Problems of Turkish Epics in the Research of Rahmankul Berdibay

Abstract

Rakhmankul Berdybay is a literary scholar who made a significant contribution to the study of the epic heritage of Turkic peoples. His works focused on the history of Kazakh and Turkic epics, their structural features, and the polystage nature (multilayeredness) of the epic songs.

As a folklorist, Berdybay introduced a major innovation to Kazakh folklore studies: the analysis of Kazakh epics from a genre-based and stage-based perspective, and his pioneering approach to the comparative-typological study of the folklore works of Turkic peoples.»

R. Berdybay introduced a new concept to the science of epics: the historicity and polystage nature, that is, the multi-layeredness of the epic. It is known that R. Berdybay was one of the first to raise the issue of studying the poems that had previously remained ‘closed’ and turning them into a benefit for the nation. In 1984, he published an article entitled ‘The Historicity of the Epic.’ Later, he wrote this article in Russian and published it in the journal Soviet Turkology, which was published in Baku, helping to form a correct public perspective on this field. He then published research articles entitled ‘Edyge Batyr,’ ‘Epic of Heroism,’ and ‘On the Problem of Historism of the Epic.’ The poem ‘Edyge Batyr’ is the oldest and most realistic among the Kazakh epics. Like other epics, it has many variants. It is known that this poem was first published in Sibirsky Vestnik by Russian folklorists. It is indisputable that R. Berdybay succeeded V.M. Zhirmunsky in the study of Kazakh-Nogai epics and their inclusion in scientific circulation. In Rakhmankul Berdybay’s work Epic - the Treasure of the Nation, fairy-tale epics, religious narratives, and ancient legends and myths were for the first time systematically and carefully analyzed by the scholar, presented in a differentiated and variant form. That is, it was a fundamental study, distinguished by the identification of the origin – the genesis of the epic, its development paths, connections with historical events, genre individualization, and multi-layered (polystage) typological features.»

R. Berdybay approached Turkology from two perspectives. The first began back in the 60s and 70s – the friendship of literatures. His second approach to Turkology was closely linked to his work on epic studies. In the process of researching and analyzing our epic treasures, his consideration and comparison of multiple versions of the same epic across different peoples led him to Turkology. Berdybay’s views on the study of Turkic epics influenced the development of new paradigms in the field of science. This makes his works significant not only in Kazakh literary studies but also in the study of the literature of the entire Turkic world.