From “ The Odyssey” , by Homer to “ Saray” Azerbaijani folk legend (a comparative Study)

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TORK LADANI SAFOURA; Rezaie Pari

Title

From “ The Odyssey” , by Homer to “ Saray” Azerbaijani folk legend (a comparative Study)

Author(s)

TORK LADANI SAFOURA | Rezaie Pari | Issue Writer Certificate

Keywords

OdysseyQ2

SarayQ1

PenelopeQ1

loyaltyQ2

LegendQ2

Folk LiteratureQ1

Abstract

Introduction: From the beginning of history, certain human traits such as goodness, self-sacrifice, forgiveness, and loyalty have always been respected, praised and accepted by all nations and tribes. This intercultural property and the repeatability of the traits results in the formation of the archetypes. In this inquiry we try to study the commonalities between two mythical literary works, "Odyssey" and "Saray". In essence, these two myths share common themes and meanings. For this purpose, we will have a brief overview of the mythical critique and the framework of its formation in the context of ancient Greek literature and the primitive society of the tribal Azerbaijan. We will eventually analyze these common features in the "Saray myth" and "myth of Odyssey" and examine the factors that led to these mental (subjective) commonalities and made them to become mythical. Furthermore, we will compare and analyze the role of woman in the realization of the "archetype of loyalty. " Methods: The role of "archetypes" in these two myths is very bold. As far as we know, the study of archetypes falls into the realm of mythical criticism. The history of mythical criticism method should start from the school of British anthropology and anthropological studies such as Edward Taylor and James Frazer and the Cambridge Hellenists; however, in the twentieth century, especially after the introduction of the concepts of "collective unconscious" and " archetypes" by Carl Gustav Jung, this method became more literary. Besides, anthropological studies which were enjoying the myths and literature gave way to the creation of works that, using these theoretical models, merely analyzed literary works and myths. In this regard, it can be said that "archetypes-images, characters, narrative themes, typical themes, and other types of literary phenomena are present in all literary works and consequently they provide a foundation to study the mutual communication between works. " (Makaryak, 1384: 401) Similarly, according to this approach, there is no difference between the images of ancient myths and modern-day stories. Results: Penelope has a high level of intelligence and consciousness. In fateful situations, it is very hard to understand her reaction. The Penelope's loyalty, cleverness, and humility portrays an ideal Greek woman, in such a way that she is referred to as the wisest woman. (Homer, 1373: 411) In the absence of her husband, she is kind to the poor. When confronted by Ulysses in the guise of a beggar, she treats the stranger with hospitality which was one of the signs of civility at that time. When Ulysses returns, we see another characteristic of the ideal wife. During this period, she obeys her husband so Ulysses defeats the enemies. We find another striking example of this cleverness as a wife in Penelope's vigilance, on the condition of finishing the rug to present one of her husband's aggressors. We see clearly the role of "the spinning wheel' archetype and the conquest of time in the 'Penelope' myth. Likewise, Penelope had been weaving the carpet during the day, and at darkness of the night she had been untwisting the woven strands in the sunshine to delay completing the carpet and not have to choose anyone to give it to. In this manner, she was able to stay away from her enemies for three years. The Legend of Saray is about a girl who loses her mother at birth, and her father takes care of her alone. After her being engaged to Aydin, her fiancé e goes away for a long time. In the meantime, the Khan of the region, which was rich in wealth and power, comes to seek Saray. With Saray's resistance, Khan of the tribe threatens to kill her, and Saray inevitably follows him, but in the midst of the way, she gets frustrated of Aydin and the tribe's people coming to help, she drops herself into the Apache River and no trace of her is ever found. Nowadays, the love story of Saray has become a myth for chastity, purity, and pure love. (N, K: Sefidgar Shahaneghi, 1998: 78) No particular author has written this story. It has been passed down to future generations orally. According to Jung, the myth is the collective unconscious of a tribe or nation. When dreams and aspirations of the individuals of a tribe or nation become collective, myths are formed. Discussion: According to Jung's theory, man has two individual and collective unconscious. He calls the second part of the subconscious, which is the deepest psychological layer of the human mind, "the collective unconscious. " Jung considered this collective psyche to be a collection of ancient prehistoric experiences. (N. K. Ghaemi, 2019: 35) These archetypes can include concepts, codes, and patterns that bring the same concepts to a broader level in the human mind with different cultures. In these two myths we find similar archetypes that can include: supra-human, superhuman forces, antagonist, goddesses, loyalty, the guarantor of the family survival, and water-saving purity of Saray. In women's myths, they also have supernatural, prominent and sublime characteristics. In fact, it is only in the myth that woman magically intertwines with transcendental and dissimilar tests. (Kezazi, 1988: 20) Penelope is the daughter of a Legendary creature and the wife of King Ithaca, Ulysses; she is the Golden Goddess like Aphrodite and Artemis. (Homer, 1999: 423) Similarly, "Saray" has distinct family and personality traits. (Nabati, 1993: 4) Compared to the other women around them, these women themselves are highly ranked, as well. Not only they are superior in appearance, but they also have feminine intelligence and sincerity. Myths are typically influenced by supernatural forces. The gods and goddesses willingly cause innumerable incidents for the heroes. Sometimes they are the helping force who come to their aid at the end of the predicaments and sometimes they themselves cause the predicament. In the story of Odyssey, Ulysses incites the wrath of the Goddess by trespassing the temple. However, Athena, goddess of war and wisdom, is always a supporter and collaborator of the couple at difficult times; at some points in time, Apollo, Artemis and Zeus's brother do not hesitate to help Penelope. (N. K: Pour Mokhber, 1996: 73) Even in the story of Saray, there is no presence of the gods, the antagonist has the power over other people in such a way that no one is able to confront him. In this story, only Aydin is portrayed as the person who is capable of confronting Khan; however, ultimately due to Aydin's absence, we see this qualification and might in Sarai. Due to having some of the spiritual attributes which made them associated with the inner world and the subconscious, women in mythology have always exhibited transcendent and distinct behavior. Jung also points to the feminine characteristic that "the female psyche is the embodiment of all feminine psychic tendencies in the male soul, such as vague emotions and moods, predictive conjectures, the receptivity of rational affairs, the capacity for personal love, the pleasures of nature, and last but not the least, is the relationship with the 'unconscious'. (Jung, 2010: 259) The most prominent antagonist of the myth of Odyssey can be described as goddesses, Penelope-seekers, and even a group of servants of Ulysses. On the other hand, Khan and his men are the only antagonists of the Saray's Legend. In the story of Odyssey, we see that this war is not the battle of humans but the battlefield of the gods and goddesses. Human beings who are powerful because of these strong creatures have the ability to overcome their enemies. Owing to these creatures' rancor, a war between human beings is formed and with their intervention, one side wins and the other side defeats. Likewise, in the Saray myth, without the presence of the conflict of the gods, the antagonist plays the role of a dominant human being. Khan alone is enough to cause tension in a tribe. The absence of a spouse can be interpreted as the disruptive factor of the story. The agent or agents of evil exploit this opportunity and covet the property of others. The conflicts between these two stories are based on these absences. Fulfilling promise is the most striking similarity between the two stories. In spite of the absence of their spouses, none of these women fails to fulfill their covenants and find themselves bound by the covenants. Subsequently, they are trying to face the challenge. In the story of Saray, not only the inhabitants, but also anyone else can protect Saray against Khan, as a result, they place this responsibility on her own shoulder, hence she dies heroically. Penelope, too, is in charge of protecting the boy and the inhabitants of the Ulysses Palace. Due to the presence of these women, these Legends perpetuate to be found in the collective memory of the people. Apparently, every epic and myth seems to represent only the narrative of the heroic battle, but a deeper examination of the way in which the emergence and role of women in myth and epic advances in the process of these stories revealed that they were not ineffective but influential and they have been very important in advancing the whole process (see: Hariri, 1986: 8). In the story of Saray, water can be a symbol of "passage" and "purity test". Being surrounded by the Apache River, in pursuit of purity and chastity, Saray seeks to preserve not only Azeri women but her entire tribe, both men and women. The tragic ending also multiplies the effect of Saray's story because although both women have faith in the return of their husbands, when Saray gets disappointed of Aydin's coming, she becomes a boundary between Apache bridge and Aydin. Here is where the burden of the responsibility of Aydin and the tribe falls entirely on Saray's shoulders. She must exhibit the prejudice of the tribe on her own and become the acting agent of the story. It is only Saray who has to create the Legend single-handedly. The potential for denouement can be seen in Saray, but Penelope can only keep struggling with the hope of her husband and son, Ulysses and Telmac, returning and aiding. The ending of the story completes with Ulysses presence. In other words, this story belongs to Ulysses, not to Penelope. Ulysses' final action keeps Penelope as a sub-actor because she is not capable of substantially addressing the challenge; nevertheless, the only external factor at that moment to help Sarai is the quiet Apache River, when there is no sign of its tranquility. At that moment, the river starts roaring, for this reason, the story of purity and chastity of "Sarai" will remain forever in the Moghan Plain and be recognized not only as a symbol of the Azeri woman and among the Turkish people, but among all people. Conclusion: The history, collective memory, and Folk Literature of every country expresses various and sundry myths and epics. loyalty and protection of values are archetypes which transcend the distances and distinctions among human beings, particularly women, and lead them to act throughout time and across nationalities and ethnicities. Throughout history, these two women have been extensively praised, have inspired the great writers, and at long last have been recorded as archetypes of womanhood and purity symbolism in the history. In spite of the fact that these epics have been written in different cultural and literary origins, they still have common themes and concepts. By comparing the epics of Penelope and Saray, who have been selected from different cultures and distinct points of time and places, it can be seen that in the Legend of Penelope, the zenith of her heroism signifies in being loyal to her spouse. The prime drive of the story of Penelope is in love with her husband, children and more accurately the family; nonetheless, in the Azeri myth, the woman's heroism is manifested in her purity and chastity, due to the fact that neither the child nor even the marriage issue is fully addressed in the story. Neither the story of children nor marriage union have completely brought up, by virtue of keeping a promise to her cousin and not having a marriage bond. Love for spouse and child is at the core of Penelope's actions. Penelope acts based on this component. By contrast, this attribute of loyalty for Saray is reflected more as a response to preserve the ideals and beliefs of a tribe.

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APA: Copy

TORK LADANI, SAFOURA, & Rezaie, Pari. (2020). From “ The Odyssey” , by Homer to “ Saray” Azerbaijani folk legend (a comparative Study). JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE LITERATURE, 11(21 ), 7-21. SID. https://sid.ir/paper/403063/en

Vancouver: Copy

TORK LADANI SAFOURA, Rezaie Pari. From “ The Odyssey” , by Homer to “ Saray” Azerbaijani folk legend (a comparative Study). JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE LITERATURE[Internet]. 2020;11(21 ):7-21. Available from: https://sid.ir/paper/403063/en

IEEE: Copy

SAFOURA TORK LADANI, and Pari Rezaie, “From “ The Odyssey” , by Homer to “ Saray” Azerbaijani folk legend (a comparative Study),” JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE LITERATURE, vol. 11, no. 21 , pp. 7–21, 2020, [Online]. Available: https://sid.ir/paper/403063/en

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Scientific Information Database

ISSN: 2588-4824

Journal Paper

From “ The Odyssey” , by Homer to “ Saray” Azerbaijani folk legend (a comparative Study)