10th Meeting Manchester, 1967

THE TENTH MEETING OF THE PIAC

The tenth meeting of the PIAC was held in Manchester, England, using the facilities of the Owens Park buildings in the University of Manchester, from the 23th to the 30th of June 1967.
The Conference stood under the presidency of Professor J. A. Boyle.
From many points of view this was a festive occasion as it marked the end of the first decade in the existence of the PIAC. We had more than our usual share of ceremonies, interesting and dignified with that special decorum the Brit­ish are so justly famous for. On June 27th the Vice-Chan­cellor of the University of Manchester gave a luncheon for the participants who that same evening were received by the Lord Mayor and the Corporation of Manchester in the Town Hall. I am sure that all those who attended this impressive occasion will cherish its memory.
But the highlight of that day was the conferment of honorary Doctor of Letters degrees on two of our distinguished colleagues, Professors Zeki Velidi Togan (Turkey) and Ananiasz Zajączkowski (Poland). A ceremony such as this is always beautiful and moving, but it was even more so on this occasion owing to the presence of a group of scholars who had gathered from all over the world and who could truly appreciate the contribution Professors Togan and Zajączkowski brought to Altaic studies.
Much of the time at any PIAC meeting is spent in informal discussions. All the same, there were some formal papers read. The readers and their topics follow here:

  • Gerhard Doerfer, Göttingen: Die Entsprechung der türkischen Langvokale im Tungusischen.
  • Emel Esin, Istanbul: Representation of vassals and attendants in Turkish Art.
  • Walther Heissig, Bonn: Olon Süme Manuskripte aus Japan.
  • Shinobu Iwamura, Kyoto: The feudal System under the Yüan.
  • Karl Jahn, Leiden: Die ältesten schriftlich über­lieferten türkischen Märchen.
  • B. Ögel, Ankara: Evolution of the government’s authority in the Mongol Empire.
  • Omeljan Pritsak, Harvard: The first original Khazar document.
  • Jean Richard, Dijon: Isol le Pisan.
  • A. Róna-Tas, Budapest: Some remarks on the Altaic theory.
  • Denis Sinor, Indiana University: Türkologische Bemerkungen zu dem ungarischen Ortsnamen Pusztaszer.

At the Business Meeting the following resolutions were passed:

The Permanent International Altaistic Conference at its tenth session in Manchester on the 23th to 30th of June 1967 –

  1. Resolved that at each session of the Conference the Chairman of the next session shall be elected;
  2. Resolved that the invitations to each session of the Conference shall be despatched by the Chairman so elec­ted as soon as possible after the conclusion of the previous session;
  3. Accepted the invitation of its Danish members to hold its next session in Denmark and elected Frau Dr. Iben Meyer as Chairman of its eleventh session;
  4. Resolved that its Secretary-General shall be ap-pointed for a period of five years, subject to renewal;
  5. Appointed Professor Denis Sinor Secretary-General for five years from the present date and cordially thanked him for his devoted Services during the last five years;
  6. Announced with great pleasure the award of the Indiana University Prize for Altaic Studies to Professor Martti Räsänen;
  7. Noted with great gratitude the decision of Indiana University to continue its grant of an Indiana Uni­versity Prize for Altaic Studies for a further period and thanked it most sincerely for its generous gesture;
  8. Resolved that the Committee for recommending candidates for this prize shall consist of the Chairman for the time being, the Secretary-General ex officio, and three ordinary members to be elected annually;
  9. Elected Professors Heissig, Jahn, and Pritsak to be ordinary members of the Committee for the coming year;
  10. Thanked Professor Boyle of the Victoria University of Manchester most cordially for his Services as the Chairman of the present session and for the admirable arrangements which he and Mrs. Boyle had made for their comfort at Owens Park;
  11. Requested that its Chairman convey to the Vice-Chancellor of the University its sincere gratitude for his invitation to be present at the granting of the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa to two of its most distinguished members and for his generous hospitality on that occasion;
  12. Requested that the President convey to the Lord Mayor of Manchester its sincere gratitude for her generous hospitality at the City Hall on the 27th of June; and
  13. Requested that the President convey to the Trustees of the John Rylands Library its sincere gratitude for their kindness in enabling thera to see the treasures of the Library.

(Source: Permanent International Altaistic Conference Newsletter No. 3, September 1968, pp. 2–4)