American Journal Of Philological Sciences
206
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VOLUME
Vol.05 Issue04 2025
PAGE NO.
206-210
10.37547/ajps/Volume05Issue04-51
Trial Motive in Uzbek Folk Fairy Tales
Abdukamol ABDUJALILOV
Uzbek Language, Literature and Folklore of the Uzbek Academy of Sciences, basic doctoral student of the Institute, Uzbekistan
Received:
23 February 2025;
Accepted:
19 March 2025;
Published:
22 April 2025
Abstract:
The article examines the conventional motive and its types in Uzbek folk tales. Such types of
conventional motives as prohibition (taboo), condition, conditionality and desire are analyzed.
Keywords:
Main motive, situational motive, internal types of motive, fairy tale.
Introduction:
In folklore, in particular, in Uzbek folk
fairy tales, the motif of trial is one of the most
frequently encountered leading motifs in the plot
structure.
In world folklore studies, the motif of the trial within
the plot of the epic work and its various manifestations
have aroused special interest, and various forms of the
trial were one of the first to be studied by E.B. Taylor,
J. J. Fraser, C. Lévi-Strauss, A.N.Veselovskiy,
V.Ya.Propp , V.P.Anikin , Ye.M.Meletinskiy from the
point of view of ethnography, literature, and pure
folklore studies.
In Uzbek folklore studies, in the works of such scholars
as H.Zarifov, M.Afzalov, M.Saidov, T.Mirzaev,
K.Imomov,
G.Jalolov,
B.Sarimsakov,
H.Egamov,
A.Musaqulov, M.Juraev, Sh.Turdimov, J.Eshonqul,
J.Yusupov,
T.Rakhmonov,
N.Dustkhodzhaeva,
M.Sodikova, Z.Rasulova, tests and related concepts are
addressed in the necessary places.
The scientific work, entirely devoted to the study of the
trial motif in folk tales, belongs to Sh.I. Nazarova, who
emphasizes the special significance of mythological
worldview and rituals in the emergence of trial motifs
and states that this motif manifests itself in a complex
way in the structure of the plot. Sh.I. Nazarova
identifies three separate types of test motives
(prohibition, condition, and conditioning) and
combines them under the name of a general condition-
test.
In this article, we intend to discuss the test motive, its
types, and situational forms. First of all, it should be
noted that from birth to death, a person faces
thousands of trials almost every day, every hour. In folk
tales, which are the oral creativity of the people, the
test is one of the most important motifs. The plot of a
fairy tale can be without the motif of birth, journey, or
dream, but it is very difficult to find a fairy tale without
the motif of trial.
In folk tales, the motif of trial is expressed so
structurally and semantically that it is somewhat
difficult for the researcher to summarize and classify
them. Therefore, we used some methods for a more
comprehensive study of the test motive.
The test is the root motive in relation to some of its
internal types. This root motive is divided into four
main types: prohibition, condition, condition, and wish.
Its graphical representation can be expressed as
follows:
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American Journal Of Philological Sciences (ISSN
–
2771-2273)
Prohibition (taboo) is one of the most common and
important types of test motives. In it, the prohibition of
not performing any action or state is imposed on the
hero (executor) by the "commander" (column) or does
not prevent him from doing something. If the hero
performs this action or situation, he is informed that he
will be punished, that it will not be a good deed. For
example, in the fairy tale "Yoriltosh," the following type
of prohibition occurs:
..." (they) walk a lot, and even if they walk a lot, they
walk abundantly. With that, they ended up in the great
desert. That younger brother was very thirsty and his
throat was parched. Seeing a wolf's water on the road,
his brother:
"I'll drink this water," he said, and his sister:
"Don't drink, if you drink, you'll become a wolf." This
water is wolf's water," he said.
In the example above, the prohibition is expressed
completely, i.e., in two parts, and it can be explained
using the following formula:
Don't!
If you do, it will be (-
di, -san, -miz).
There are also fairy tales in which the "commander,"
when imposing a prohibition, does not say the second
part, or omits it (sometimes this is also related to the
storyteller and the audience). For example, in the fairy
tale "The Lame Wolf," the protective wolf tells the
youngest son:
"Wolf:
-"You climb the forty-step ladder, if you take a bird,
don't take its temple," he said.
Here, the expressive formula of the motive is as
follows:
If you do this, don't do that, if
...
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American Journal Of Philological Sciences (ISSN
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2771-2273)
you do that, don't do that!
In this case, the "customer" imposes a prohibition in
the form of a choice. The incident that occurs when the
prohibition is violated is not being mentioned. In some
fairy tales, the prohibition is not mentioned as a choice.
For example, in the fairy tale "Hit, hammer," the old
man forbids the children: “(Chol) qishloqning bolalariga
qarab:
–
My sons, look after this jug. I'll just doze off a bit
“qayna, xumcha”, "don't say," he instructed.
In this form of prohibition, the formula is expressed as
follows:
Don't do that!
...
In the fairy tales we have considered as examples,
violation of prohibitions ends with punishment. There
are also fairy tales in which a violation of the
prohibition does not end in punishment. Rather, it will
cause them to learn something, gain something, or be
rewarded. For example, in the fairy tale "Father's
Testament," the brothers impose the following
prohibition on their younger brother:
"Brother:
–
"If you let me go today and you herd the cattle, I'd like
to go and see the show," his brother had said:
–
Hey brother, if you leave, what will we eat? - he
didn't answer his brother!”
Throughout the story, the younger brother, without
informing his brothers, goes to a performance in the
city and, fulfilling the king's conditions, marries his
daughter.
The formula of such a prohibition is complex and is
directly related to the semantics of the work.
If you do this, it
will happen this
way.
The storyteller's
words
Or in the fairy tale "Suv qizi" the main character's
violation of the prohibition imposed by the old woman
leads him to learn about the mermaid:
“The old woman had made tea for them. Making room
for sleeping at night:
–
Children, don't go outside at night. There are very
bad dogs here. If they see strangers, robbery will kill
them," he said.”
.
In the fairy tale, the helper, having broken the
prohibition imposed by the old woman and going out
into the street, returns knowledgeable about many
things.
In general, the formulas we propose do not cover all
situational forms of prohibition. The diversity of
themes positively influences the artistry of the fairy
tale.
In the diagram above, the forbidden type of the test
core motif is located at an angle of 180° along the circle.
In folk tales, there are such situational forms that lie on
both sides from an angle of 180°, along a circle until the
wish and agreement.
Condition is another type of core motif that is most
often used in Uzbek folk tales. In a contract, the
"commander" (column) in the prohibition sets a
condition for the "executor" (often the weak or
obligated) party. The person who fulfills the condition
will be rewarded, gain something, or at least save their
life.
The conditional type of the test core motif is expressed
in the following formulas:
Who (if) If you do this,
if you do that,
...
to be (to be,
to be, to be).
“Father's will” the condition in the fairy tale
corresponds to the above formula:
"The king had a forty-step ladder placed on an arch. He
built his daughter's arch on top of his staircase and
announced it to the people:
–
Whoever comes out with a horse, a donkey, or a
camel, takes a bowl of water from my daughter's hand
and drinks it, and if they take the ring with the
engagement from her hand, I will hold a forty-day
wedding celebration and a thirty-day game, then I will
perform the marriage ceremony," he said”.
In some fairy tales, the contracting party sets the
following conditions for the contracting party:
“King:
−
There's a witch's horse somewhere, if you bring it,
then I'll give my daughter to you,
− he said”.
The formula is as follows:
If you do that,
t
hat's
what you'll do
I'll give it
In some fairy tales, fulfilling the condition is done to
save one's life, for example:
"The father was angry with his three sons:
−
If you find it, you'll find it, if you don't, you'll die," he
said”.
We can express the formula for the condition in this
fairy tale as follows:
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American Journal Of Philological Sciences (ISSN
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Do it otherwise
…I'll give
Conditioning is also a type of test core motif, which is
less common than conditional and prohibitive types. In
this case, the capabilities of both parties are evaluated
equally and agreed upon. In many cases, as a result of
the agreement, one party assumes an obligation from
the other. In some fairy tales, the second party dies
after being defeated. For example, in the fairy tale
"Devsiya" there is the following conditionalization:
"The old man continued on his way and came across an
old mill. He saw several giants sleeping in the mill. The
giants woke up to the old man's shadow.
–
Who are you?
–
said the giants.
The old man trembled with fear, but didn't show it:
–
I am devsian,
–
he said. Giants:
–
You're lying,
–
they said.
–
If you don't believe me, we'll test our strength,
–
said
the old man.
The giants agreed. The old man told the condition:
–
The first is to pull out the earth's navel, the second
is to squeeze out the oil from the tree," he said”.
The formula for conditionality is expressed as follows:
Do this, if you win, (if you
lose)
...(-
I, you).
There is also a fourth type of trial core motif that we
propose, which differs from the three types of tests
mentioned above. This is a wish. In a wish, the executor
(or the weak) makes a wish to the commanding (or
dominant) side, asks or requests something from them.
This wish can be both conditional and unconditional.
For example, in the fairy tale "Hit, Stick," the stork
makes such a wish to the old man:
“One day, while the old man was waiting for a trap, a
large stork fell into it. He ran and pulled the stork out
of the trap, and the stork began to speak like a human:
–
Old man, I'm the leader of the storks, let me go, I'll
give you whatever you want. My dwelling is behind
the mountain opposite. "If you ask 'Where is the
stork's house,' everyone will tell you," he said”.
The formula of a wish can be expressed in two ways,
the first of which is conditional (as above), the second
is unconditional. They are:
First form.
Please, do this, if you... in return for you
...(-
I, you).
Second form.
Please, do this (-are you alright?)
...
The following is an example of the second form of the
formula:
" (The old man) called his youngest son:
–
"My son, if I die, will you guard my grave for three
days?" he asked”.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, it can be said that the test is a very
important and multidisciplinary core motive. Its four
main types that we analyzed - prohibition, condition,
condition, and wish - are further divided into several
situational forms within its structure. In distinguishing
these types of tests, the commanding (superior) and
performing (weak) sides are of great importance.
Because the prohibition and condition are imposed by
the commanding (superior) party, while the performing
(weak) party violates (does not violate) and implements
(or does not exceed) it. In contracting, however, both
parties are equal. In wish, the weak side asks (requests)
something from the superior side. These types of trial
core motives are arranged along a 360° circle and form
infinite situational forms. But ultimately, they can be
systematized, classified, and calculated.
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