Bird image system in the Crimean Tatar epic tales

Abstract

In the Crimean Tatar folklore, as in the folklore of other Turkic-speaking peoples, ancient stories about birds (swan, falcon, eagle, eagle owl, etc.) are attested, which have changed over time, transformed according to the new historical conditions and the peculiarities of the oral poetic tradition of these peoples. The subject of the article is epic legends containing a system of images of birds that are sacred to the people. The relevance of the topic is due to the lack of study of this problem, as well as the need for further study of the features of the expression of the system of images of birds in the Crimean Tatar fairy tale epic. The purpose of this study is to study the system of images of birds in the ideological and artistic structure of epic legends. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to solve a number of tasks: to get acquainted with scientific and theoretical sources on oral folk art; analyze the texts of epic legends; draw conclusions about the results obtained and determine the prospects for further research. Considering the importance of the problem of understanding the symbolism of birds in epic legends, this article attempts to describe and analyze it using comparative-historical, cultural-historical, interpretation-textual methods of analysis. The conducted research allows us to conclude that in epic legends the system of images of birds is used to express the ideas of the people about the mythical time and totemistic ancestors. The relics of the cult of birds among the Crimean Tatars that have survived to this day speak of this. The motives for the domestication of a sparrow, a lark, a nightingale, etc., acting as messengers, and episodes of the enemies tracking down a swan in order to find out the location of a beloved or a lost hero are extremely interesting. The study of the system of images of birds in the fairytale epic is of interest not only as a product of the artistic invention of the people, but also as an object of historical and genetic research, which should contribute to the development of folkloristic studies on an ethnic and regional basis.

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