THE ARCHAIC DISTRIBUTIVITY OF SPATIAL MEASUREMENT IN TURKIC EPOS

Abstract

This article analyzes the archaic distributive model of spatial measurement in Turkic heroic epics, with a focus on the Altai epic Maaday Gara. The author explores how quantitative attributes of space and time are structurally integrated into the narrative through hyperbolic and symbolic details. It is revealed that in the archaic mindset, space and time were not perceived as a continuous continuum but as a segmented structure based on numerical systems. Expressions such as “se­ven mountains,” “seventy rivers,” or “two black dogs” serve both poetic imagery and mythological worldview encoding. In the Altai epic, numerical symbolism, paired representations of beings and objects, sacralization of places, and visual elements of time together form a syncretic system of perception. The study demonstrates that these distributive number-based descriptions reflect how ancient cultures conceptualized reality, showing how spatial-temporal chrono­topes function poetically within the epic structure.