Director of the Institute of Folklore of ANAS, Doctor of Sciences in Philology Hikmat Guliyev participated in the international scientific-practical conference on the topic “The Legacy of Dede Gorgud: Common Epic Values of the Turkic World” held in the city of Kizilorda, Kazakhstan. The event was held within the framework of the international folklore and music festival “Dede Gorgud and the Songs of the Great Desert”, jointly organized by the Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation and the Kizilorda Province Governorship. The conference was attended by scientists and cultural figures representing Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and other Turkic peoples.

At the international conference, Doctor of Sciences in Philology Hikmat Guliyev made a report on the topic “The Image of Dede Gorgud in the Context of the Wise Old Man Archetype”. The scientist analyzed the psycho-semantic essence of Dede Gorgud within the framework of the theory of archetypes and mentioned that the semantic center of his statuses such as elder, wise man, shaman, wisdom and heroism.

In conclusion, the scientist noted that the image of Dede Gorgud is the brightest bone of wisdom, collective memory and spiritual order in the context of the general Turkic culture. This image is reflected in the deep layers of national identity as a bearer of the concept of wisdom in Azerbaijani ethno-cultural thought. Being a metaphorical-symbolic manifestation of the archetype of the Wise Old Man, Dede Gorgud serves to maintain spiritual integrity both at the individual and social levels. In the current era of globalization and digital transformation, the importance of Dede Gorgud as a symbolic figure uniting the all-Turkic cultural memory and ensuring intergenerational spiritual succession is growing even more.