The history and theory of folklore as a form of worldview

Аннотация

This article explores the history and theoretical foundations of folklore as a form of worldview, focusing on the development of oral folk art in Karakalpak culture. Folklore, which emerged as a primary means of artistic expression, played a crucial role in reflecting the social, economic, and political life of the people. The study examines the syncretic nature of early artistic forms and their evolution into distinct literary genres—lyric, epic, and drama. Special attention is given to Karakalpak folklore, its genre classification, and its function in shaping national identity and cultural continuity. The study concludes that folklore serves as both an artistic and philosophical means of understanding reality, preserving historical memory, and transmitting cultural values through generations. Keywords: Folklore, oral literature, artistic worldview, genre classification, Karakalpak folklore, lyric, epic, drama, cultural heritage, oral tradition, literary theory. divided into three types based on the artistic depiction Introduction: As a result of this complex development, of life’s phenomena, events, and the portrayal of a which spanned many millennia, humanity acquired the specific person—that is, in terms of genre: lyric, epic, ability to experience aesthetic pleasure and be and drama. influenced by the surrounding environment, events, and phenomena. More precisely, in the history of world However, before the division of fiction into genres, it culture, a remarkable form of art emerged, revealing had a syncretic nature, embodying features inherent in the delicate and diverse mysteries of life’s all three genres—lyric, epic, and drama. An example of phenomena. Art has shaped multiple forms of artistic this is the chorus performed by large groups of people expression reflecting life's phenomena, such as in ancient Greek and Roman literature. During the architecture, sculpture, painting, music, and more. performance of a chorus in ancient communal Alongside these art forms, “literature—often regarded societies, emotionality (characteristic of lyric poetry) as the highest and most intricate art form,”1 the “art of was expressed through the performers words”2—also emerged. From the dawn of human sorrows and joys, while the content of events (a feature consciousness to the present day, it has continued to of epic poetry) and, at times, dialogues (a characteristic evolve and expand. of drama) were also conveyed through song. In the words of the Russian literary theorist V.G. Additionally, the performers' movements, gestures, Belinsky, "Artistic literature exists in a person's free and facial expressions were combined during the speech, possessing both harmony and imagery, as well performance, creating a theatrical effect. as a clearly expressed concept." Therefore, poetry Over time, these syncretic features were classified encompasses all other aspects of art, utilizing all the separately, leading to the emergence of distinct forms means available in various forms of art. Poetry stands of art: lyric, epic, and drama. "These forms evolved out as an integral form of art, incorporating all its from century to century—the old ones disappeared, elements and capturing their distinctive while new ones emerged. This dynamic process is a characteristics.3 From this, it follows that fiction is fundamental law that has existed, continues to exist, American Journal Of Social Sciences And Humanity Research 98 https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ajsshr American Journal Of Social Sciences And Humanity Research (ISSN: 2771-2141) and will persist in the nature of the genre."4 The three genres we are analyzing, in addition to their role in the artistic representation of life’s reality, are Aristotle was the first philosopher to classify fiction into classified into the following genre forms (scales): genres. Based on the development of fiction in his time, he divided literature into three types in the third • Lyric genre: Lyric poetry, elegy, satire; chapter of his work Poetics ("Different Methods of • Epic genre: Short story, novella, novel; Expression")5. Building on this theoretical foundation, • Drama genre: Tragedy, comedy, drama. V.G. Belinsky later wrote his well-known article Divisions of Poetry by Genre and Type, in which he The theoretical classifications given above correspond presented a clear and remarkable idea about genre.6 to scientific analyses conducted in relation to written realistic literature. The word genre comes from French7 and, in our view, is synonymous with the meaning of "category" or And before the formation of written literature, the oral "type." Therefore, it would not be incorrect to use the form of artistic expression—folklore—emerged among word genre to refer to the three main types of the peoples of the world, fulfilling its function and literature: lyric poetry, epic poetry, and drama. In our remaining a spiritual treasure of the people to this day. opinion, this represents the concrete emer