FUNCTIONAL TYPE FROM MEMORY REPRESENTATION: THE TYPOLOGY TRANSFORMATION OF EMIR TIMUR IN FOLK-TALES IN TURKEY

Abstract

This study examines how Emir Timur is represented in Turkish oral narratives and aims to analyze the typological functions he assumes across different narrative forms. It is based on the assumption that Timur is not depicted as a fixed historical figure but as a transformable folk type shaped by contextual and ideological needs. The study analyzes three oral tradition texts—a folk poem titled Dâsitân-ı Sukût-ı Kars, a variant of a Nasreddin Hoca anecdote, and the didactic tale Timur and the Ant, presented in both prose and verse.
The analysis demonstrates that Timur is alternately represented as an “antagonistic force,” a “diminished authority,” or a “transformative hero.” Each narrative is evaluated through the lenses of Carl Gustav Jung‘s archetypal theory, Vladimir Propp’s narrative functions, Alan Dundes’ theory on the social function of humor, and Jan Assmann’s concept of cultural memory. Timur’s narrative proximity to or distance from the heroic center reveals how collective memory reshapes historical figures within the folk imagination. The study confirms its central hypothesis: Timur does not function as a monolithic historical figure in oral tradition but emerges as a flexible narrative construct, shaped by the functional and ideological demands of each storytelling context.