An Attempt to Classify Kurdish Legends Using the Juha Pentikainen Method: Example of Adıyaman

Legends are one of the genres of folk narrative that occupy an important place in the daily life of the people. Legends, the creation and destruction of the world for thousands of years; historical events; supernatural beings and events; They are folk narratives that are believed to be "as if they are real" in many subjects, including religious leaders and heroes, and that are transmitted from generation to generation by developing and transforming. The classification of the legends is important in order to know and understand the social memory and beliefs of the people closely. It is urgent to compile, classify and analyze legends, especially in terms of preserving and maintaining Kurdish oral culture and literature. The aim of this article is to determine the Kurdish folk legends compiled from the region of Adıyaman province and to try to classify them with Juha Pentikainen method. In this study, the face-to-face interview technique was applied with 21 people who were knowledgeable about the subject and were identified with the snowball method. As a result of the interviews, 28 legends from the region were identified, compiled, and deciphered. The legends are classified as traveler and locale, according to the method of Juha Pentikainen, and are summarized. As a result, legends of both types were found in Adıyaman region, 7 travelers and 21 of them local. It has been observed that the legends have a universal character in terms of genre, form, and motif. Most of the legends are narrated by men, but it has been determined that the legends about the miracles about personalities important in terms of religious representation are mostly told and cared for by women. It has been determined that the legends play an important role in the establishment and execution of the social order as well as their literary and artistic characters.