DOI: https://doi.org/10.36719/2663-4619/130/67-78
Symbolic and Semantic Manifestations of Colours in Oral Folklore (Based on Nakhchivan Folklore Texts)
Aytan Jafarova
Abstract. Colour symbolism is a highly relevant topic of research today. The issue of colour symbolism is an interdisciplinary subject of interest to psychologists, theologians, philosophers, and literary scholars. In general, concepts carrying symbolic meaning were perceived much more clearly in ancient cultures. Today, many oral texts associated with symbolically significant concepts and objects are gradually disappearing, which is a natural process. Just as the time-space continuum influences every aspect of human life, it also has a profound impact on symbolism as one of the essential elements of culture. Concepts and objects with symbolic meanings, such as colours, may lose their original significance over time, while others undergo semantic transformation. In other words, an object or phenomenon that conveys a particular meaning within a specific temporal or spatial context may acquire an entirely different meaning as temporal and spatial conditions change.
In recent years, interdisciplinary approaches that promote the integration of knowledge from different fields of the humanities have gained increasing importance. The study of colour symbolism is one of these interdisciplinary fields. The scientific interest in understanding the psychological and aesthetic properties of colour has a long tradition. Researchers have examined colour not only from the perspective of physics but also in terms of its influence on the human mind and behaviour. The effects of colours, which surround people from birth, on the human body, nervous system, and psyche continue to be an important subject of modern psychological research. The issue of colour perception within national consciousness has also been extensively explored in contemporary scholarship. The evaluation of colour perception is studied as a socio-cultural phenomenon with distinctive characteristics across different peoples and historical periods. The semantic significance of colours is most effectively examined within the context of folklore texts, where their symbolic meanings are preserved and reflected.
Keywords: colour symbolism, green, blue, yellow, grey, folklore texts, symbol