The Issue of Historical Epics in The Classification of Kazakh Epics

Abstract

Epics have a major role in pre-written culture areas where history education is ensured by oral narratives As it is known, a poem or a ballad formed as a result of an event affecting all or a part of a nation constitutes the first phase of the epic. This poem spreads from language to language, expands over time with poems related to other events, and takes the form of an epic by being edited by an epic writer. In this context, epics are not independent of history. however every epic does not exactly coincide with historical facts. It is normal for a narrative that has lived in oral culture for centuries to drift away from reality. The epics, which are closely related to history, are called historical epics. In the classification of Kazakh epics according to their subjects, the issue of whether historical epics should be evaluated as a separate epic type or within the epics of heroic draws attention. While some of the researchers do not accept that there is a separate group called Kazakh historical epics, some of them think that Kazakh historical epics are a separate group or a separate type of epic by revealing their differences from the epics of heroic. In this study the concept of historical epic and the basic features of historical epics in the context of Kazakh epic tradition are discussed, the views on historical epics were put forward and the issue was approached was evaluated and the approaches of the researchers to the issue were evaluated by putting forward the opinions about the historical epics. In the conclusion part, determinations about historical epics are given.