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Saltakova Zh., Mursalimova N. The Phenomenon of Genealogical Integration in Turkic Epics (A Study Based on Bashkir, Kazakh, and Kyrgyz Epics)

Zh. Saltakova
M. O. Auezov Institute of Literature and Art
Almaty, Kazakhstan
ORCID: 0000-0002-3161-2179
E-mail: aibolanel_27@mail.ru

 

N. Mursalimova
M. O. Auezov Institute of Literature and Art
Almaty, Kazakhstan
ORCID: 0000-0003-4875-9684
E-mail: m_nasihat@mail.ru

 

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ABSTRACT. The article presents a systematic examination of genealogical integrity in Kazakh, Kyrgyz, and Bashkir epic traditions, which hold an important place in folklore studies. The focus of the research is shezhire data — genealogical information associated with lineage chronicles and their structural and semantic features. Shezhire is defi ned as an orally transmitted system of historical and genealogical knowledge that preserves ethnic memory, refl ects social needs, shapes the informational space of communities, strengthens national identity, and supports essential ethno-organizing functions within traditional and contemporary cultural contexts. The study identifi es historical and typological features of shezhire in Turkic epics, drawing on a comparative analysis of foundational works by leading scholars from Russia, Central Asia, and the field of Turkology worldwide academic research. The article examines epic cyclicity as a process of systematic transmission of genealogical and historical information through generational continuity. Genealogical cyclicity is defi ned as the repetition of lineages in epic narratives based on stable structural models. This phenomenon is refl ected in the Kazakh multi-generational epic cycles (Koblandy, Alpamys, and Qyrymnyn Qyrq Batyry); in the Kyrgyz genealogical line Manas — Semetey — Seitek; and in the Bashkir tradition, epic heritage. As a result, the historical typology of shezhire is systematized and its scholarly signifi cance is defined.

 

KEYWORDS: folklore, epic, genealogy, Turkic peoples, genealogical cyclicality

 

DOI 10.31250/2618-8600-2026-2(32)-210-227
UDC 929.5:398.22(=512.1)

 

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