“Man Sitting on Branch of Tree Cuts it off”: How to Approach to Variations in Folklore of Turkic World? Cover Image

“Bindiği Dalı Kesmek”: Türk Dünyası Folklorunda Eş ve Benzer Yaratmalara Nasıl Yaklaşılmalı?
“Man Sitting on Branch of Tree Cuts it off”: How to Approach to Variations in Folklore of Turkic World?

Author(s): Cemalettin Yavuz
Subject(s): Customs / Folklore, Turkish Literature, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology, Sociology of Culture
Published by: Uluslararası Kıbrıs Üniversitesi
Keywords: folklore of Turkic world; comparison method; variations;

Summary/Abstract: In this study, I examine the issue of how to approach similar cases encountered in Turkic World folklore. In this context, I emphasize the importance of comparison method, holistic approach and focusing on micro-scale common grounds, also remark the limitations of concepts such as genre, typology, variant, version and analytical tools and the importance of multi-dimensional and flexible approaches. Accordingly, based on the comparative model proposed by Lauri Honko, I analyze a case -commonly encountered in Turkic World folklore- with its ecological, historical and phenomenological dimensions. Determining the common point that connects the narratives which are quite differentiated in terms of text -genre, size, episode, number of motifs, language- and are attributed to different characters, I try to reveal the effect of the unique characteristics of various Turkic peoples that are geographically distant or close to each other, on folkloric production, and to show how socio-cultural, historical, religious and ecological factors differentiate or make similar communities within the framework of a common phenomenon. Finally, I suggest that the methodology of the folklore researches of the Turkic World should continue to be discussed, and studies should be carried out to collect the accumulated data in a common and large platform that is convenient to use the possibilities of the digital age effectively.

  • Issue Year: 27/2021
  • Issue No: 107
  • Page Range: 749-770
  • Page Count: 22
  • Language: Turkish