Structural and thematic analysis of Zazaki elegies collected in Dersim (Tunceli) region

The elegy is one of the literary products with a low fictional aspect based on real events. This fact distinguishes the elegy from other literary products and makes it an important means of memory transmission that enables the transmission of social memory. Especially in societies where there is no written history, elegies, which deal with historical events, are also oral history narratives. In Dersim region, where literary products are spread entirely within the oral tradition, elegies, which deal with events caused by the historical and socioeconomic structure of the region, are a preliminary source for the creation of a written history of the region. This situation increases the importance of recording the elegies, whose written literary history dates back to the last 25-30 years and which continue to exist in the oral tradition, as soon as possible before they disappear from memory. Although elegies are based on realities, the collected elegies should be analyzed within an artistic framework without ignoring the fact that it is a literary genre. In the limited number of studies on local elegies to date, elegies have been compiled and analyzed in terms of subject matter and their stories have been conveyed. A general literary analysis of elegy has not been made. In this study, in order to prevent the disappearance of elegies, 44 of the 70 elegies subject to analysis were compiled and recorded by the researcher herself. Through the collected elegies, the facts and events that brought the elegy into existence, the discussions around the elegy, the language in which the local elegies are sung, the role and importance of elegies in the transmission of cultural memory were clarified. In this way, both the existential process of the elegies were made comprehensible and their literary value was revealed by analyzing them structurally and thematically, and the deficiencies in the existing sources were eliminated. Keywords: Dersim, Zazaki Elegies, Structure in Elegies, Theme in Elegies, Elegies with Stories.