{{Short description|Elderly men in the Turkish society}} {{Expand language|topic=|langcode=Az|otherarticle=Ağsaqqal|date=May 2026}} [[Image:Khinalugian Suleyman 2007.jpg|right|200px|thumb|An ''aqsaqal'' from Khinalug]]
[[Image:The Aksakal in front of his Yoort.jpg|thumb|Aqsaqal near a yurt]] {{Wiktionary}} '''Aqsaqal''' or '''aksakal''' (literally meaning "white beard" in Turkic languages) refers to the patriarch of communities in Central Asia, the Caucasus and the Volga. Traditionally, an aqsaqal is the leader of a village or aul, and is in charge of all matters relating to customary law.<ref>[http://www.bookrags.com/research/kishlak-ema-03/ "Kishlak"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120612014254/http://www.bookrags.com/research/kishlak-ema-03/ |date=2012-06-12 }}, ''Encyclopedia of Central Asia''</ref> Acting as advisors or judges, these elders have or had a role in politics and the justice system in countries and tribes for centuries. Recently, there have been distinct ''aksakal'' courts established in Kyrgyzstan. In Uzbekistan, which has traditionally been a more urban society (the Uzbeks being ''sarts'' or town-dwellers, as opposed to Yörüks), cities are divided up into ''mahallas''. Each ''mahalla'' has an ''aqsaqal'' who acts as the district leader.
==Redevelopment of the ''aqsaqal'' courts in Kyrgyzstan== In 1995, then-President of Kyrgyzstan Askar Akayev announced a decree to revitalize the ''aqsaqal'' courts. The courts would have jurisdiction over property, torts and family law.<ref name="JBeyer">Judith Beyer, Kyrgyz Aksakal Courts: Pluralistic Accounts of History, 53 J. OF L. PLURALISM 144 (2006)</ref> The ''aqsaqal'' courts were eventually included under Article 92 of the Kyrgyz constitution. As of 2006, there were approximately 1,000 ''aqsaqal'' courts throughout Kyrgyzstan, including in the capital of Bishkek.<ref name="JBeyer" /> Akaev linked the development of these courts to the rekindling of Kyrgyz national identity. In a 2005 speech, he connected the courts back to the country's nomadic past and extolled how the courts expressed the Kyrgyz ability of self-governance.<ref>Former President Akaev, quoted in Beyer, ''Kyrgyz Aksakal Courts''</ref>
==See also== *Customary law
==References== {{Reflist}}
Category:Culture of Turkey Category:Culture of Kyrgyzstan Category:Culture of Uzbekistan Category:Culture of Kazakhstan Category:Caucasus Category:Customary legal systems