The Travel of the Protagonist in Search of Water in Story Beyhude Ömrüm

Abstract

Water cult has been existed since ancient time periods and it is based on "ground-water" belief. As the basic motif, beliefs and practices associated with cult have been found in oral literature. In modern Turkish narratives, "water" is used as a functional motif/theme in fiction. Water motif in Beyhude Ömrüm, Mustafa Kutlu's story, is fairly functional in the fiction of the text. In the story, the protagonist, along with being aware of the existence of "the wet rock" for years, takes it as aim when he realizes that the rock contains water within. He makes plans in order to reach his aim just like heroes in tales. His act to cleave the wet rock and take out the water inside reminds the travels of tale heroes. He encounters some obstacles, but reaches his aim by the support of guides and using his mind. By realizing the importance of the wet rock, the waste lands, which were left to their fate, are started to be used compatible with their original aim. Folkloric elements in the story Beyhude Ömrüm were not mentioned in previous works on Mustafa Kutlu. Hatice Altunkaya, who has an original study on Beyhude Ömrüm, has examined the story only according to the actant model of Greimas. In this paper, after stressing similarities and differences between the acts of the protagonist of Beyhude Ömrüm in search of water, and of tale heroes, the story has been examined in terms of narration and archetypes. It has been determined how the folkloric elements, which are formed around the water cult, were located in texture of the text, and it has been analyzed.