The Oedipus Tale Type in Azerbaijani: Folklore and its Socio-Psychological Semantics

Abstract

In this article, I analyze tales collected from Azerbaijani territories from a psycho-semantic perspective, specifically pertaining to the Oedipus tale type (AT: 931, 933). The incest taboo, a common theme in Azerbaijani society, is discouraged in these tales through symbolic behaviors. In these tales, which were collected in different Azerbaijani territories at different times, the transgression of the taboo of incest firstly happens between sisters and brothers, later between mothers and sons. When we approach the fairy tale plots presented in the context of the Oedipus complex, it becomes clear that these fairy tales are also organized on the basis of the son’s point of view. This is evident in the tales because of their descriptions of the father—a common character in the Oedipus tale type—as the culprit of all anti-social and unethical problems. In the texts I present, the heroes of the tales generally derive from the disruption of the incest taboo between the sister and the brother, who has been left to die. I argue that the baby born as a result of dismantling the incest taboo—being removed from the chain (or from the family environment) of the social relations by the parents to be left to die and later living and not recognizing his mother—is portrayed as the main fact in the explanation of the events’ semantics.