Abstract:

Tales, which are among important genres of folk literature, are cultural symbols of societies to which they belong. These literary genres, which have transcended the borders of their respective countries in the journeys which people living in different cultures and geographies have made for purposes of migration, war and trade throughout history, have adapted to the social and cultural fabric of the societies they have encountered in the new geographies they have landed and assumed new identities. The fact that one may encounter in literatures of other countries a similar tale, joke or folk story told in Anatolia seems to be in support of this. Anonymous characters in the two Hunza folk tales included in our study are none other than Keloğlan, who is one of the beloved heroes of Turkish tales. The characters in these two Hunza tales are lookalikes of Keloğlan, who had some negative qualities in some Turkish tales. In Keloğlan tales where Keloğlan assumes negative qualities, Keloğlan exhibits a wicked, ruthless, cunning, lazy, immoral and intimidating personality. Characters resembling Keloğlan in Hunza tales also appropriate property of people who they deceive through cunning, deceit, trickery, ruthlessness and brutality and lead them to death. They are so impudent as to torture and cause suffering to the poor, naive, old and honest people around them. Even animals receive their own share of these sufferings. There are occasions when they rise to the rank of raja despite all kinds of treachery and wickedness they have committed. In order to draw attention to intercultural relationships, this study dealt with two Hunza tales titled Badnām Şarīr Bhāī kī Kahānī (Story of a Notoriously Naughty Brother) and Bad Kār Aurat kī Kahānī (Story of a Sinful Woman) with reference to texts similar to Keloğlan tales in Anatolia.

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