International Journal Of Literature And Languages
110
https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ijll
VOLUME
Vol.05 Issue06 2025
PAGE NO.
110-113
10.37547/ijll/Volume05Issue06-32
Formation and Development of The Literary Fairy Tale
Genre in Karakalpak Literature of the 20th Century
Sultanova J.B.
3rd year doctoral student of NSPI, Uzbekistan
Received:
22 April 2025;
Accepted:
18 May 2025;
Published:
20 June 2025
Abstract:
The article will judge the problem of the formation of the literary fairy-tale genre. The formation of a
modern literary fairy tale, a chronological analysis of the relationship between them, studies have been carried
out. It determines the connection, differentiation and formation of a literary fairy tale with some folk tale.
Keywords:
Folk folklore, fairy tale, genre, literary tale, development.
Introduction:
This article, dedicated to the formation
and development of 20th-century Karakalpak literary
fairy tales, discusses the uniqueness and artistic
similarities of literary fairy tales as a separate literary
genre that served as a link between folklore and
literature, which is important in Turkology. In this case,
for the first time, the genre of literary fairy tales is
studied from the point of view of their artistic skill by
comparing them with folk tales, and their place in
modern literature and directions of development are
determined. For many centuries, fairy tales have been
one of the famous, indelible genres of world folklore.
Later, when it came to separating authorial literary
artistic creation from folklore, it created an opportunity
for the emergence of the literary fairy tale genre
between folklore and fiction. The emergence of the
press in written literature played a certain role in the
emergence of this genre, and new works in the world
of fairy tales began to be named after their authors.
Famous writers engaged in the creation of literary fairy
tales. Of these, in world literature, works by Charles
Perrault (1628-1703) "The Cat in Boots," "The
Cinderella," brothers Jacob (1785-1865) and Wilhelm
(1786-1859) Grimm "The Brave Tailor," "The Bremen
Musicians," "The Cat and the Mouse," and in Russian
literature, works by A. S. Pushkin, M. E. Saltykov-
Shedrin, and L. N. Tolstoy contributed to the
development of the genre to a certain extent.
Main Part
The literary fairy tale is one of the integral genres of
Karakalpak literature, and like in the literature of other
nations in the 20th century, it has developed as a
literary genre. The formation and development of
modern Karakalpak literary fairy tales are, on the one
hand, rooted in the rich oral folk traditions of Turkic-
speaking peoples, and on the other hand, significantly
influenced by literary and cultural relations with
Eastern and European literatures, which created great
opportunities for its growth.
The famous Karakalpak writer and educator Seyfulgabit
Majitov, as material for the first textbooks, recorded
folk tales, legends, and stories from among the people,
arranged them in a certain sequence, and published the
Karakalpak textbooks: "Alphabet," "Ediges Literacy,"
and "Reading Book" in Tashkent at the end of 1925. The
fairy tales and legends included in these textbooks
were the first educational literary materials published
in the Karakalpak language in Arabic script. In the field
of literary fairy tales, S. Majitov was written in prose
based on folk tales, and most of the author's fairy tales
are based on folk proverbs and sayings, discussing
moral qualities. The writer's fairy tales conclude with a
proverb. In the characters of his fairy tales, along with
animals, as in folklore tales, the deer, the devil, poor
peasants, and rich people participate, and the main
content of the fairy tales is distinguished by the wide
presentation of dialogues. Without dividing the
characters in the dialogues into positive or negative
images, the content of each character's speech in the
sense of the proverb "The words of elders are the eyes
of wisdom" conveys the thought in didactic ways. For
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International Journal Of Literature And Languages (ISSN: 2771-2834)
example: in the fairy tale "Bowl and devil", "From a
vigilant crow's jaw"; In the fairy tale "Lion and Fox," "His
mouth is burned, he barks and drinks"; The place of
noise is hell; in the fairy tale "Lion, Wolf and Fox"; In
the fairy tale "Coins and a Wolf," "A white heart's horse
won't lose weight, its coat won't wear out" [Majitov.
1992. 169-197] and others are presented in revised
fairytale forms, while on the other hand, similar
versions of these fairytales are found in volumes 67-76
of the multi-volume "Karakalpak Folklore" as "Two
Pazna" (Р
-98, No3435) [Kk.f. 2014. 483], "The Fox and
the Rooster" (Р
-98, No3435) [Kk.f.2014. 484], "The
Hungry Wolf and the Simple Crane" (Р
-98, No3435)
[Kk.f.2014. 484], "Sheikh and Frog" (Р
-98, 176508)
[Kk.f.
2014. 485], "Lion and Fox" (Р
-455, No 176398)
[Kk.f.2014. 501], "The Goat and the Fox" (Р
-455,
176398) [Kk.f.2014. 501] parallel with fairy tales.
Nevertheless, despite the many similarities, S. Majitov
is among the first to put Karakalpak fairy tales on paper,
systematized them in terms of content, and first
published them in the press. Following S. Majitov,
Mirzagali Daribayev's "The King of Mosquitoes," "The
Golden Ring" [Allayarov. 82; A45] poetic fairy tales, and
by the 1940s, the poems "The Tale of the Rich Man and
Aldar Kose" by the famous poet Artyk Shamuratov
[Shamuratov A. 1987, 85-96] appeared. No176508),
[Kr. folk. 474], however, in his poem, A. Shamuratov
reveals the psychological aspects of the character's
personality in Aldar Kose and the rich man in an artistic
style, putting folk tale language on a poetic path. At the
same time, the poet is considered one of the first poets
in Karakalpak literature who described Aldar Kose's
personality, his demands, character, and appearance.
In the mid-40s, Ahmet Shamuratov wrote about A. S.
Pushkin's "The Tale of the Seven Heroes with the
Daughter of the Dead Khan" and "The Tale of the
Golden Rooster"[Shamuratov. 1972. 102-121] into the
Karakalpak language. The translation and emergence of
such works had a certain influence on the development
of the structure and content features of Karakalpak
literary fairy tales. 1948] was published in the literary
almanac No. 1 of 1946. Based on the fact that this work
was written from a series of fictional events, literary
scholar I. Kurbanbaev said about it: "A. Shamuratov's
story-fairy tale 'My Meeting with the Tigers' is no less
interesting than K. Chukovsky's 'Aybolit' and V. Gauff's
'Little Muck' in terms of its fictionality and fantastic
aspects of events, reminiscent of I. S. Turgenov's
'Hunter's Notes'" [Kurbanbaev. 1988. 133], the writer
G'. Seytnazarov: "This story is mainly like a 'fairy tale'
describing the interesting aspects of hunting for
children" [Seytnazarov. 1962. 125] emphasizes. Despite
the fact that scholar-writers have assessed the genre
characteristics of many works in this way, they have
determined the presence of several distinctive features
among the theoretical guidelines of genre types in
modern literary studies, and according to the style of
depiction of this work, plot, motif and content, the
genre of "literary fairy tales" does not approach the
structure of depiction.
The poet Tleubergen Jumamuratov contributed to the
literary fairy tale genre with his well-known works "The
Curved Jewel Stone" [Karakalpak Literature, 1957, No.
6] and "The Crane and the Snake" [Karakalpak
Literature, Issue 172]. "The Crane and the Snake",
written in 1964, consists of two parts. This fairy tale
poem includes 54 stanzas, each with four lines,
composed in a 7
–
8 syllable meter, and follows rhyme
schemes such as a, a, b, a and a, a, a, b. "The Doe’s Two
Fawns", according to the poet himself, was written in
1957. It is also a fairy tale poem, consisting of four
sections, written in four-line stanzas with 7
–
8 syllables
per line. It adheres to traditional rhyme schemes such
as a, b, b, a and a, a, a, b, comprising a total of one
hundred stanzas. The poet’s poems, created on the
basis of folk tales, fully meet the genre-specific
characteristics of true literary fairy tales from a literary-
critical point of view.
The fairy tale poems of the poet Bayniyaz
Qayipnazarov, such as "The Hero and the Wise One"
[Qayipnazarov, 1993, pp. 148
–163], "The Poor Man’s
Youngest Son" [Qayipnazarov, pp. 163
–
184] (originally
titled "The Poor Man and the King of Crows"), and "Free
Bread" [Qayipnazarov, pp. 182
–
194], hold a significant
place in Karakalpak literature. Qayipnazarov’s fairy tale
"The Hero and the Wise One" is written using the
terme-tolghov (lamentation-reflection) form, following
the stylistic traditions of folk folklore. Meanwhile, "The
Poor Man’s Youngest Son" and "Free Bread" are
composed in a traditional poetic style with four-line
stanzas, each line containing 7
–
8 syllables, and follow
rhyme schemes such as a, a, b, a and a, b, a, b.
Between 1955 and 1959, poet Ibroim Yusupov made
significant contributions to literature with works such
as "The Truth About the Carpet-Weaving Woman"
(1957) [Yusupov, 1974, pp. 126
–
145], "The Tale of the
Old Fountain" [Yusupov, 1974, pp. 245
–
258], and
during 1969
–
1970, the poem "Tomiris" (The Story of
the Massagetae) [Yusupov, 1974, pp. 261
–
285]. These
poems by I. Yusupov differ stylistically from the fairy
tales of other poets and writers. While it is evident that
they are based on the plots and motifs of legends and
myths, and although they are closely aligned with the
style of oral folk traditions, they stand apart from the
typical style of author-created fairy tales. The unique
stylistic structure of Yusupov’s poems highlights his
original literary approach and distinguishes his works
within the genre.
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International Journal Of Literature And Languages (ISSN: 2771-2834)
I. Yusupov’s uniqueness in creating fairy tale poems lies
in his ability not only to renew folkloric plots from the
past and connect them to historical reality, but also to
transcend those boundaries. His poetic mastery is
evident in how he transforms legends and myths that
emerged along his creative path from mere fairy tale
content into depictions of real historical events
grounded in life’s truths. This approach is a
characteristic method among Karakalpak poets. For
example, T. Jumamurato
v’s poem "Makarya the
Beautiful" is a notable case
—
it is created in a romantic
tone within the genre of literary fairy tales, drawing
upon distant memories of legends, myths, and
historical facts. The result is a poetic fairy tale-novel
that closely aligns with the structure and spirit of the
fairy tale genre, yet expands toward an epic-romantic
narrative grounded in cultural heritage. Professor Q.
Maqsetov considers "Makarya the Beautiful" as a work
closely tied to folklore materials, considering it a true
"novella" [Maqsetov. 1973, March 28], Professor S.
Akhmedov, in his article "The Poet's Gift," wrote:
"Makarya the Beautiful is a work created on the basis
of centuries-old legends, or rather, the poet's work
about steadfast love and friendship revived with talent"
[Akhmetov. 1974. No. 4. 120-123]. This novel by the
poet T. Jumamuratov, cited in S. Majitov's book "The
Literacy of the Ediges," is based on the legend of
Davqara boy and his daughter Makarya, who married
into a distant foreign land. 1925. 84-86] and their use
in place of the main characters in the epigraph of
Chapter XVI of the novel [Jumamuratov. 1973. 107] and
the connection between the names of people and the
plot of the event.
Nevertheless, the fairy tale poems of I. Yusupov and the
novel "Makarya the Beautiful" by T. Jumamuratov
represent a new stylistic direction within literary
genres. For instance, in Chingiz Aitmatov’s novel "The
Scaffold" [Aitmatov, 1986], the presence of wolves
named Akbara and Toshchaynar
—
who think and
reason like humans
—
along with the story of Avdiy
Kallistratov, a deeply religious man who encounters
malicious people and ends up hanging upside down by
his feet in the vast empty steppe, adds a mythical,
allegorical dimension to the narrative. When the
starving wolves Akbara and Toshchaynar, who are
searching for prey to feed their pups, come across him,
they still refrain from attacking the human child,
showing restraint despite their hunger. Although these
elements bring the novel close to the structure of a
mythical or fairy-tale narrative, it still does not fully
align with the genre we are discussing. Despite its
legendary and symbolic motifs, the novel operates
within a broader philosophical and allegorical
framework, distinguishing it from the traditional or
literary fairy tale genre represented by Yusupov and
Jumamuratov. The reason is that in these works,
certain elements of the units of the category of Time
and Space, which show the only difference of the
literary fairy tale and are not characteristic of its
phenomenon, are fully preserved.
The poet Joldoshboy Dilmuratov is well known for
creating literary fairy tales based on folk narratives.
Among his notable works are "The Young Master"
(1956) [Dilmuratov, 1980, pp. 5
–
16], "The Rabbits"
(1958) [Dilmuratov, 1980, pp. 145
–
147], "The Deer"
(1969) [Dilmuratov, 1980, pp. 128
–
135], "The Fate of
the Tiger" (1972) [Dilmuratov, 1980, pp. 43
–
61], "The
Boastful Wolf" (1974) [Dilmuratov, 1980, pp. 138
–
142],
and "True Gold is in Hard Work" (1987) [Dilmuratov,
1980, pp. 89
–
102]. These tales, created alongside his
other literary works, demonstrate his unique
contribution to the development of the literary fairy
tale genre. The plots, motifs, and characters of
Joldoshboy Dilmuratov’s fairy tale poems are drawn
from the oral folk tales of the people. It is evident that
the poet, employing his full creative talent, aimed to
artistically express the finest human qualities
—
such as
mutual respect among individuals in society
—
through
simple fairy tale language and elements. His intention
was to highlight these values in an accessible and
engaging way. Similarly, the fairy tale poems of
Tleubergen Jumamuratov, Berdakh Qayipnazarov,
Joldoshboy Dilmuratov, and others are, as the authors
themselves note at the beginning of their works,
inspired by folk or Eastern tales. Almost all of them are
structured around traditional fairy tale plots and
motifs. What sets them apart is their effective use of
moral and didactic content, fully embracing the positive
traits of humanity and embedding them meaningfully
within their narratives.
Alongside these poets and writers, Turdimurat Najimov
has also made a notable contribution to the genre of
literary fairy tales in Karakalpak literature. His tale
"Aldar Köse and the Devil" [Najimov, 2009, pp. 24
–
27]
—
w
hich the author himself classifies as a “legend”
in his collection
—
presents a renewed storyline based
on the tale "Köse and the Devil" included in S. Majitov’s
book "Egadalar Savodi." From a typological
perspective, Najimov’s work reinterprets this
traditional narrative, embedding a new philosophical
message within it through the use of irony. In this tale,
the mythological figure of the Devil symbolizes deceit,
trickery, and sorcery. However, through the unfolding
of the story and references to the continuation of songs
like "Alalay" and "Bulalay," the Devil is depicted as
being outwitted
—
even by mythological standards
—
by
human-like cunning. Najimov subtly critiques society by
showing how people with devilish traits, cloaked in
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International Journal Of Literature And Languages (ISSN: 2771-2834)
deception and manipulation, often operate among us
through others. This allegorical representation reflects
the writer’s deeper philosophical commentary on the
human
condition
and
moral
values
within
contemporary society.
Tajetdin Seitjanov’s fairy tale poem "Zolimga Zavol"
(The Tyrant's Doom, based on a folk tale) [Seitjanov,
1987, pp. 83
–
91], and his legendary poem "Jayhun
Jononlari" (The Beauties of Jayhun) [Seitjanov, 1987,
pp. 92
–
105], are significant contributions to the
development of literary tales in Karakalpak literature.
Similarly, Adanbay Tajimuratov enriched the genre with
his poetic fairy tales, such as "He Shivered from Hunger,
He Shivered from Cold" (1967) [Tajimuratov, 1967, pp.
43
–
49] and "The Jingly One" (1976). Another notable
contribution comes from Tuliboy Qobulov with his tale
"The Greedy Ones" [For Children... 2017, pp. 4
–
7],
which humorously critiques selfishness and gluttony
through a folkloric lens. In addition to written works,
dramatizations based on folk tale plots have also
emerged in Karakalpak literature. Playwright and writer
Kenesbay Rakhmanov authored the play "Nine
Tumblers as Light as One Pebble" [Rakhmanov, 1980],
while playwright Qipchoqboy Matmuratov staged the
fairy tale comedy "O‘mirbek and the Little Goat"
[Matmuratov, 1989], bringing folk narratives to life on
the stage and thereby expanding the genre into the
realm of dramatic literature. Since these dramatic
works are entirely based on examples from the oral folk
tale tradition, they can rightfully be considered
exemplary literary genres within the field of dramatic
literature derived from fairy tales. While the literary
fairy tales written by S. Majitov and T. Najimov are
composed in prose form, the rest (with the exception
of stage fairy tales) are created in poetic form, crafted
with the full creative skill and mastery of the poets.
CONCLUSION
In general, in Karakalpak literature of the 20th century,
the genre of literary fairy tales was fully revived and
formed, raising folk tales to the level of large-scale
stage works and entering new stages of development.
These literary fairy-tale poems and dramaturgical fairy-
tale works are not only products of that period of
creation but also today occupy a certain place in
society, education, and the sphere of our culture,
remaining among the most valuable works of our
literature.
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