Two Swords, One Sheath: Father-Son Ruptures in Kazakh Versions of Edige

Abstract

The epic of Edige has attracted considerable scholarly attention due to its close connection with history and its role in establishing the genealogical continuity of the Kazakhs with the Golden Horde. However, little attention has been paid to the theme of father-son tensions. Kazakh versions of Edige are replete with episodes of familial discord that drive narratives forward. These ruptures stem from the competing claims to power and authority that fathers and sons both assert. Beyond familial ruptures, these epics mobilize the theme of father-son conflict to transmit broader cultural, socio-political, and moral concerns of Kazakh society, since epics function as repositories of historical memory and traditional knowledge. The research addresses this gap by tracing father-son conflicts in eight Kazakh versions preserved in Babalar Sozi, and by providing a comparative overview of these narratives. The project further situates these ruptures within the broader anthropological and historical scholarship on Central Asian kinship systems and politics, where kinship served as a medium for acquiring power and legitimacy, and for formalizing social status. I argue that Edige, with its pervasive theme of paternal conflicts, participates in a broader Central Asian tradition of using kinship as a medium through which the epic articulates agnatic logics, conflicting legitimacies, Chinggisid and Islamic, and moral-religious ideals of steppe society.