Afghanistan's National Traditions and Superstitions in Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner

Abstract

In contemporary art, folkloric elements inevitably find their place and that are widely included in artistic depictions. For this reason, it is impossible to fit all the folkloric elements, within the boundaries of an article. Because of that, it would be appropriate to investigate these elements under separate titles. In addition, the abundance of folkloric elements in artistic works is an indication that they are rich in content. From this perspective, the value of such studies will increase even more. In this study, the national traditions and superstitions of Afghanistan mentioned in Khaled Hosseini's novel The Kite Runner are evaluated, taking into account the mentioned topics. Investigations of The Kite Runner by researchers from different perspectives shows the richness of this novel in terms of content and its strength in terms of technique, and further increases the importance of the study. During the study, it was found that traditions were mentioned more in the novel The Kite Runner and detailed information was given about them; that superstitions are discussed less and detailed information is not given. In addition, in this study, the national traditions and superstitions of Afghanistan are explained with details.