Shapeshifting motif in Hakas epics

Although epics are not official history documents, they are narratives that reproduce historical reality by fictionalizing it with narrative methods and occupy an important place in the memory of the society within the tradition of performance specific to the epic genre. The heroic epics, which the Khakas call "alıptığ nimah", have a special place among Turkish epics in terms of revealing Turkish mythology, Shamanism belief, traditions of ancient Turkish communities and with their large volumes ranging from 15 thousand to 30 thousand lines. In Hakas heroic epics, heroes have supernatural powers. They bring these powers with them when they are born, and when they show heroism, they are named by a relative or family elder. The names of their horses must also be mentioned in their names. The real hero cannot be a hero without his horse. The hero's horse protects him from danger and prevents him from falling weak. The main heroes have distinctive features. He constantly helps the oppressed, distributes their goods to the poor when they defeat the enemies, and frees the slaves. Another important feature of Khakas epics is the majority of female protagonists who derive their beauty from the moon and the sun. Ak Çibek Arığ, Huu İney, Ay Huucın, Altın Arığ, Kün Sarığ Han and Alp Han Kız are some of the heroines famous for their valor and beauty. There are common motifs that are frequently used in epics, which reflect the inner world of the nation they belong to. Motifs are the veins that feed the epic and keep the epic alive. One of the most important motifs that the hero uses while running from adventure to adventure is the "Shape Shifting" motif. Shape-shifting heroes can take on the identity of another living thing (bird, wolf, snake), or they can be an inanimate object (ring, stone). Khakass have fought various struggles throughout history and created many heroic epics about these struggles. The Khakas epics, which are a rich cultural treasure and contain many motifs from the Turkish epics, and the "Shape Shifting" motif, which is one of the main veins that feed these epics, constitute the main subject of our study. While examining the "Shape Shifting" motif, Altın Çüs, Ak Çıbek Arığ, Ay Huucın, Han Kicegey, Kara Kuzgun, Han Orba, Huban Arığ, Altın Arığ, Kök Han, Hara Molat, Alıp Sarığ Plat Hıs, Altın Taycı and Kün were transferred from Khakas to Turkey Turkish. 13 Khakas epics titled Sarığ Han are discussed. After determining the shape change motifs in these epics, it was tried to determine who, when, under what conditions, where, how they changed shape and how they affected the course of the epic by making their classification and analysis.