THE FUNDAMENTAL AND STRUCTURAL FEATURES OF KYRGYZ FOLK FABLES

Abstract

The Kyrgyz are one of the oldest Turkic communities and one of the tribes with a rich folk literature. The works of folk literature created by the Kyrgyz have been passed down orally from generation to generation by storytellers. This tradition, which has lasted for centuries, is also very diverse and unique from a literary perspective. The fables found in Kyrgyz oral literature have also developed as a genre and have survived to the present day. Fables are short works that aim to give advice and lessons, depicting human behaviors, attitudes, and actions in various ways through satire. These works, which mostly appear in the form of poetry, have prominently stood out as oral literature within the products of folk literature. The fable developed at a later stage compared to other genres of Kyrgyz folk literature. It has also been observed that fables did not emerge as an independent genre from the very beginning but gradually developed through interaction with other genres of folk literatüre.

In this study, the focus will be on the main and structural features of the fable genre in Kyrgyz folk literature, which mostly takes the form of verse or prose based on animals exhibiting human behaviors and speaking, as well as its formation as an independent genre.