The Hagionym Khyzir-Ilyas in the Local Traditions of Tatars

The article examines the hagionym Khizir-Ilyas featured in the Tatar folk culture. The study of folklore and ethnographic data, primarily texts of charms, suggests that there are several other local variants of this name: Gөzer-Ilyas, Kozer-Ilyas, Khuzer-Ilyas, Khser-Ilyas, Khyzyr-Ilyas, Kodyrata, Kydyr ata, Kodyrat babai. An ethnolinguistic analysis enables to restore the folk image of the corresponding character by revealing its functional traits, individual features and background. In the texts of local Tatar traditions, Khyzyr-Ilyas is the spirit of the road, a mysterious invisible stranger helping those in need. In addition to patronizing travelers, Khizir-Ilyas also performs other functions: he serves as an intermediary between man and Allah, protects people from illness and misfortune, provides them with prosperity and good luck. The most essential attributes of Khizir-Ilyas are his white clothes and a whip, which is a symbol of the expulsion of all evil. According to popular beliefs, Khyzyr-Ilyas lives in fields, and appears in person on Fridays, which is a distinctive temporal mark. The study traces the parallels of the image of Khyzyr-Ilyas in the cultures of some other Turkic-speaking peoples.