Wikipedia

Khurshidbanu Natavan

Khurshidbanu Natavan(Azerbaijani:خورشیدبانو ناتوان / Xurşidbanu Natəvan;6 August 1832 – 2 October 1897) was anAzerbaijanipoet[1]andphilanthropist.She is considered one of the bestlyrical poetsofAzerbaijan.[2]Her poems are in eitherAzerbaijaniorPersianand she was most notable for her lyricalghazals.

Khurshidbanu Natavan
Khurshidbanu Natavan
Khurshidbanu Natavan
Native name
Xurşidbanu Utsmiyeva
BornXurşidbanu Natəvan
(1832-08-06)6 August 1832
Shusha,Georgia Governorate,Caucasus Viceroyalty,Russian Empire
Died2 October 1897(1897-10-02)(aged 65)
Shusha,Elisabethpol Governorate,Caucasus Viceroyalty,Russian Empire
Resting placeAghdam,Azerbaijan
LanguageAzerbaijani
Persian
Genre
SpouseKhasay Khan Utsmiyev
RelativesMehdigulu Khan Javanshir

Natavan was the daughter ofMehdigulu Khan,the last ruler of theKarabakh Khanate(1748–1822).

Life

Khurshidbanu Natavan with her children from first marriage

Natavan was born on 5 August 1832 inShusha,a town in present-day Azerbaijan, inKarabakhregion, to Mehdigulu Khan (1763–1845) and Badir Jahan Begüm (1802-1861). Being the only child in the family and descending fromPanah Ali Khan,she was the only heir of theKarabakh khan,known to the general public as the "daughter of the khan" (Azerbaijani:Xan qızı). Her name Khurshid Banu (Persian:خورشیدبانو) is from Persian and means "Lady Sun". Herpen nameNatavan(ناتوان) is also fromPersianand meanspowerless.[3]She was named after her grandmother - Khurshud Begüm, daughter ofJavad Khan.

After her father's death, she inherited vast amounts of land from her father including 1,315 households, 41 nomadic territories and seven villages, aged 14. She was put in the care of her aunt Gawhar agha who taught her music, poetry and painting.[4]She probably marriedKumyknobleKhasay Utsmievin 1847. She inherited an additional nine villages from her mother Badir Jahan Begüm in 1861 after her death.[5]She founded and sponsored the first literary societies in Shusha and in the whole of Azerbaijan. One of them calledMajlis-i Uns( "Society of Friends" )[2]founded in 1864 became especially popular and concentrated major poetic-intellectual forces of Karabakh of that time.[6]

Natavan was closely engaged in philanthropy, promoting the social and cultural development of Karabakh. Among her famous deeds was awater mainthat was first laid down in Shusha in 1872, thus solving the water problem of the townsfolk. The local Russian "Kavkaz" newspaper wrote at the time: "Khurshud Banu-Begum left an eternal mark in the memories of the Shushavians and her glory will pass on from generation to generation".[7]The aqueduct built by Natavan from famous Shusha white stones were called by the townsfolks "Natavan springs" and were also considered historical monuments under protection.[citation needed]

Natavan also did a lot for the development and popularization of the famous breed ofKarabakh horses.[citation needed]Natavan's Karabakh horses took part in theExposition Universelle (1867),agricultural exhibition inMoscow(1869), inTbilisi(1882) and were awarded golden medals and certificates of honour. Karabakh horses were also awarded at the Second All-Russian Exhibition in 1869: Meymun - silver medal, Tokmak - bronze medal. At theExposition Universelle (1867)in Paris, Khan got a silver medal.[8]

Humanism, kindness, friendship and love were the main themes of Natavan'sghazalsandruba'yat.These sentimental romantic poems express the feelings and sufferings of a woman who was not happy in her family life and who lost her son.[citation needed]Many of these poems are used infolk songsnowadays.[citation needed]

Khurshidbanu Natavans Tomb

See also:Imarat cemetery

Natavan died in Shusha on 2 October 1897. She was buried inAghdamin theImarat Cemetery.After the occupation ofAgdam Districtby Armenian forces following theFirst Nagorno-Karabakh war,her tomb was damaged. In January 2021, after control of the district was returned to Azerbaijan following the2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war,French-Iranian AzerbaijaniphotojournalistReza Deghatiduring his visit to Aghdam reported that the cemetery was destroyed and claimed that the tomb of Khurshidbanu Natavan was looted and her bones are missing.[9][10][11][12]

Monument in Shusha

According to the Azerbaijani government, a Soviet-eramonument of NatavaninShusha[13]by sculptorHayat Abdullayeva,and other famous monuments of Karabakh Azerbaijanis includingHajibekovandBulbul,which once decorated the central streets of Shusha, were severely damaged and dismantled by Armenian forces.Polad Bulbuloghlu,then the Minister of Culture of Azerbaijan bought the bronze busts from aGeorgianscrap metal yard and transported them to Baku.[14]

Thomas de Waalwho saw the monuments in Baku, wrote:

"I saw the three bronze heads, forlorn and pocked with bullets, lying in the courtyard of the headquarters of theRed Crossin the center of Baku: the poet Natevan, an earnest girl in a head scarf reading a book, missing a thumb; the composerHajibekov,a bullet-ridden gentleman in double-breasted suit and broken spectacles; andBul Bul,a famous singer with a serious domed bronze forehead ".[15]

The monuments were kept in the yard of the Azerbaijani Museum of Arts inBakufor many years,[16][17]with Natavan's bust returning to Shusha on 16 January 2021 afterthe city's recaptureby Azerbaijan.[18]

Family

She probably marriedKumyknobleman,Khasay Utsmiev,in 1847 and had two children with him:

She later married a commoner named Seyyid Huseyn Agamirov (1833–1891) in 1866 with whom she had five children:

  • Mir Abbas Agha (1868–1885)
  • Mir Hasan Agha (1870–1903)
  • Mir Jabbar Agha (?–1914)
  • Sara Begum
  • Hajar Bike (1869–?)

See also

References

  1. ^Parpală, Emilia; Loveday, Leo (2015).Contextual Identities: a Comparative and Communicational Approach.Cambridge Scholars Publishing.ISBN978-1-4438-7660-5.
  2. ^abNaroditskaya, Inna (2000). "Azerbaijanian Female Musicians: Women's Voices Defying and Defining the Culture".Ethnomusicology.44(2). Ethnomusicology, Vol. 44, No. 2: 234–256.doi:10.2307/852531.JSTOR852531.
  3. ^Nissman, David B. (1987)The Soviet Union and Iranian Azerbaijan: the use of nationalism for political penetration,Westview PressISBN0813373182,p.84
  4. ^"Natavan".Azerbaijani Soviet Encyclopedia.Vol. 7.National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan.1983. pp. 163–164.
  5. ^Ismayilov, Eldar (2014)."The Khans of Karabakh: The Elder Line by Generations".The Caucasus & Globalization.8(3–4): 149–150.
  6. ^Abasova, L. V.et al.(eds.) (1992)Istoria azerbaijanskoi muzikiMaarif, Baku, p. 116
  7. ^"Khurshud Banu-Begum"(PDF)."Kavkaz" newspaper. 29 August 1873. p. 100.
  8. ^Yelena Volkova - Karabakh Horses(in Russian)
  9. ^"Dünyaca məşhur fotoqraf ermənilərin Natəvanın Ağdamdakı qəbrini təhqir etməsindən yazdı – Foto"[World-famous photographer writes about Armenians insulting Natava's grave in Agdam – Photo].Oxu.az(in Azerbaijani). 26 January 2021.Archivedfrom the original on 27 January 2021.Retrieved27 January2021.
  10. ^"Armenians vandalize Azerbaijani poetess' grave in Aghdam [PHOTO/VIDEO]".AzerNews.az.2021-01-28.Retrieved2021-03-12.
  11. ^"Famous photojournalist Reza Deghati shared Instagram post on Armenian vandalism against grave of Azerbaijani poetess Khurshid Banu Natavan in Aghdam".azertag.az.Retrieved2021-03-12.
  12. ^"Məşhur fotoqraf Rza Diqqəti Ağdamda Natəvanın məqbərəsində törədilən vandalizmlə bağlı paylaşım edib - Xəbərlər".Azərbaycan Respublikası Mədəniyyət Nazirliyi.2021-01-27.Retrieved2021-03-12.
  13. ^Natavan bust then and todayArchived2007-10-08 at theWayback Machine
  14. ^"Public Association for the" Protection of Right of Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons in Azerbaijan "".Archived fromthe originalon 2021-10-09.Retrieved2007-09-10.
  15. ^de Waal, Thomas(2003).Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan through Peace and War.p.190.
  16. ^de Waal, Thomas(2003).Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan Through Peace and War.New York: New York University Press.ISBN0-8147-1945-7.
  17. ^"Глава 12. Шуша. Последняя цитадель".BBC News.12 July 2005.
  18. ^"Rusiya Təhlükəsizlik Şurasında Qarabağ üzrə danışıqlar müzakirə edilib, Prezident İlham Əliyev və Mehriban Əliyeva Şuşada tarixi yerləri gəziblər"[The talks on Karabakh were discussed at the Russian Security Council, and President Ilham Aliyev and Mehriban Aliyeva visited historical sites in Shusha].BBC Azerbaijani Service(in Azerbaijani). 15 January 2021.Archivedfrom the original on 21 January 2021.Retrieved15 January2021.

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