Alfina Tagirovna Sibgatullina,
The Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences,
12 Rozhdestvenka Str., Moscow, 107031, Russia,
alfina2003@yandex.ru
This article reveals some aspects of marsiya (elegy) genre transformation in Tatar literature. As a kind of Oriental panegyric Marsiya is an elegy, which praises the virtues of a famous person whose death saddened not only his family, but also some part of the society. The basis of the genre is formed by two important lines: 1) moral and worldview themes, where the deceased is praised as a respectable member of the society and then his virtues are listed, 2) the lyrical and emotional orientation, where the author of marsiya (elegy) expounds his own opinion about this person and expresses sadness over his death.
Marsiya (elegy) existed almost at all stages of the history of Tatar literature. It is considered to date back to the traditions of pre-Islamic Turkic literature. During its formation, Marsiya (elegy) experienced a noticeable influence of such Tatar folklore genres as syktau and bait, nevertheless, the ethical and aesthetic principles of the Arabic-Persian poetry formed the basis of it. That is why marsiya (elegy) has developed canons of written literature. Progressive changes in the social life of Tatars, the formation of a new worldview and ideology, the focus on individual personality promoted the intensification and transformation of the genre of marsiya (elegy) at definite stages of the history of Tatar literature. In the XIXth – at the beginning of the XXth century there were three variations of marsiya (elegy) in the Turkic-Tatar written literature, i.e. its convergence with other genres like madkhiya-ode, tagziya-consolation and poetic obituary.
Key words: Tatar literature, eulogistic/panegyrical genre, Marsiya(elegy), Madkhiya Tagziya, obituary.