Talk:Tsyelyakhany

Name

The name "Telekhany" comes from two words, one Russian, the other Tartar. "Tele" is derived from the Russian word "Telo," meaning "body;" "khany" is a Russian genitive case of the tartar word "khana," and means "of the Khan." So the town name "Telekhany" means "body of the Khan."

The first printed reference to the name dates back to the 1500's. According to local legend, the town received this name, because the leader of an invading Tartar force went missing in action in the area. His soldiers went around looking for him, and whenever they encountered locals, they would ask "Gdye telo Khany?" or "Where is the body of the Khan?" The two words "telo" and "Khany" became one, giving the locality its name: Telekhany.

I learned this in 1993 when I was a student in St. Petersburg, Russia. Accompanied by two friends from the university program, I took the opportunity to travel to the ancestral village of my great-grandfather, Nikolay Danilovich Khamitsevich, who was from Telekhany. His great-nephew, Miyalik Ivan Pavlovich, told me the story.

--Patrick Cloutier ptrck_cloutier@yahoo