SYMBOLIC AND SEMANTIC MANIFESTATIONS OF WATER, FIRE, EARTH, AND AIR ELEMENTS IN FOLKLORE TEXTS

In mythological conceptions, the fundamental elements involved in the creation of the world attracted human attention through their supernatural structures and core essences. These primary elements represent vital factors ensuring human existence and its continuity. Ancient humanity, evaluating their extraordinary power, incorporated them into the verbal cultural products—namely, folklore texts—thereby elevating them into symbolic forms. Water and earth, regarded among the core elements participating in the cosmogony, have transformed today into a complex aggregate of profound meanings. Water, symbolizing purity and clarity, is considered a primary factor in the existence of the universe and humanity. The blending of water and earth—mud—symbolizes the creation of the first human in the mythology of numerous nations. Similarly, the paremiological unit "derived from earth shall return to earth" elucidates that the initial creation of man originated precisely from soil. Consequently, earth is also symbolized as an aggregate of generalized knowledge regarding human existence, possessing a sacred symbolic status. Overall, the symbol serves as the primary expressive vehicle for all comprehended realities, natural entities, and subsequently established ethical norms.