The texts of the later epic in the non-written diaspora tradition: Circassians of Turkey

Abstract

The article views the texts of the later epic – the historical and heroic songs and traditions that exist among the Circassian diaspora of Turkey and make up the extensive corpus and a prestigious repertoire of the local tradition. The study is relevant in light of the developments in the field of the local and regional studies, the comparative study of the functionality of folklore forms in the metropolis and diaspora.

The main aims of the research are to pay attention to the social factors of the preservation of the texts of the epic cycle in the diaspora enclave which existed until recently without the influence of the written culture, the authorical literature and professional stage performance of the folk songs. The main objective of the research is to identify the local features of the functionality of texts and contextual narratives.

The texts of the later epic that exist among the Circassians of Turkey are considered for the first time in the declared aspects.

The materials of the article were collected by the author during 2009-2019. The field methods were in-depth interviews, participant observation, video and audio recording, notes in the expeditionary notepad and on the digital media. The research methods were the comparative, pragmatic, semiotic, functional approach, the discourse analysis.

The main conclusion of the research is that in a non-written diaspora tradition that has existed for quite some time outside the metropolis the certain sociohistorical factors are observed that contribute to the preservation of songs and legends of the epic cycle in a living authentic existence. Among these factors are the connection of the epic texts with the deep collective memory and group identity of the local culture speakers, social (linguistic, class, gender) skills and competences specifically understood by the local community, and the pragmatic (ethno-representative) functionality of the epic cycle texts.

The relevance of this kind of research is updating the forms of preservation and transformation of the traditional folk culture including the epic heritage in the modern conditions of urbanization and globalization.

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