https://doi.org/10.36719/2706-6185/44/75-83
Vusala Nasibova
Institute of Folklore of ANAS
PhD in Philology
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1020-0439
Epic-Mythological Motifs in Garabagh Quatrains (Bayati)
Abstract
“Bayati” (quatrains), which is literally an artistic and aesthetic miracle of Turkic poetic thinking, is also a living source of history reflecting the entire history of the Azerbaijani poetic thinking system. In these examples there are elements (images, motives, various plot units) that do not attract attention at first glance, but which we simply perceive as traditional artistic images, which can tell about the cultural layers to which “bayati” once belonged and which acted as an important component. Looking through the quatrains from this perspective one can discover serious ties among them and mythical cults and the ancient tradition of storytelling. These relations gives information to other functional qualities of quatrians, which are unknown to us today. Although these qualities were among the main functional characteristics of quatrains in the depths of history, the modernization that took place over time deprived quatrains of those functions. However, according to the dialectical laws inherent in all elements of the material world, the lived history never disappears without a trace, it continues to live as hidden signs in the culture of the modern age. We can see it when we look at the quatrains from Garabagh. In many quatrains the traces of ancient mythical cults can be observed, including the epic “Dede Gorgud”, which systematizes those cults.
Keywords: Turkic folklore, Azerbaijani folklore, quatrain, epic, Dede Gorgud, mythology