THE ROOTS OF PHYSICAL CULTURE IN THE OGHUZ HEROIC EPIC AND IN AZERBAIJANI TRADITIONAL CULTURE

Abstract

The article considers the history of the formation of physical culture in Azerbaijan by tangible and intangible cultural heritage. Azerbaijan is one of the countries with the most ancient human settlements: people created various kinds of implements and weapons (stone sticks, spears, bows and arrows, boats, etc.); among domesticated animals on the territory of Azerbaijan there was also the horse, which was used by people for various purposes. Ancient weaponry and various types of implements, skills of their use served as a basis for the development of high material and spiritual culture. The Gobustan rock carvings, miniatures and carpets are the samples of this culture. The folk epic also reflects this rich culture. The information preserved in the epic provides rich material for studying the traditional culture. Physical culture occupies special place in the history of Turkic traditional culture and is closely connected to the social values of the Azerbaijani people. The material of the Oguz epic allows concluding that only physically and mentally perfect people were considered full-fledged members of the society; that the rudiments of physical culture were formed in games and rituals and promoted healthy and safe life. The relevance of the study is to identify the reflection of important moments of the development of physical culture in various tangible and intangible cultural monuments of the people. The main purpose of the study was to investigate the origins of physical culture, which has a special place in the heroic epic and material culture. The theoretical and methodological basis of this study consists of scholarly and theoretical ideas of famous folklorists and ethnographers on traditional culture, including the intangible cultural heritage of the people. The object of the study was the samples of heroic epic (The Book of Dede Korkut and others) and material monuments of Azerbaijan. The subject of research was the physical culture presented in the oral folk art and material monuments of Azerbaijani people. With the use of the comparative-typological approach, the information on physical culture was revealed; by means of the historical-comparative analysis – genetic conformity. The scholarly novelty of the study lies in the fact that the data on physical culture found in the epic text and material monuments are involved in the study in comparison with similar information in other historical monuments.

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