COLOR SYMBOLS AND THEIR POETIC FUNCTION IN THE STRUCTURE OF CEREMONIAL LYRIC

Abstract

This article provides a scientific analysis of the role of color symbolism in ritual folklore, its ancient roots, and its spiritual and cultural significance. The study highlights the symbolic meanings of colors formed in connection with animistic, totemistic, and shamanistic beliefs. Particular attention is given to the use of white, black, red, blue, and yellow colors in the shamanic rituals of the Uzbek people, including badik chants, wedding, and funeral ceremonies, as well as to the analysis of their magical and aesthetic functions. The article reveals the symbolic meanings of colors associated with the major stages of human life — birth, marriage, and death. In addition, the poetic and psychological functions of color images in folk songs and ritual chants are also examined. The purpose of the study is to determine the significance of color symbolism in folk creativity and its role in shaping the народ worldview by presenting the historical-genetic roots of color symbols, their mythological and religious interpretations, artistic and aesthetic features, and their classification within folk poetics. Within this objective, the following tasks were defined: identifying the genesis of poetic symbols related to colors — clarifying their origin, historical formation, and stages of development; studying the factors that contributed to the formation of aesthetic attitudes toward color — identifying social, cultural, religious, and mythological foundations of this process; demonstrating the representation of attitudes toward colors in ritual and non-ritual folklore samples, and analyzing their poetic and functional features. The object of the study includes the main genres of Uzbek oral folklore — epics (dastans), fairy tales, lapars, songs, riddles, proverbs, and samples of children's folklore collected in multi-volume publications. The subject of the study consists of symbolic color images found in Uzbek oral folklore, their semantic layers, poetic functions, and aesthetic significance. The research examines the representation of color symbols in folklore genres (epics, fairy tales, lapars, songs, proverbs, riddles, and children's folklore), their historical and mythological roots, and their artistic interpretation. The study employs descriptive, comparative-typological, psychological, and комплекс analytical methods. The research results demonstrate that color symbolism is closely connected with the folk worldview, mythological concepts, and social experience. The article serves as an important source for studying the genesis and functional features of color symbols in ritual folklore.