Makhambet Utemisov

(1804–1846), Kazakh poet. Makhambet Utemisov (Maxambet Otemisuly) was a distinguished Kazakh poet and political activist. He is remembered for his leading part in the insurrection of the Kazakhs against the oppressive rule of the khan of the Inner Horde, Zhangir, as well as against Russian colonialism, in 1836–1837. The rebellion was crushed, and Makhambet had to flee with a price on his head. He was murdered in 1846.

Although Makhambet was sent to a Russian school in Orenburg, where he learned to read and write, his poetry stands in the tradition of oral Kazakh poetry. More than fifty poems attributed to him have been transmitted, some in writing, some orally. The first publication of one of his poems dates from 1908. Most of Makhambet's poems have a political and moral message, often protesting the unjustness of the khan's rule. In one directed against Khan Zhangir, Makhambet calls the khan a wolf, a snake, and a scorpion. A number of poems are of a warlike and heroic nature, some addressed to his companion-in-arms Isatay Taymanov. Makhambet also composed meditative poems (termed tolghau in Kazakh), on themes such as the decay of morals or the transience of human life.

Gabdullin, M. G., et al., eds. (1968–1979) Istoriia kazakhskoi literaturi (History of Kazakh Literature). Vol. 2. Almaty, Kazakhstan: Nauka.

Makhambet. (1989) Ereuwil atqa er salmay: Olengder (Put No Saddle on an Enduring Horse: Poems), edited by Qabibolla Sydyzov. Almaty, Kazakhstan: Zhazuushy.

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