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Сказание о Бейреке в турецком фольклоре
“The Story of Bamsi-Beyrek, the son of Kan-Bura” is the earliest tale in the composition of
the Oguz epos “Kitab-i Dedem Korkut”. Kitab-i dedem Korkut, or The Book of Dede Korkut, is the only
medieval epic of the Turkic peoples that has come down to us in a written form. “The Book of Dede Korkut”
(according to the Dresden manuscript) consists of twelve songs-legends, which tell of the exploits of
the Oghuz heroes. The main plot whose core is framed by these stories, is the struggle of the Oghuz tribes
against the infidels, non-Muslims (kafir) in the lands of Asia Minor, as well as constant internecine strife
among the Oghuz themselves. This text reflects both the events of early Turkic semi-legendary history (not
only historical facts, but also a set of mythological beliefs) and later events connected with the spread of
their power in Asia Minor and with their contacts with Byzantium. The stories that comprise The Book of
Dede Korkut display a clear connection with both the common Turkic literary and folk tradition and more
recent strata. Until very recently some legends related to this epic continued to exist in oral and literal
form on the territories of modern Turkey and Transcaucasia. These include the story of Beyrek, that took
the form of the Turkish folk narrative hikaye with the relevant genre characteristics. The hikâye is a prosaic
text that includes folk songs and verses (hikâye is also closely associated with Turkish folk poetry
which is based on the syllabic metre) sometimes transmitted orally by story-tellers, meddahs; it existed
for a long time mainly in South and East Turkey since the Middle Ages. The main peculiarity of this genre
is its existence in both oral and written traditions. At the same time, the story of Beyrek continued to keep
common features with the Oghuz epic.