Epos and Folk-romance: A Discussion and Evaluation of the Genres of Kurdish Folk Literature
Abstract
The issue of genres and their naming is an important issue in folklore studies. Even at the beginning of folklore studies in the 19th century, these issues were discussed in congresses, and classification efforts of the genres were seen. Based on extensive collections from around the world and with new theoretical perspectives, in the 1950s and especially in the 1970s, these discussions expanded, and related to the issue articles and books were published. These works and views of international folklorists will also be beneficial for Kurdish folklore studies. Although the history of Kurdish folklore and folk literature studies reaches back to the beginning of the 20th century and collections have been made during this period, discussions on the topic of genres do not appear. In Turkiye, on the other hand, with the establishment of Language and Literature/Kurdish Language and Culture departments, academic works related to Kurdish folklore and folk literature also increased, and in this context, attempts and experiments on naming and classification of genres also appeared. In these works, the issue of naming and classifying folk romances and epic/epos is particularly dominant. In this work, we will first turn to the general discussions about the genre in the field of folklore. Then, the situation of Kurdish folk literature will be briefly evaluated in relation to the topic. The attempts and experiments of naming and classifying folk narratives, and especially folk romance and epic/epos, will be evaluated in this context. Again, in this context, by benefiting from the works of folklorists of the world and neighboring peoples, we will focus on the controversy of naming “epic/epos” and “folk romance”, evaluate the existing works, and also express our views and make our suggestions for the process of naming and classifying the genres of Kurdish folk literature.
Keywords
Destan û Hikayeyên Gelêrî: Niqaş û Nirxandinek li ser Cureyên Edebiyata Kurdî ya Gelêrî
Abstract
Mijara vê gotarê di çarçoveya niqaşên derbarê cureyê de nirxandina gengeşiya binavkirina “hikayeyên gelêrî” û “destan”ê ye di edebiyata kurdî ya gelêrî de. Mijara cureyan û binavkirina wan di nav xebatên folklorê de mijareke giring e. Hîna di destpêka xebatên folklorê yên sedsala 19mîn de, di kongreyan de ev mijar tên niqaşkirin û ceribandinên polînkirinan jî tên dîtin. Li ser berhevkariyên berfireh ên cîhanê û bi nêrînên teorîk ên nû, di salên 1950î û vir de û bi taybetî jî di salên 70yî de ev niqaş berfireh dibin, gotar û pirtûk tên weşandin. Ev xebat û nêrînên folklornasên navnetewî ji bo yên kurdî jî dê sûdewer bin. Herçiqas dîroka xebatên folklor û edebiyata kurdî ya gelêrî bigihije destpêka sedsala 20emîn jî û di vê navberê de berhevkarî bê kirin jî, niqaşên derbarê mijara cureyê de zêde xuya nakin. Li hêla din, li Tirkiyeyê bi avakirina beşên Ziman û Edebiyat/Ziman û Çanda Kurdî re xebaten akademîk ên têkildarî folklor û edebiyata kurdî ya gelêrî jî zêde dibin û di vê çarçoveyê de jî hewldan û ceribandinên binavkirin û polînkirina cureyan jî xuya dibin. Di van xebatan de bi taybetî mijara binavkirin û polînkirina destan û hikayeyên gelêrî serdest e. Di vê xebatê de pêşî me bi giştî berê xwe da niqaşên derbarê cureyê di qada folklorê de. Piştre jî me têkildarî mijarê rewşa edebiyata kurdî ya gelêrî bi kurtasî nirxand. Hewldan û ceribandina binavkirin û polînkirina vegêranên gelêrî û bi taybetî ya destan û hikayeyên gelêrî di vê çarçoveyê de hatine nirxandin. Dîsa di vê çarçoveyê de bi sûdwergirtina ji xebatên folklornasên cîhanê û gelên cîran em li ser gengeşiya binavkirina “destan” û “hikayeyên gelêrî” rawestiyan, me xebatên vê dawiyê yên têkildarî mijarê nirxandin û herweha nêrînên xwe anîn zimên. Di dawî de jî ji bo proseya binavkirin û polînkirina cureyên edebiyata kurdî ya gelêrî me pêşniyazên xwe rêz kirin.
Keywords
Epos and Folk-romance: A Discussion and Evaluation of the Genres of Kurdish Folk Literature
Abstract
The subject of this article is to evaluate the controversy over the des of “folk-romance” and “epos” in Kurdish folk literature within the context of the debates about genre. The issue of genres and their naming is an important issue in folklore studies. Even at the beginning of folklore studies in the 19th century, these issues were discussed in congresses and attempts of classifications were also seen. Based on extensive collections from around the world and with new theoretical perspectives, in the 1950s and especially in the 1970s, these discussions expanded, and articles and books were published. These works and views of international folklorists will also be beneficial for Kurdish folklorists. Although the history of Kurdish folklore and folk literature studies reaches back to the beginning of the 20th century and collections have been made during this period, discussions on the subject of genre do not appear much. On the other hand, with the establishment of the Departments of Language and Literature/Kurdish Language and Culture in Turkey, academic works related to Kurdish folklore and folk literature have been also increasing, and in this context, attempts and experiments to name and classify genres are also appearing. In these works, the topic of naming and classifying folk-romances (hikaye) and epos (destan) is particularly dominant. In this work, we first turned to the discussions about the genre in the field of folklore in general. Then, we briefly evaluated the situation of Kurdish folk literature in relation to the subject. The attempts and experiments to name and classify folk-romance and epos in particular have been evaluated in this context. Again, in this context, by benefiting from the works of folklorists from around the world and close-by, we focused on the controversy over the naming of “folk-romance” and “epos”, we evaluated recent works on the subject, and also expressed our own views. Finally, we have listed our proposals for the process of naming and classifying the types of Kurdish folk literature.
Keywords
