Vol. 40 (2019)
Mythology. Ritual. Symbol

Image of the Horse in Georgian Fairy Tales

Published 2020-10-20

Keywords

  • Georgian Fairy Tales,
  • Horse,
  • Symbolic of Colors

How to Cite

Bedianidze, D. (2020). Image of the Horse in Georgian Fairy Tales. Literary Researches, 40, 101–116. Retrieved from https://literaryresearches.litinstituti.ge/index.php/literaryresearches/article/view/3895

Abstract

Dalila Bedianidze’s work “Image of the Horse in Georgian Fairy Tales” considers the cases of appearing of the horses in Georgian fairy tales. Many Georgian fairy tales are about domestic, as well as wild animals. Among them the horse is mentioned most frequently. The horses in fairy tales are as simply horses, also the mythical ones (steed – rashi). Horses in Georgian fairy tales are characterized with wide variety of horse characters. Here is the whole set of motifs – seeking and getting of the steed, dressage of the horse, fight of steeds, steed – the foreteller, steed – the advisor, steed – the protector etc. To draw the image of the horse, the fairy tales use the ready formulas.

In Georgian fairy tales the horse is the divine character. It has the abilities characteristic for the divine creatures, it is in harmonic relations with the humans and external world, it is the mythical character. Sometimes the steed is a lame horse, sometimes – a jade, sometimes bare-boned, sometimes – ugly one, but the main character guesses and chooses it. In the hands of worthy rider the horse shows its real nature. Sometimes the human turns into the horse, sometimes the horse talks like a human. Color of the horses is white, black, red, blue, and brown, their functions are varying. Sometimes the main character is saved by the white horse, sometimes – by black, and rarely – by red. Sometimes the horse is parent of a human, sometimes it is subject to complicated metamorphoses. It has the qualities of the divine dying and raising from the dead, in some tales it brings reaches to its owner, it can be specially trained, speaking like a human, foreteller, with magic abilities. It can fly and it can communicate with all three depths, sea and land. It can be called with the hair from the horse’s tail of mane, by jingling of the saddle-girth.

As a rule, the owners of steeds are younger brothers. In many cases the steeds are held by the devis (mythical dangerous giants), the hero kills the devis and gets the steeds. Parts of the killed steed body turns into the palaces, cities, sometimes it rises from dead. The steed gives god advices to the hero, supports him and helps to defeat the evil. In some tales it can contain the devi’s soul, in some – it can punish the evil forces – tying to the horse’s tail as the way of punishing of the evil characters is frequently used.