6th International Symposium Oriental Studies

The 6 th International Symposium on Oriental Ancient Documents Studies 52 Aydar Mirkamal A Study on the Kültegin Inscription bir kiši : y(a)ŋ(ı)lsar : uγ(u)šı : bod(u)nı : bišükiŋä : t(ä)gi : qıdm(a)z : (ä)rm(i)š The understanding and translation of the sixth line on the Kültegin inscriptions birkiši:y(a)ŋ(ı)lsar:uγ(u)šı:bod(u)nı:bišükiŋä:t(ä)gi:qıdm(a)z: (ä)rm(i)š has always been contradictory in literature. The keyword qïd- was translated as “cannot move forward” (V. Thomsen) and “drift away” (W. Radloff) or “deviated from the target” (S. Malov) in the early stage. T. Tekin in his A Grammar of Orkhon Turkic (1968) transcribed the word as ïqïdmaz meaning “protection”. He translated it as öldürmezler imiş (“not to kill”) in his another work Orhon Yazitlarï (1998). A.B. Ercilasun (1995) associated qïd- with qïdïγ (“being marginal and restricted”). The whole sentence was understood as “if one people made a mistake, it would involve other family members, even the whole ethnic tribe” ( bir kişi yanılsa kabilesine milletine evine eşigine kadar kıyı yapmazmıš ). A. Inayet stated that qïd- originally meant “to kill”, and with further meaning “to discard”. This idea he illustrated it in the context “not to discard”. Based on the meaning of qïd- in the Kazakh language, which refers to “being merciful and sympathetic”, Gen Shiming translated it as “when one made a mistake, they would not sympathize with other tribe members and even a baby in the cradle”. The author of the paper argues that the available literature does not provide an accurate understanding of qïd- , and discusses the meaning of keywords in the inscriptions in the light of the Old Uyghur texts. Meanwhile, the author also suggests the meaning of qïd- in the Kültegin monument based on its semantic and cultural background as seen from the modern Kazakh language. Key words: Orkhon inscriptions, qïd-, bišük, Old Uighur texts, Kazakh Cultural background.