Abstract
“RISING” OF HUMA BIRD IN THE KAZAN TATAR LITERATURE AND ART
Under the influence of the freedom movement that emerged in the former Soviet Union at the end of the 20th century, interest in spiritual archaic layers, universal and cultural values begin to revive in all branches of Kazan Tatar literature and art. Artists “resurrect” the myths about the creation of humanity, the universe, and the earth, and tries to find solutions to time problems in myths. Modern art branches containing mythological elements lead to the formation of new streams in the perception of life and the world; concepts and depictions pertain to primitive society are animated in modern life in a style specific to each artist. Some of the artists retain the main functions of the mythological depictions when “resurrecting” them, and do not seek for reiteration; they evaluate the mythological depictions in terms of today's problems and enrich them with new meanings.
Our paper is based only on Tatar references and the reflections of the Huma bird, known as the mother goddess in ancient Turkish mythology, to contemporary Tatar literature and art were emphasized. The etymology of Huma/Umay word and its use in dialects was examined using Tatar Dictionaries. The works written in the 17 and 18th centuries, during the Medieval Age, were reviewed and the meanings attributed to Huma/Umay bird was explained. Comments have been made on the historical, national and spiritual content attributing to the statue of Bird of Liberty (Hörrüyet Koşı) in today’s sculpture art. The problems reflected through this bird-goddess "resurrected" were discussed through the works of R. Şahiyeva named Hörriyet Heykele Yanında (Next to the Statue of Liberty), Hörriyet Gimnı (Identity of Liberty), and of F. Yarullin named Homay Koşı (Umay Bird) in poetry, and through the works of F. Yahin named Homay Koşı (Bird of Huma) and Kışkı Rozalar (Winter Roses) and of M. Emirhanov named Ürbet Haneke Gıyşkı (Love of Urbet Sultan) in the prose literature.
Keywords
Tatar Mythology, Tatar Dictionaries, Umay/Huma Bird, Tatar Art, Tatar Literature.
