The Tale of Aladdin in Georgian Oral Tradition

The tale of Aladdin is an example of the adaptation of Middle Eastern fairy tales in Europe and then of the spread of European literary tales into world culture. This article gives an account of the Georgian folk versions of ‘Aladdin’. An overview of archival material and publications outlines the characteristics and transformations of tale type ATU 561 in Georgian folklore. The article also traces the literary path that directed Aladdin to Georgia and compares Georgian translations of the tale with its folkloric variants, including the neighbouring type ATU 560.