HANAFI ZEYNALLI: PATRON AND MARTYR OF AZERBAIJANI FOLKLORE

Abstract

Hanafi Zeynalli entered the history of Azerbaijani literature as a literary critic, one of the first researchers of Azerbaijani oral folk literature, a suffering folklorist. Hanafi Zeynalli was one of the founders of the scientific study of Azerbaijani folklore in 1920-30. Prominent folklorist H. Zeynalli had great merits in the collection, publication and research of Azerbaijani folklore samples.
Since 1923, H.Zeynalli has been elected chairman of the folklore com- mission at the "Azerbaijan Research and Study Society" and head of the folklore department at the Azerbaijan branch of the Academy of Sciences. In this connection, he often organized expeditions from different regions of Azerbaijan.
H. Zeynalli was the leader of these expeditions and was engaged in collecting various genres of our folklore. As a folklore collector, he published the materials he collected in a separate booklet, and as a folklore theorist, he wrote articles of great theoretical importance. H.Zeynalli wrote and published a 24-page booklet on the rules of collecting folklore.
H.Zeynalli, one of the founders, patrons and martyrs of the work of col- lecting and publishing our folklore, was the first prominent folklorist-scientist who tried to further develop oral folk art. The prominent scientist has devoted more than 20 years of his 40-year life to the study of folklore, classical and mo- dern literature, the collection and study of folklore, and the study of a number of theoretical issues.