Аннотация
The most ancient layer of literature, characteristic of the Turkic peoples, originates from ancient Turkic mythology, which is based on images and plots, mythological symbols and associations. An important direction in the development of the field of mythology in ancient times is associated with the appearance of mythical creatures that, through a magical chain, generalize a community of images similar in properties and appearance. Genres such as archaic epics, fairy tales, and legends developed at a later time on the basis of ancient mythological views. Some mythical creatures in these works are given demonological characteristics. In this regard, this article defines the significance of mythical characters in Turkic folklore, includes the problem of analyzing the negative image of the gluttonous old woman Zhalmauyz kempir, and analyzes the evil nature of this mythological demonic creature characteristic of the Turkic peoples. Based on the research, the author described the role of images in Turkic mythology, revealed the meaning of the phrase “Zhalmauyz kempir”, determined the history of the origin of this image, compared the character of a gluttonous old woman with evil power among the Turkic peoples, determined the meaning of fairy tales with special images, examined the image of Zhalmauyz kempir, widely used in fairy tales of Turkic peoples.