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27
American Journal Of Philological Sciences
(ISSN
–
2771-2273)
VOLUME
04
ISSUE
09
P
AGES
:
27-35
OCLC
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1121105677
Publisher:
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Servi
ABSTRACT
In this article, it is said that most of the folklore plots, motifs, characters and images in the classic Karakalpak poetry
of the 19th century were transformed into written literature through creative methods. In the work of the Karakalpak
poets of the 19th century, the tradition of creating mythological plots and images characteristic of folklore was
successfully used in the works of the Karakalpak poets Kunkhoja, Ajiniyaz and Berdak. The features of mythological
interpretation present in the works of Karakalpak poets of this period are divided into two groups as religious
mythology that entered before and through Islam.
KEYWORDS
Folklore plot, motif, character, image, mythological plot, didactic idea, epic, legend, artistic detail, lyrical and epic
work.
INTRODUCTION
The 19th century was the classic period of Karakalpak
written literature. Most of the folklore plots, motifs,
characters and images have been transformed into
written literature through creative methods. In the
works of Karakalpak poets of the 19th century,
traditional plots characteristic of folklore were widely
used. In this regard, the mythological plot and images
gained special importance.
Features of mythological interpretation in the works of
Karakalpak poets of the 19th century can be divided
Research Article
TRADITIONAL THEMES AND IMAGES IN CLASSICAL LITERATURE
Submission Date:
Sep 13, 2024,
Accepted Date:
Sep 18, 2024,
Published Date:
Sep 23, 2024
Crossref doi
https://doi.org/10.37547/ajps/Volume04Issue09-05
Tokimbetova Gulbahor Abatbaevna
Associate professor at the Department of Karakalpak literature at KSU named after Berdakh, Uzbekistan
Journal
Website:
https://theusajournals.
com/index.php/ajps
Copyright:
Original
content from this work
may be used under the
terms of the creative
commons
attributes
4.0 licence.
Volume 04 Issue 09-2024
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American Journal Of Philological Sciences
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2771-2273)
VOLUME
04
ISSUE
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OCLC
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1121105677
Publisher:
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Servi
into two groups as religious mythology that came
before and through Islam. In particular, if we pay
attention to the content of ancient myths, the oldest
forms of religious concepts, such as totemistic,
animistic, and fetishistic, existed before Islam, and
their traces can be felt in later religious views. In this
sense, it can be recognized that these concepts
continue in some form. In addition, it is noticeable that
the plot and images related to Islamic mythology
appeared in the Karakalpak poetry of the 19th century.
The tradition of creating mythological plots and images
was successfully used in the work of the 19th century
Karakalpak poets Kunkhoja, Ajinyoz, and Berdaq.
In the Karakalpak poetry of the 19th century, the
national-spiritual heritage of the people gained great
importance as the main source in the interpretation of
philosophical ideas. After all, the creators of the period
widely used folklore and common images and plots in
artistic reflection of their literary ideas and emotional
feelings. Because, in certain people's philosophy, there
are different views of the world and its views.
Mythological views have a special importance in the
popular imagination. It is known that such views
determined the attitude of creators of a certain period
to reality and the main directions of artistic reflection
of didactic ideas. In this sense, the ideas, spirit, and
various motives of the folk oral creativity were
reflected in the literary events that occurred in the
Karakalpak poetry of the 19th century. Along with this,
the main ideological and artistic features of folk art
were established in lyrical works [1;42]. However, the
19th century Karakalpak poets, while using examples
of folk art in their lyrics, add new content and artistic
ideas to it in various forms.
Literature review
There are foundations of the history of the Karakalpak
people's past and literature, which are reflected in the
creative heritage of such artists as Jiyen Jirov,
Kunkhoja, Ajiniyoz, Berdaq, O'tesh, as well as epics,
legends, poems, as well as bakshi and jirov. The study
of works of art from the perspective of historicity
expands the database of historical research. A study of
this nature was created by Professor M. Tileumuratov
on the history of Karakalpakstan. in the scientist's
research on the topic "Poetry of Karakalpak - a
historical source", the work of Karakalpak poets is
closely related to historical events [2; 38].
Academician H. Hamidov "Written monuments in
Eastern languages and Karakalpak poets of the 19th
century. In the book "Literary influence" the place of
written monuments, literary connections, theme and
idea, plot, artistic detail, style, form, genre, figurative
expressions and artistic language issues were
scientifically analyzed in the poetry of this period. In
this monograph, the ideological-artistic and genre
features of the lyrics of poets such as Kunkhoja,
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Ajinyoz, Berdaq, O'tesh are studied in connection with
the written monuments of the East.
It should be noted that the first scientific views about
the poet Kunkhoja were published in 1939-1940. In this
regard, it is possible to mention the scientific
researches of N. Davkaraev, O. Kojurov, Q. Ayimbetov.
Kunkhoja's work was specially researched by B.
Ismailov, and the scholar's monograph "Kunkhoja's life
and work" published in 1961 is considered an important
source for studying the poet's work in terms of its
scientificity and historical sources. Monograph
"Introduction", "Kunkhoja - a representative of
Karakalpak classical poetry", "The current state of
researching Kunkhoja's work", "Information about
Kunkhoja's life", "Historical-literary characteristics of
the period when Kunkhoja lived", "Ideological
characteristics of Kunkhoja's work", "Kunkhoja's
work" artistic characteristics" consists of such
chapters. In this study, B. Ismailov reacts to several
assumptions about Kunkhoja's work in the period
before his own, and rejects some conclusions about
the poet's life and work. In the works of Kunkhoja, he
substantiates the signs of democratic, realistic
interpretation. In fact, Kunkhoja is a realist poet, he
reveals his attitude to the existing reality with an
artistic interpretation of the life realities of his time.
METHODOLOGY
Literary scholar S. Akhmetov positively evaluated the
above research: "The valuable aspect of B. Ismailov's
monograph is that he fills in the opinions of scientists
before him and enters into a debate with them in some
places. The early collectors of the poet's works
correctly evaluate their work. The poet clearly
organizes his life and creative path on the basis of the
materials he collected in connection with his work...
The most important thing is that the life materials
collected by the author harmonize with the poet's
works" [3; 243]. The author comes to a clear conclusion
about the poet's style through the method of
comparison. Also, by studying the work of Kunkhoja in
relation to the literary traditions of the neighboring
nations, he scientifically substantiates his conclusions
by comparing the materials collected among the
people. Kunkhoja's works are studied in connection
with the historical-cultural, social-political life of the
period in which the poet lived. He studies the works of
the scientist and poet in two ways, ideologically and
artistically. The works of the poet are conventionally
approached on the following topics: life reality in
Kunkhoja's poetry, the reflection of ordinary people's
condition and oppression and violence in the poet's
poetry, as well as Kunkhoja's social ideals, the poet's
work and the conflict of the era.
This ideological-thematic classification is a scientific
approach typical of the period in which the author
lived, and some shortcomings are observed in them.
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From a scientific and theoretical point of view, the
content of the first, second, and fourth directions in
the above classification are close to each other, and
they have a journalistic character.
RESULTS
In a number of poems of the 19th century Karakalpak
poets Kunkhoja, Ajinyoz, Berdaq, O'teshlar, there are
sources that are the basis for the artistic interpretation
of views about the world and its transience. One of
them is mythological images and plots. After all, myths
are the oldest concepts of understanding the world. In
this sense, 19th-century Karakalpak poets such as
Kunkhoja and Ajiniyaz Berdaq mostly relied on
morphological images and plots to express their
philosophical views [4;65]. In particular, Ajinyoz's
works such as "Demishler", "Kuba Qush", "Aghalar bir
qus kashyrdym", Berdaq's "Shejire", "Khorezm",
"Aqmaq Patsha" widely used ancient mythological
plots and images. Such plots and images served as an
artistic tool in the creation of heroes of lyrical and epic
works.
The words of a verse, a hadith,
Magical eyes come to life,
Shamsu-kamardur roads,
Since it was from God [5;9].
Ajiniyaz's:
If it flies in the blue,
It walks on the ground, pushing with its tail,
Blinking across the sky,
Our beautiful bird flying in the blue [6;52]
In his poetic lines, he describes the fact that a person is
a guest in the world for five days, that a person is a
caravan, and the world is a captain, no matter how long
he lives, he will eventually leave the world through the
mythological image of Banijon. After all, according to
the mythology of ancient times, Banijon is a person
who was created in the world even before Adam. He
lived like humans for fifty thousand years and then
disappeared, he was a conscious and speaking living
being [7;120].
It seems that the image of the Bull is a view typical of
ancient totemistic mythology. Similarly, Banijan, who
lived before Adam, also belongs to totemistic
mythology. From this point of view, there is a high
possibility that the historical basis of the image of
Banijon, which is mentioned in the literature of the
Eastern peoples, is related to this same creature - the
Bull. Because the totemistic mythological image of the
creature - Bull, absorbed into the spiritual and cultural
values of historical times, may have become popular
among the people under the name of Banijon.
Following the traditions of Eastern classical literature,
Ajiniyoz, referring to the image of Banijon in his works,
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knowing the information specific to the totemistic
mythology about the creation of the world and the
existence of a living creature in it before Adam, used it
in his artistic interpretation, including it in the written
literature. After these mythological concepts, the poet
wrote the genealogy of the birth of Adam [8; 165].
Poet:
His power is strong, whatever he does Subhan,
After a long time, a man is born.
Some are infidels, some are Muslims.
They say that everyone's father is Adam.
As observed, folk thought and philosophy play an
important role in the expression of didactic ideas in the
Karakalpak poetry of the 19th century. After all, the
didactic ideas of poets such as Kunkhoja, Ajinyoz,
Berdaq, O'tesh are not just subjective imaginations
created by God, they have vital and artistic
foundations. The didactic ideas of the poets of
Karakalpak, first of all, were created on the basis of the
period and environment in which they live, social rules,
and life criteria.
Traditional beginnings characteristic of Eastern epics
are also preserved in Berdak's epics "Shajara" and
"Akhmoq podsho". The introduction, the beginning of
the events, the conflicts between the characters are
presented in the same way. The poet himself admits
this:
When Kolyma prays,
Akdarya betke barganda,
When a moment passes,
I was a kid.
This is given in the introduction to the saga. This
tradition is reminiscent of the introduction to Navoi's
"Khamsa" and Yusuf Khos Khajib's "Kutadgu Bilig". It
describes the author's thoughts and ideas about the
world, man, faith and justice. In the epic "The Foolish
King", Berdak expresses his authorial attitude to the
system and social life through events. In the epic
"Farhad and Shirin", Farhad's birthplace is Chin, events
take place in Armenia and Iran. The struggle for the
throne, the struggle to reach the Armenian princess
Shirin, is depicted. The main characters of the epic are
romantic characters. They are also created in a
mythical or fairy-tale character. Berdaq uses this
literary tradition in "The Foolish King". The events of
the play are not far from real life, and the events begin
with a fisherman's family in a place called "Sassik
Lake". The following events unfold in the palace of a
tyrannical king.
"Like the genealogies of other Turkic peoples, Berdak
started his "Shajara" from the time of the Prophet. In
this case, the main plot did not start with Adam, but
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with the Prophet and his companions" [9:58]. Berdak's
work makes vivid observations in the reader. Abulghozi
Bahadir Khan (1603-1664) wrote the genealogy of the
Turks, and Rabguzi (XIV century) wrote the genealogy
"Qissas ul-Anbiyya". Like the above traditional
beginnings, they also use the praises and blessings of
Allah and his prophets. Berdaq continues the same
tradition.
Berdaq "Shajara" is a folk history written in verse. The
composition of the work consists of two parts. At the
beginning of the work, on the basis of myths and
legends in folklore, the Karakalpak, Uzbek, Kazakh
peoples describe the origin of the Aurim clans. The
second part tells about the history of the Karakalpak
people of the 18th-19th centuries, historical figures
during the period of dependence on the Khanate of
Khiva. The first part of the work is extremely
important, in which we observe the history of the
social origin of the people. The second part of
"Shajara" attracts the attention of literary experts and
historians from the point of view of its compatibility
with historical truth and facts. In this section, along
with myths and legends, historical figures are also
given. In the first part, there is the task of illuminating
the historical environment based on folk tales and
legends, while in the second part, apart from the
historical reality, the political situation of the period of
feudal disunity is reflected. "The second part of Berdaq
"Shajara" has not reached us completely. The proof of
this is that when we read it, we observe that it is made
up of large chapters," wrote Professor A. Pakhratdinov
[10; 60].
Although it is said that only fragments of the second
part of "Shajara" have survived, the historical events
that happened in the life of the people of the XVII-XVIII-
XIX centuries are given in chronological form. Berdaq
provides information about the khans of the Kunhirat
dynasty in Khorezm. Accordingly, the second part of
the work begins with the history of Khiva khans of the
18th-19th centuries, in which Orin khan, Ghayib khan,
Madamin khan, Avaz inaq, Muhammad Rahim and
Allaquli khans are mentioned.
After that, the work talks about the heroes of
Karakalpak people. Dosan Batir, described in it, lived in
the 17th century. And Berdaq describes him as the son
of Nagaday, the hero of folk legends of the 14th
century.
The plot and compositional structure of Berdaq
"Shajara" is similar to the family tree of all Turkic
peoples. In particular, the first chapter of Abulghazi
Bahadir Khan's family tree describes the historical
events from Adam to Moghul Khan. That is, the story
of legends prevails in it. In the second chapter of the
work, historical events are combined with historical
legends. Also, some plots are similar to oriental epics.
For example, in folk epics, kings ordered people
condemned to death as sinners to be thrown into the
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river in a chest. Such events are also present in the epic
"Tahir and Zuhra". "Zuhra's father puts Tahir in a chest
and throws him into the river, as if he sees everything
in his destiny. Berdaq uses the same image in writing
his epic, Almali-Korkli, who was pregnant from the rays
of the sun, is thrown into the river by her father in a
golden chest" [11; 102-103].
Firdausi's epic "Shahnoma" gives the genealogy of the
kings of Iran. Abulgozi Bahadir Khan's "Turks' family
tree" is devoted to the family tree of the Turkic
peoples. Before that, in the 14th century, Rabguzi
wrote the genealogy of the prophet. Berdak follows
the same path. Plots with the same content are
observed in the literature of a certain nation in world
literature. However, they serve to illuminate some part
of the artistic work of a specific nation or its main
essence. In this place, the traveling plots are of special
importance. It is known that one people's literature
uses it creatively after reading and studying another
people's literature.
Traveling plots in Berdaq's epic "The Foolish King"
were used based on a specific purpose. After all, any
plot does not have the status of a traveling plot. A
number of peoples, whose cultural and traditional life
has been absorbed, only those who are inclined to
commonality have become traveling sjjet. Betraying or
betraying one's loved ones found in Berdak's work
does not correspond to the national identity and
spiritual world of the Karakalpak people. However,
Berdaq skillfully uses a traveling plot to describe the
foolish deeds of the tyrant khans of the past. In
particular, the more high-ranking and materially
wealthy the king in the "Stupid King" epic is, the more
spiritually poor he is. He does not want a girl child.
Gulim, the main character of the saga, Zevarlar gives
birth to a girl. Feeling the wrath of Podoh, the
midwives hide the girls in an underground palace.
When the girls grow up, the girls who feel like they are
in a cage want to go out and see their father. Because
they didn't know how stubborn and stupid their father
was. Even though the maids explain everything to
Gulzor and Anor, they believe that their father will
soften and enter the king's garden. The girls were so
beautiful that the poet described them as "Their
beauty lit up the winter night." Walking in the garden,
he suddenly saw his father, the king, and greeted him
with a toast. If it is a king, he wants to take these girls
as his wives without finding out who they are.
The king came close to the girl,
The girl called her father,
As a child, I wanted to say
Hash didn't listen.
The influence of book epics is clearly felt in the
creation of positive and negative characters in the epic
"The Foolish King". In creating the image of the foolish
king, Berdaq widely used the characteristics of the
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character of King Bakhrom in Navoi's epic "Sabai
Sayyor". It is known that Bakhrom is rarely involved in
public affairs. Forgetting about public affairs, he
spends his time in impure activities such as hunting,
luxury, and philanthropy. He collects beautiful girls for
his pleasure. The stupid king in Berdaq's work is also
depicted as the owner of a harem who has forgotten
about state affairs and gathered all the beautiful girls
in the country.
Shaykh Saadi calls the king to justice and comments
that "tyranny is the king's self-destruction".
If a king oppresses me,
Urady tesha to the tag of property.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, Berdaq, in the same way, emphasizes
the hero of his work - the stupid king, who is unfaithful,
impure, oppressive and unjust, and skillfully portrays
the overthrow of him by the people who endured such
suffering.
It is observed that in the epic works created by Berdaq,
folklore traditions, mythological images, legendary,
narrative or fairy-tale plots, as well as traditional
beginnings, composition, and image creation methods
typical of Eastern literature are appropriately used to
reveal the idea of the work.
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