected (Tashkent, 1979).

3 ANALYSIS

Emotions and intelligence always appear in harmony

in Amon Matjon's poetry. The poet addresses as many

social problems as possible in the part of the takhmis

before the maqt’a. As a solution to all of them, in the

concluding paragraph, he repeatedly mentions the

mistakes of the past and emphasizes that turning away

from the ancestors is neither the right thing nor a

solution to the problem. If prosperity, well-being, and

freedom were left by the ancestors, then the next

generation would have the responsibility to preserve

and develop them with gratitude. Conversely, if some

generation inherits a number of socio-political,

economic, and other problems from their ancestors,

there is only one way for them: to solve problems

rationally. Passing the problem from generation to

generation in this way leads to an inability to find its

solution at all. Realizing that the problem has reached

an unrecognizable and, worst of all, imperceptible

level, the poet encourages his contemporaries by

saying that the generation that reformed the era in

which he lived was a brave generation.

As we mentioned above, the "halka bayt" in the

Amon Matjon mukhammas is very interesting.

Among these, we pay attention to the maqta stich

"halka bayti": "Shu hayot tilsimlarin ochmoq omonlar

kasbi." "It is the responsibility of the brave to open

the secrets of the world." It can be seen that a

beautiful example of the art of union in our classical

literature is used in this line through Omonlar. By

this, the poet means those who are physically safe

(later, as the poet said in another poem, "The soul in

the body is a possibility for perfection"), and, more

importantly, those who are spiritually safe.

4 CONCLUSION

In literary studies, a number of works have been

conducted to study Alisher Navoi's "Lison ut-Tair."

The system of symbolic images in the epic is deeply

analyzed in one of them, the candidate work of Z.

Mamadalieva (Mamadalieva Z., 2011). The scientist

associates the history of the symbolic image system

with Abu Ali ibn Sina's eras, such as Hayy ibn

Yaqzan, Tayr qissasi (The Story of Birds), Solomon,

and Absol.

According to Ibn Sina's "The Story of Tayr," a

group of birds falls into a trap in pursuit of lust.

Although other (free) birds can escape the traps on

their wings and necks, they cannot get rid of the band

on their legs. In this way, they fly over eight

mountains. Then they meet the fair king's tree from

the birds in a valley... (Abu Ali ibn Sina. 2005]. We

have to reiterate our thoughts about Alisher Navoi's

epic "One Thousand Words." Despite the fact that the

work was officially written in 1992, before the 500th

anniversary of the writing of "Lison ut-tair," the poet

considers himself to be exactly 500 years old.

This epic by Alisher Navoi is particularly

valuable in promoting his humanitarian ideas

(Hamroeva H., 1999). We believe that there is no

need to repeat them because there is a general analysis

of the work done on it [15].

REFERENCES

Amon Matjon. (1989)A thousand and one rains. Tashkent.

Literary and art publishing house named after Gafur

Ghulam,. 21p.

Alisher Navoi. (2016). Encyclopedic dictionary. The

Second Volume ‒ Tashkent: Sharq, ‒ P. 277 ‒ 280

Ganjina-yi(2004). Ma'navi-i Mavlano. Bo osore az Sayyid

Hasan Nasr, William Chitik (William Chittiek),

Annemarie Schimmel. – Tehran,Marvorid, – P. 126.

Alisher Navoi. (1966). Works. Fifteen Volumes. Thirteenth

Volumes. ‒ Tashkent: Gafur Ghulam Publishing House

of Literature and Art ‒ P. 13.

Hollyeva G. (2000), Mussammaths by Agakhiy. Philol.

science. name diss.. autoref. Tashkent, 139 p.

Karshiev Komiljon Abdikarimovich. Variety of genres and

forms in the poetry of Jamal Kamal

Alisher Navoi. (1987)A perfect collection of works. The

second roof. ‒ Tashkent: Science,. ‒ P. 203-204.

Alisher Navoi. (1989). A perfect collection of works. The

fourth Volume. ‒ Tashkent: Science, ‒ P. 174.

Amon Matjon. (1995). The Light of Faith. Publishing house

of literature and art named after Gafur Ghulam, 372 p.

Translation of the meanings of the Holy Qur'an(In Uzbek).

The author of the translation and comments is

Abdulaziz Mansur. ‒ Tashkent: Tashkent Islamic

University Publishing House. 2001. ‒ P. 53.

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Excerpts from Nadira's poetry. ‒ Tashkent 1979. ‒ P. 96.

Mamadalieva Z. (2011), The System of Symbolic Images

in Alisher Navoi's Epic "Lison-ut-Tair": doc. dissert. ‒

Tashkent , 177p.

Abu Ali ibn Sina. 2005. The story of Tayr. Collector H.

Boltaboev. -Tashkent:O`qituvchi,

Hamroeva H. 1999, Pedagogical foundations of

communication-aesthetic education of students using

Alisher Navoi's humanitarian ideas: dissertation thesis

for candidacy of pedagogical science. ‒ Тashkent:

131p.

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