Dədə Qorqud

Dədə Qorqud is the revered elder, seer and minstrel of the Oghuz Turks and the presiding figure of the epic cycle Kitabi-Dədə Qorqud, the foundational literary monument of Azerbaijani and wider Oghuz heritage. A soothsayer said to live many generations, he appears at the threshold of each tale to name the young hero after his first feat, to counsel the beys and khans, to resolve their quarrels, and to close the story with blessing and lament sung to the qopuz. Tradition places his memory near the Syr Darya and preserves a supposed tomb, while folk legend tells of his lifelong flight from death. He embodies the ozan bardic ideal and the ancestral wisdom of the Oghuz.

Domains

• wisdom and prophecy
• bardic song

Powers

• bestows names and destinies on the young
• foretells the future and counsels the khans

Epithets

• Qorqud Ata — Father KorkutThe Book of Dede Korkut, trans. Geoffrey Lewis, 1974 (primary)

Relations

• companion: BasatAs elder of the Oghuz, Dədə Qorqud names, counsels and celebrates heroes such as Basat.The Book of Dede Korkut, trans. Geoffrey Lewis, 1974 (primary)

Sources

• Dədə Qorqud is the semi-legendary Oghuz sage, bard and soothsayer of the epic that bears his name, who names the heroes, counsels the khans and sings their deeds on the qopuz.: The Book of Dede Korkut, trans. Geoffrey Lewis, Penguin Classics, 1974 (primary); Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd ed., s.v. 'Dede Ḳorḳut' (secondary)