Analyzing the Archetype of Hero's Journey in Kurdish Folk Tales: A Case Study of the Haft Baradar Story

The archetypal notion of the hero's journey, one of the most pervasive archetypes, has consistently guided the interpretation and reception of the intratextual and extratextual elements within traditional narratives. The present study explores the hero's journey archetype in Kurdish folk tales through the lens of Joseph Campbell's theories. Using the Haft Baradar folk tale (Malek Ahmed) as a focal point, we identify and analyze the archetypes and stages of the hero's journey within this narrative. We connect our findings to similar folk tales in Kurdish oral literature through analysis. Our research reveals that the hero's journey archetype manifests in Kurdish folk tales through personality archetypes and the threefold structure of departure, process, and return, aligning closely with Joseph Campbell's seventeen-stage model. Furthermore, we assert that Kurdish folk tales, as a valuable yet overlooked aspect of Iranian oral culture and literature, warrant further exploration and documentation in written form for scholarly investigation using structural methodologies.