THE RING IN THE FOLK STORIES
HALK ANLATILARINDA YÜZÜK

Author : Yaprak Pelin Uluışık
Number of pages : 709-727

Abstract

A ring is not just a piece of jewelry that indicates commitment, endless unity and loyalty; it is a symbol that has a chain of common meanings intertwined with similar features in different geographies. It is seen that rings in myths, epics, legends, fairy tales and folk stories provide features such as power, control, wisdom, youth, earthly and spiritual prosperity, good fortune, invisibility, shape changing, talking with plants and animals. Heroes wearing these rings that protect the human soul from the evil will not suffer in any way. In the stories of the west, it is often mentioned about cursed rings that effects its owner in a bad manner and brings only bad luck. These rings, located in places that can be associated with the underground such as the ground, the hole, the cave and the water bed, are given to the heroes by supernatural beings or wise men. Supernatural beings, such as demons or giants, are trapped in these rings, many of which are magical, as slaves of the rings at an unknown time. When the hero rubs his ring, reverses it, puts it in his mouth; when he hits the ring or whistles to it, the slave of the ring comes out and asks the hero for his wish. This wish is carried out by the slave right after the hero tells the slave what he wishes. In this article, many examples from the Chinese myths to the Arabic tales, from the Babylonian Talmud to the descriptions of Scandinavian, Celtic, Welsh, French and Spanish culture have been examined in order to determine the characteristics of the rings mentioned in folkloric tales. In addition, many examples of Turkish folk literature from Dede Korkut to Anatolian tales were also discussed.

Keywords

ring, magic, mythology, epic, tale, shape change

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