Tales

Tales are samples that cover wide life facts and events, reflecting beauties of oral speech, rich poetic mould and sizes of Azerbaijani folk prose. In other words, tale is narrating of any moment of life or life of any of one individual or wide picture of any period. Tales differ from other kinds of epic kind (e.g. anecdotes) with stable form signs. One of these signs is beginning of tales with anecdote and told in the form of poem by attracting attention of listeners. 

Hamam, hamam içində,

Xəlbir saman içində,

Dəvə  dəlləklik elər

Köhnə hamam içində. 

Collection of Azerbaijan tales has begun at second half of the XIX century, and it is continued up to this day. To the most active collection period comes 1923-1939 years. During this period with the aid of both Azerbaijan Research Society and individually many tales had been collected and published.   

1. Tale about animals  (“Tülkü və qurd”, “Hiyləgər keçi”, “Çil madyan”, “Qoca aslan”, “Ovçu Pirim”  etc.)

2. Magical tale (“Məlikməmməd”, “Şəms və Qəmər”, “Ağ atlı oğlan”, “Sehirli üzük” etc.)

3. Tale of family and life (“Yeddi qardaş, bir bacı”, “Usta Abdulla”, “Yetim İbrahim”, “Daşdəmirin nağılı” etc.)

4. Historical tale (“İsgəndərin buynuzu var”, “Quş dili bilən İsgəndər”, “Baftaçı Şah Abbas”, “Saleh və Valeh” etc.).