The international scientific-theoretical conference on the topic “The Spiritual Heritage of the Turkic Peoples in the Context of World Civilization: The Epic “Koblandy Batyr’” was held on the 1^st –2^nd of October 2026 in Aktobe, Kazakhstan. The conference was organized by the M.O. Auezov Institute of Literature and Art, with the support of the Akimat of Aktobe Region and in cooperation with A. Zhubanov Aktobe Regional University and the Aktobe Regional Museum of Local History.

The main objective of the conference was to explore the historical, cultural, literary and spiritual significance of the epic “Koblandy Batyr”, determine its place within the common epic heritage of the Turkic peoples and discuss issues related to the preservation of the epic and its continued existence in the contemporary cultural space.

At the plenary session of the conference Hikmat Guliyev, Director of the Institute of Folklore of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences and Doctor of Philological Sciences, made a presentation entitled “The Initiation Model of the Epic Hero in the Epic “Koblandy Batyr”: A Metaphorical-Symbolic Analysis”.

In his presentation the initiation model of the epic hero in the Kazakh heroic epic “Koblandy Batyr” was analyzed on the basis of metaphorical-symbolic and structural-semantic approaches. The study examined the stages that determine the formation of Koblandy’s heroic status and its reconstruction in various plot situations, while also revealing the initiation semantics of the characters, spaces, objects and actions involved in these stages.

One of the important findings of the study was the identification of structural parallels between the biographies of Koblandy and his son Bokenbay. Bokenbay’s display of extraordinary heroic qualities from an early age, his journey to the herd of horses kept by Estemis and his acquisition of experience related to horses and combat were interpreted as a repetition of Koblandy’s heroic path in the new generation. In this regard, it was mentioned that the initiation model was not limited to the biography of an individual hero, but constituted an epic mechanism that ensured the transmission of heroic status from one generation to another.

At the conclusion of his presentation, Hikmat Guliyev noted that initiation in the epic “Koblandy Batyr” was neither a linear nor a one-time process. Consisting of the stages of birth, separation, trial, acquisition of status, crisis, re-acquisition of status, reintegration and repetition within the next generation, this model reconstructs heroic status with each new trial and connects the individual heroic biography with the continuity of collective epic memory.