THE THEME OF EARTHQUAKES IN TATAR FOLKLORE AND LITERATURE

Authors : Mileuşe Khabutdinova, Alsu Ashrapova, Gülüse Aksoy

Pages : 41-64

Doi:10.59358/ayt.1628446

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Publication Date : 2025-03-21

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :The article studies the image of earthquakes in Tatar folklore and literature. The study revealed a range of Tatar vocabulary related to the earthquake theme. We prove that the small amount of language material under consideration сan be explained by the fact that the Republic of Tatarstan is located in a weakly seismic zone, so its inhabitants both in ancient times and now could rarely witness this natural disaster. The study revealed the predominance of the sworn expression «zhir upsyn» (may I fall through the earth) in the vocabulary, which is closely related to sinkholes in karst, which have the character of craters, caves, subsidences, saucers, basins, karst ditches and lakes in our republic. This oath has penetrated from oral speech into the works of oral folk art and literature. Descriptions of earthquakes are found in Tatar folk tales and toponymic legends. In them, this natural element is described as a terrible disaster, the finger of fate, God\\\'s providence, God\\\'s punishment, punishment for sins. This didactic message and religious discourse will find its place later in literary works. The first Tatar work, dedicated to the earthquake in Sicily, dates back to 1913. It is written in the genre of bayt (a poetic work) and its author was a sailor or a merchant. The work contains a description of the destroyed city and an operation to rescue survivors. The witnesses of the earthquakes in Crimea and Tashkent expressed their impressions in the genre of memories. In his novel, “The Japanese Tatar” V. Imamov (2003) describes the earthquake in 1928 in Tokyo. Ramis Aymet and Saniya Akhmetzyanova responded in a poetic form to the tragedy of 2023 that happened in Turkey. In addition to the realistic pictures of destruction, they contain observations of the people’s behavior in a critical situation. These artistic texts are united by the didactic message of the authors, who consider the earthquake as a terrible warning to a person mired in sin and pride. In addition to realistically and reliably portrayed images of destruction, they contain observations of the behavior of people in critical situations. This is the moral potential of these works.
Keywords : Deprem, Tatar folkloru, Tatar edebiyatı, Vakhit Imamov, Renat Kharis

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