Journals / Kafkasya Çalışmaları / 2025 / Cilt: 10 Sayı: 16

Two Mountains, Two Tricksters: A Comparative Analysis of Nart Sosruquo and Mercurius/Hermes

Two Mountains, Two Tricksters: A Comparative Analysis of Nart Sosruquo and Mercurius/Hermes [İki Dağ, İki Düzenbaz: Nart Sosruquo ve Mercurius/Hermes'in Karşılaştırmalı Analizi]

Kerem B. Topçu(University of Southern Mississippi)0000-0001-9960-0484
Pages
63–78
Publication Date
2025-05-31
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AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

Rather the study intimates a paradigm shift in reading the mythopoeia of the Caucasus within the context of oral literature, a paradigm shift that does not rest on parallelisms and psychologisms.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:As this study concerns itself with previous scholarship on the Nart Sagas of the Caucasus—that particularly focus on the figure of Sosruquo—it remedies certain lapses and misrepresentations present in the literature.
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Key Findings & Data:Furthermore, in its analysis of “Sosruquo and the Inquisitive Ayniwzh” (Colarusso), the study utilizes a Jungian framework to interpret the complex mythological figure of Sosruquo, as to an archetypal dimension of Sosruquo is wanting in previous scholarship.
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Conclusion & Impact:Rather the study intimates a paradigm shift in reading the mythopoeia of the Caucasus within the context of oral literature, a paradigm shift that does not rest on parallelisms and psychologisms.
🔬Design:Araştırma Makalesi
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Sözlü Edebiyat · Karşılaştırmalı Mitoloji · Jung Çalışmaları

Abstract

As this study concerns itself with previous scholarship on the Nart Sagas of the Caucasus—that particularly focus on the figure of Sosruquo—it remedies certain lapses and misrepresentations present in the literature. Furthermore, in its analysis of “Sosruquo and the Inquisitive Ayniwzh” (Colarusso), the study utilizes a Jungian framework to interpret the complex mythological figure of Sosruquo, as to an archetypal dimension of Sosruquo is wanting in previous scholarship. As the study argues Sosruquo presents a unique blend of the divine child, the hero, and the trickster archetypes, it emphasizes the sui generis position of this character in comparative mythology through a close reading of the aforementioned tale—and emphasizing the tension between Sosruquo the figure of Mercurius / Hermes, the latter whom Jung explores in his Alchemical Studies. As the study argues Sosruquo, and therefore on a larger scale, the Nart Sagas cannot be reduced to variations of other mythological corpi, it also establishes Sosruquo as a distinctive figure that breaks through the mold of traditional Jungian dichotomies. The significance of the study lies in the fact that it goes against the grain of the orthodox readings of Caucasus mythology—and yet it does not entrap itself in a contrarianism simply for its own sake. Rather the study intimates a paradigm shift in reading the mythopoeia of the Caucasus within the context of oral literature, a paradigm shift that does not rest on parallelisms and psychologisms.

Özet

Bu makale, Kafkasya'nın Nart Destanı üzerine, özellikle Sosruko bağlamında daha önce yapılmış olan çalışmalarla ilgilenmesi dahilinde, literatürde mevcut olan belirli eksiklikleri ve yanlış temsilleri gidermeye yöneliktir. Buna ek olarak çalışma, “Sosruquo and the Inquisitive Ayniwzh” (Colarusso) isimli öykünün analizini Jungçu bir teoretik çerçeve dahilinde yürütmesine içkin olarak, Sosruko isimli ziyadesiyle kompleks mitolojik figürü, evvelki çalışmalarda eksik kalan arketipal bir boyut bağlamında ele alır. Çalışma, Sosruko'nun ilahi çocuk, kahraman ve düzenbaz arketiplerinin benzersiz bir karışımını sunduğunun savunusunu yapmakla birlikte, yukarıda belirtilen öyküyü yakın okumaya tabi tutarak, bu karakterin karşılaştırmalı mitolojideki sui generis konumunu vurgular ve Jung'un Alchemical Studies isimli eserinde ele aldığı Mercurius / Hermes figürüyle Sosruko arasındaki gerilimi açımlar. Çalışma Sosruko'nun —ve dolayısıyla daha geniş bir ölçekte Nart Sagaları’nınlencelerinin —farklı mitolojik külliyatların varyasyonuna indirgenemeyeceğini tartışmakla birlikte Sosruko'yu geleneksel Jungcu ikiliklerin kalıbını kıran özgün bir figür olarak da ele alır. Çalışmanın önemi, Kafkas mitolojisinin ortodoks okumalarının aksi yönüne gitmesinde ortaya çıkmaktadır—ancak çalışma bunu salt muhalefet etmek adına değil, Kafkas mitolojisinin sözlü edebiyat bağlamında incelenmesinde bir paradigma değişimini ima eder ki işbu paradigma değişimi, paralelliklerden ve psikolojizmlerden azade bir paradigma değişimi niteliğini taşır.

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Cite This Article

Topçu, K. B. (2025). Two Mountains, Two Tricksters: A Comparative Analysis of Nart Sosruquo and Mercurius/Hermes. Kafkasya Çalışmaları, Cilt: 10 Sayı: 16, 63–78. https://doi.org/10.21488/jocas.1701029

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