The presentation of the new edition of the book “Yaz Bayramı” by the prominent literary scholar, Professor Mirali Seyidov was held at the Nizami Ganjavi Institute of Literature of ANAS.
First, there was a viewing of the exhibition consisting of Professor Mirali Seyidov’s books.
The event, jointly organized by the Institutes of Literature and Folklore, was attended by employees of the institutes of the Department of Humanities of ANAS, the management of the “Salman Mumtaz” publishing house, well-known scientists, intellectuals, doctoral and dissertation students, interns and media representatives.
Opening the event Deputy Director of the Nizami Ganjavi Institute of Literature, PhD in Philology, Associate Professor Mehman Hasanli spoke about the rich scientific heritage of Professor Mirali Seyidov and the scientist's research in the field of mythology. Mehman Hasanli emphasized that the great Azerbaijani scholar's creativity on literary relations, articles on Turkic-speaking tribes and ideas on mythology played an invaluable role in enriching our national thinking and promoting the Azerbaijani worldview.
He said that it was not by chance that today's event was held on Fire Tuesday and spoke about the merits of Professor Mirali Seyidov's reprinted book "Yaz bayramı". He noted that in the book the author substantiated the spring holiday - Novruz holiday in historical and mythological aspects by referring to various sources. The work shows the place of the Novruz holiday in Azerbaijani thought, that this holiday is the embodiment of the national spirit and life of our people, and the main indicator of the national-ethnic identity of our people.
Mehman Hasanli, who said that a large part of Professor Mirali Seyidov's life was connected with ANAS, noted that he began working at the Nizami Literature Museum of the Academy of Sciences of the Azerbaijan SSR in 1945, and from 1953 until the end of his life, he worked at the Nizami Institute of Language and Literature. He noted that the prominent scientist headed the Department of Azerbaijani Mythology and Medieval Folklore of the Institute of Literature for 21 years.
Then, Director of ANAS Institute of Folklore, PhD in Philology, Associate Professor Hikmat Guliyev made a speech and evaluated the presented book “Yaz bayramı” as a valuable source reflecting the mythological research of Professor Mirali Seyidov, his views on literary criticism and folklore. He emphasized that in this work, the scientist seriously examines the approach to the issue from a scientific perspective in the context of human-nature relations, and his mythological views also contain the concept of national history.
Hikmat Guliyev also mentioned the book “Thinking about the Genealogy of the Azerbaijani People” by the prominent mythologist-folklorist Mirali Seyidov, which was republished in 2018, and recalled that the President of ANAS, Academician Isa Habibbeyli, wrote an extensive “Foreword” to the work. He stated that in the work, Academician Isa Habibbeyli looked at the work of Professor Mirali Seyidov in the context of Azerbaijaniism and noted that the scientist’s research in the field of folklore was the beginning of the mythological trend.
At the end, Elchin Seyidov, the son of Professor Mirali Seyidov, made a speech and expressed his gratitude to the organizers and participants of the event for the attention and respect shown to the memory of his father.
