Wumar Bersey

Wumar Bersey was a Circassian writer, poet, fabulist, translator and teacher. He is known as one of the most important figures in Circassian literature. He knew multiple languages, including Circassian (Adyghe, Kabardian), French, Arabic, Turkish, Russian, and Tatar.^[1]

Wumar Bersey
Native name	Бэрсэй Умар
Born	1807 Abzakh, Circassia
Died	? ?
Language	Adyghe, Kabardian, Russian
Nationality	Circassian

Biography

He was born in 1807 in a village in the Abzakh region of Circassia, near present-day Maykop. At the age of eight, he was kidnapped by pirates and sold to Muhammad Ali of Egypt, where he was educated. He became fluent in French, Arabic, Turkish, Russian, and Tatar. Between 1840 and 1843, he studied in France. In 1843, he returned to Circassia and worked as an interpreter between the Circassians and the Russians. His date and place of death are unknown.^[1]

Influence

The Circassian Arabic Alphabet Designed by Wumar Bersey^[2]

On March 14, 1855, the day Bersey published his first book, Circassians worldwide celebrate it as the "Modern Circassian Language and Literature Day."^[3]

A street in Maykop has been named after Ömer Bersey.^[4]

There is a statue of him on the grounds of Adyghe State University.^[5]

Works

Bersey was the first writer to standardize the Circassian Arabic alphabet.

• 1852 - "Ethnographic Essay on the Circassian People"
• 1853 - "The First Book of the Circassian Language in Arabic Letters"^[6]
• 1858 - "Circassian Grammar"
• 1861 - "Collection of the Circassian Alphabet"
• 1862 - "Eastern Circassian Alphabet"^[7]

Bersey also wrote stories about workers' rights:

• "Two Roosters"
• "Young Man"
• "Woman and Chicken"
• "The Blacksmith and the Doctor"
• "Human and Death"
• "The Arab"
• "Rabbits and Foxes"