Joseph Campbell

Stories are rooted in the cultural beliefs of every nation, especially the mythological stories that originated from the ethnic and national unconscious according to Jung. The objective of the present study was to analyze the Azeri story "Malik Mohammad, Malik Ahmad and Malik Jamshid" based on Joseph Campbell's hero journey's theory (1987-1904). The significance of this study is the cultural and mythological importance of folk tales and Campbell's theory. This study was conducted as interdisciplinary by descriptive-analytical method. The question is; How do the stages of the above story match Campbell's hero journey? What are the most important mythological symbols of this story? Hypothesis Given the mythological nature of this story, although not all stages of the hero journey can be applied, it definitely has many stages, and many mythological symbols can be found and analyzed. Some of the study results; due to the Oedipus complex in the hero (Malik Mohammad), instead of him reaching unity with the father with the help of the goddess, the father of the earth (the king) is in love with the mother, and he, with the connivance of the goddess, prevented the two from reaching each other. Therefore, the stage of his oneness with the father is not complete. Also, this folk tale, with its simple plot, lacks stages of the hero's refusal of the return, magic flight and rescue from without to bring the hero back, and the hero simply returns to society.

The present article, which has been written in a descriptive-analytical manner based on field studies in the field of popular literature, examines the oral and Kurdish tale "Shirzad Shirdil," which has not yet been fully documented, based on Joseph Campbell's (1904-1987) theory of the hero's journey. It aligns the stages of the tale with this theory and also addresses some of its symbols. The importance of the present subject is due to the cultural-literary value of folk tales and the interdisciplinary position of Campbell's theory. The main question is: How and to what extent do the stages of this tale correspond to the hero's journey? The hypothesis is that although this tale does not have all the stages of Campbell's hero's journey, it has most of them. Based on the research findings, since Shirzad is accompanied by the older dimension of his existence – Malek-Ahmad - both dimensions must necessarily attain transcendence. Therefore, to complete the hero's journey, the repetition of a stage such as the meeting with the goddess, the passage through the belly of the whale, the ultimate boon, the apotheosis, and the master of two worlds is sometimes manifested. Additionally, this tale lacks the stages of the hero's refusal of return, the magical flight, and the rescue from without.