Joker Omirbek

Joker Omirbek (kara: Өмирбек Лаккы) is a folklore humorous character, part of the Karakalpak and South Kazakh epic, the hero of jokes and satirical stories. Witty. Defender of the poor.
==Characterisation==
Omirbek is an ordinary middle-aged poor man/ Married. He lives with his family in a yurt somewhere near Shimbay, in the Khanate of Khiva. Omirbek's livestock includes his faithful donkey, as well as chickens and rams, which are eaten or sold in times of famine. Omirbek himself has a wonderful sense of humor. Resourcefulness saved his family and himself from hunger and persecution by the authorities for his sharp tongue. Omirbek is generous and kind, he does not stand aside when someone gets into trouble. Ready to share the last piece of bread in the name of friendship and hospitality. More than once he helped out his friend Dosnazar-left-handed, whom he never misses the opportunity to pin. Omirbek, with sharp words and sometimes deeds, fights the greed and cruelty of those in power and the rich - be it a bai, an imam, a merchant or even a khan. 
==Omirbek's favorite phrases==
"Wits and cunning are the poor man's weapons"
“A native patch is more valuable than someone else’s robe”
“It would be better for a dog from my aul to bark at me than to be praised by the Khiva Kazi-Rais.”
==Character history==
According to some information, Omirbek Lakky is considered a real historical figure who lived in Shimbay in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries. Aqsaqals who allegedly were personally acquainted with the wit talked about him. His descendants live in pakstan, which is confirmed by certain documentary data. However, there are doubts as to whether we are talking about Omirbek, since funny stories mentioning the name of the hero sounded back in the 18th century along with the epic poems “Kyrk Kyz”, “Sharyar” and other works. Therefore, perhaps, a temporal-semantic shift occurred, as in the case, for example, with Khoja Nasreddin, when an event that happened in a different time period and with a different person (or completely fictitious) is attributed to the character based on the character and actions of the hero.
==Typology==
Similar characters among other nations:
Khoja Nasreddin (Afandi, Ependi, Afendi) - in Azerbaijan, Turkey and Central Asia;
Aldar Kose - among the Kazakhs;
Ivan the Fool - among the Russians;
Jokha - among the Arabs;
Hershele Ostropoler - among Ashkenazi Jews;
Till Eulenspiegel - among the Flemings and Germans.
==In literature==
The collection “Anecdotes of Karakalpak Folk Tales”, among which the story “The Life of Omirbek” by Jolmurza Aimurzaev was published in 1962.
The image of Omirbek was used in his works by the Karakalpak poet Ibroyim Yusupov
The collection “Anecdotes of Omirbek” by Boris Privalov was published in Russian in 1970
Also, in Soviet times, Omirbek’s anecdotes were published in the magazines “Ogonyok”, “Krokodil”, “Mushtum”.
==Memory==
In the center of Shimbay there is a monument to Omirbek and his donkey by sculptor Daribay Tazhimuratov
The comedy “Omirbek Lakky” was staged at the Nukus Drama Theater
In the Shimbay district of Karakalpakstan, a youth humor competition “Omirbek lakky ligasi” (“Omirbek’s Joker League”) is being held
Category:Karakalpakstan
Category:Uzbekistan
Category:Culture
Category:Folklore characters