Examation of Kyrgyz folktales in the context of archetypal theory

This study involves the evaluation of fifty Kyrgyz folk tales in the context of archetypal symbolism, obtained through written source scanning. In this written source scanning, a total of forty-six tales from Zekeriya KARADAVUT's work titled "Kyrgyz Tales" were used, and four tales were selected and evaluated from Mehmet Yılmaz's master's thesis titled "Kyrgyz Folk Tales (Motif Index and Translation)". These evaluated tales were examined symbolically in terms of archetypal concepts such as the self, the shadow, the individual, etc., put forward by Swiss psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung. The concept of archetype, which refers to the reflection of similar events encountered by individuals over time in behaviors, was evaluated on Kyrgyz folk tale texts. In the study, firstly, information about the historical, geographical, and cultural background that formed the study areas was provided. In order to develop a perspective on the infrastructure that constitutes Kyrgyz tales, the history and culture of the Kyrgyz people were examined first. Then, Kyrgyz folk tales and research conducted on Kyrgyz folk tales were evaluated. Subsequently, the fundamental concepts of archetypal symbolism were emphasized to better understand the subject. Archetypes present in Kyrgyz folk tales were identified, and the implicit elements given in the texts were examined through the lens of archetypal symbolism. The purpose of archetypal symbolism in psychology is to reveal hidden symbols through archetypes in the work.