Abstract
A MAN'S WINGS ARE HIS HORSE - A MAN'S HORSE IS HIS WINGS (HORSE THEMES IN KAZAN TATARS' MODERN PROSE)
As in the mythology and heroic epics of many communities, in Tatar Turks, the horse is considered as the symbol of light and speed, the wing of the man, the high-ranking and sacred being. In folk narratives, it is said that the horse was sent down from the sky by the gods, and therefore a white horse was sacrificed to them. Mythic horses that have bird-like wings and can fly are called Tolpar or Akbuz horse in the oral and written literature of the Tatars. In Tatar society, horse ownership is considered equivalent to freedom, power and wealth, and even today it is believed that there are spirits that protect horses.
Horse figure has a reflection in modern Tatar literature of all genres, and some artists still "reinvent myths". In the article, issues such as the meaning of the horse figure in contemporary Tatar prose, or the connection between man and horse is explained with the aid of long stories: Almaçuar by A.İbrahimov, Öç Ayaklı At by A. Halim, and İr Kanatı, Mogikan by V. İmamov. Through the horse figure, the authors' perspectives on events in the XXth century society and the facts that constitute the essence of national life are interpreted.
Keywords
Myth, Modern Tatar Literature, Aydar Halim, Vahit Imamov, Man (er) and Horse.
