Image of Zhalmauyz kempir in turkic mythology in epic works

Abstract

The image of Zhalmauyz kempir is often mentioned in the fairy tales of the Turkic peoples. A special genre of oral folklore of the Turkic peoples, fairy tales have a varied plot. Along with ordinary fairy tales, there are genealogical, toponymic, cosmogonic tales, legends and myths that occupy an intermediate place between the fairy tale itself and the everyday tale. Of particular interest are fairy tales created in an interesting construction using images of mysterious, evil creatures, such as “Zhalmauyz kempir”, the plot of which is completely unique to humanity. In this regard, the article highlights the problem of analyzing the image of Zhalmauyz kempir among the Turkic peoples, and analyzes the specific features of the image of Zhalmauyz, which has become a demonological image of epic Turkic legends. Based on the research, the author proposes the theoretical meaning of the concept “Zhalmauyz kempir”, formulates the history of the origin of the concept “Zhalmauyz kempir” in Turkic mythology, shows the place of demonological images in Turkic knowledge, and also defines the image of a voracious old woman in the epic tales of the Kazakh and Kyrgyz peoples.