The Department of Mythology of the Institute of Folklore of ANAS held its regular academic seminar. During the seminar, Associate Professor Ilhama Gasabova, PhD in Philology, made a presentation titled “The Master–Apprentice Tradition and the Ancestor Cult in Azerbaijani Ashiq Creativity” while Associate Professor Gunel Jannatova, PhD in Philology, presented a report entitled “The Hero with a Thousand Faces: In the Context of Turkic Heroic Epics”.

In her presentation, Ilhama Gasabova discussed the relationship between the master–apprentice tradition and the ancestor cult in Azerbaijani Ashiq art. She noted that the respect shown to master Ashiqs within the Ashiq tradition preserved certain characteristics of the ancestor cult, which occupied an important place in Turkic mythological thought. The presentation highlighted the prestige and influence of such prominent figures as Dede Gorgud, Ashiq Alasgar, Ashiq Ali, Huseyn Bozalganli, Huseyn Sarachli and Ashiq Adalat Nasibov in various Ashiq communities, noting that they were regarded not only as artists but also as spiritual symbols.

The seminar participants also showed great interest in Gunel Jannatova’s presentation, “The Hero with a Thousand Faces: In the Context of Turkic Heroic Epics”. It was noted that, despite emerging in different geographical regions and cultural environments, heroic epics shared certain universal structural features, which could be effectively explained through the monomyth model.

The presentations were followed by an extensive exchange of ideas and the questions were answered. The seminar proved significant in terms of exploring various aspects of Turkic mythological thought, Ashiq creativity and the epic tradition through contemporary scholarly approaches.