By the decision of the Scientific Council of the Institute of Folklore of ANAS, the third volume of the “Repertory of Master Storytellers” series has been published. The new edition is based on recorded examples of “khoyrat” from the Iraqi-Turkmen khoyratist Ibrahim Rauf Terzi. The collection stands out for its important innovation in the practice of collecting traditional folklore. Thus, the folklore examples included in the book were recorded for the first time from the narrator via the Internet, through digital communication. This approach opens up new methodological possibilities for modern folklore studies.

The majority of the materials presented in the collection consist of Iraqi-Turkmen khoyrats. Although there are different publications on Iraqi-Turkmen folklore in Azerbaijan, the fact that a special collection covering only the khoyrat genre has not been published so far makes this book even more relevant. One of the main advantages of the publication is that many of the khoyrats are presented with their variants. In some examples the sequential presentation of up to 10 variants makes it possible to follow the mechanism of variant formation of khoyrats.

The authored khoyrats included in the collection reveal the need to reconsider the idea in folklore that “authored “bayati”s do not become variants”. The process of becoming variant demonstrates how authored texts have become folk art over time and in this regard, the book provides important scientific material for researchers.

The 374-page book was published by the publishing house “Science and Education”. The book was compiled by Doctor of Philosophy in Philology, Associate Professor Laman Vagifgizi (Suleymanova) and the scientific editor is Doctor of Sciences in Philology, Professor Afzaladdin Asgar.