A sculpture of Kurmanjan Datka, the most famous Kyrgyz woman in the country’s history, stands proudly in Oak Park.
Extraordinary personal qualities and courageous actions made this heroine famous throughout the Alay region, in Osh oblast, as well as the entire country. As a young woman, Kurmanjan Datka openly refused to marry a man selected by her relatives, an unheard of action during those times. Instead she married a man equal to her courage and spirit. His name was Khan Alymbek, and he was a nobleman of Kokand khanate.
History shows that Khan Alymbek fell victim to a palace conspiracy, which led to his assassination in 1862. With transfer of powers into the hands of Kurmanjan, a Bukhara emir granted her the title of “Datka” which means “general”, an unprecedented honor for a woman.
Kurmanjan Datka was responsible for leading her people, and solving complex political issues at a time when the Kokand Khanate had lost part of its territories to Russian troops.
As Russian troops began to forcefully intervene in Kokand affairs, ignoring the interests of local rulers and the population, her sons began to oppose Russian troops. A serious political conflict grew, and rather than fight and promote bloodshed of her people, Datka officially announced the annexation of Alay Kyrgyz to Russia. In 1881, a life-long state Russian pension of 300 rubles was granted to Kurmanjan Datka by a special imperial decree. She was included in the register of ruling families of the Romanov Court and received the rank of colonel.
However, all these honours did not save the Alay tsarina from her personal family tragedy.
In 1893, her favorite son Kamchibek was accused of murdering a Russian customs official. Her faithful people offered the Queen of Alay to drive off the condemned son by force but Kurmanjan refused saying: “It is bitter to realize that my youngest son will leave for another world but I would never be able to overcome the feeling that because of my son my people will die. There will be no excuse for me neither in this world nor in the other world.”
The death of Kamchibek eventually sapped Kurmanjan’s spiritual and physical strength. Retiring to the village of Mady near Osh city, she ended up passing in 1907 at the age of 96. The Alay tsarina was buried in Sary Mazar cemetery with a view to sacred Sulaiman –Too mountain.
History can be viewed in the 2014 film “ Kurmanjan Datka” as directed by Sadyk Sher Niyaz. The film received considerable international acclaim and was shortlisted for the Oscar nomination as best foreign language movie.
