By the decision of the Scientific Council of the Institute of Folklore of ANAS, the new monograph named “Ceremonial Folklore of the Turkic Peoples” by the Head of the Department of Ceremonial Folklore and National Culinary Traditions of the Institute of Folklore, Doctor of Sciences in Philology, Associate Professor Agaverdi Khalil has been published.

In the monograph the significant part of the author’s systematic scientific research conducted over many years is summarized. The research was conducted in the context of the genesis, structural-semantic features and functional essence of the ceremonial folklore of the Turkic peoples, tracing the line of development from archaic ritual models to modern ceremonial practices. In the work the phenomenon of ceremony not only as a descriptive material, but also as a complex symbolic system involved in the formation of cultural memory and collective identity is analyzed.

The author examines ceremonial culture not only as a collection of ethnographic facts, but also as a system of spiritual values, preserved in the epic and transmitted from generation to generation. At the same time, in the monograph the cultural institutions and concepts of moral value stemming from the common ceremonial culture of the Turkic peoples based on modern achievements of folklore studies are explained and their historical development stages and functional significance in the modern era are clarified.

In the monograph the transformational mechanisms of ritual are specifically mentioned. The author shows that the ritual performer has become the narrator and the ritual complex has become narrative, moving into epic and other verbal folklore forms. The ritual idioms and behavioral patterns are preserved in later ceremonial folklore and the ritual character developed to the level of an epic hero. Thus, the study scientifically substantiates the sequential line of development from ritual to epic.

The monograph called “Ceremonial Folklore of the Turkic Peoples” by Doctor of Sciences in Philology, Associate Professor Agaverdi Khalil is of significant scientific importance in terms of the theoretical understanding of ceremonial culture in general.

The work can be considered a relevant scientific source for folklore studies, as well as for ethnology, cultural studies and other fields of the humanities. The book is intended for researchers, university teachers, doctoral and master’s students, as well as a wide audience of readers interested in the theoretical problems of ceremonial culture.

The book is dedicated to the fifth anniversary of the Victory Day, which entered our ceremonial culture as a result of the liberation of the Karabakh and the Eastern Zangezur regions from occupation under the leadership of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.

Link to get to know the book.