Türk Folklor Araştırmaları Derneği Dergisi

Öz

While numbers play a very important role in the human mind's understanding of the observable universe, they also determine the patterns of the metaphorical context as formal elements. Within the specific logic of reality, different contexts may sometimes tend to overlap. One particular example of the tendency of the physical universe and the metaphorical context to overlap within their logic of reality concerns the use of the nine formalisms in some common characterizations. In this article, which discusses whether the number nine has a tendency to become stereotyped - albeit limited - as an adjective characterizing the enemy in various aspects in some literary/folkloric and historical texts, some findings have been made based on sample texts. In cases where the number nine comes to the fore with its feature of expressing an indefinite multiplicity, it is seen that the function of this formal in enemy qualifications is more noticeable. It is almost impossible to find a more appropriate number than nine to express the enemy numerically, with its various qualities as a foreign, other or a phenomenon that is difficult to define. As a matter of fact, the widespread use of this formalism in descriptions related to Erlik, who is depicted as the enemy of divine unity, reveals a stereotype in the collective subconscious. The coincidental similarity between the nine enemy representations in Ancient Egypt and the Nine Oghuzs in the Gokturk Inscriptions, and the ninth move principle that Emir Timur tried to defeat the enemy are extremely interesting historical propositions. The nine enemy descriptions that we encounter in various narratives, especially in the Book of Dedem Korkut, hint at a hidden tendency towards stereotyping in folk narratives. In the examples identified, it is quite functional that the highest single-digit number, nine, was preferred to describe the enemy, which is the symbol of uncertainty and chaos. The examples of the nine enemy phenomena in literary/folkloric and historical texts identified in this article can be increased with comprehensive studies.