Abstract
“FROM MITHOLOGY TO LITERATURE MOTHER OF WATER”
The poem titled “Mother of Water” (1908) by Abdullah Tukay (1886-1913), founder of contemporary Tatar literature, is actually based on a folk tale. The famous poet who published his Şüreli verse based on the narrative of a forest genie in the previous year is a professional who also compilations folklore from the public mouth. It is possible to see the strong influence of Tatar folklore in Tukay's works Bişek Bavı “Cradle Bond”, Avıl Hatınınıñ Bala Tirbetkende Ömitlere “Hopes of peasant woman as she shakes children”, Şürele “Forest Genie”, Kük Sıyır “Blue Cow”, Taz “Bald”, Altın Eteç “Golden Rooster”, Yaña Kisekbaş “New Severed Head”, Kece belen Sarık “Goat and Lamb”.
The mythological entity known as the owner or mother of the waters in places such as sea, lake, stream is the hero of this verse of Tukay. The poet grew up in an environment where Tatar folk literature and folkloric traditions were strong therefore he digested mythological narratives into his personalty. Tukay gave excellent examples of children's literature, which has historical value for modern literatures, and he closely knows the world of magicians, vampires, forest genies and exemplified them in his works. The “Mother of Water” verse is also valued as a fine example of the culture reflected in modern literature from mythology.
Keywords
Abdullah Tukay, Tatar poetry, mythology, folk literature, modern literature, mother of water.
