NARRATOR’S IMPROVISATION AND VARIABILITY IN THE BURYAT EPIC TEXT (by the example of asynchronical recording of the “Geser” epic by P. Petrov)

The article discusses two asynchronical recording of “Geser” epic by P. Petrov. Variability of epic formulas, typical points in the text, improvisation phenomenon and following the tradition in narrator’s practice are revealed by analyzing two recordings. It was revealed that the later text is not a verbatim repetition of earlier although the compositional structure has the same set of plots as the latest recording. In the early recording the text is divided into large blocks-themed chapters and has a fractional structure in the latest one. Thematic blocks are divided into smaller plots and narrative parts. Comparative analysis of the motivic fund of two different time recordings reveal approximately the same set of primary and secondary motives. However, with each new execution a narrator could add or exclude some motifs from the text freely operating the plot development. The texts have a reduction in one case and detailed description in another; constant formulas vary lexically and syntactically. There is a phonetic variation of eponyms in the epic text. Poetic language of P. Petrov has a strict simplicity of traditional epic formulas, laconic style and aspiration to action rather than embellishment of the story by numerous poetic descriptions. We can observe that improvisational mastery of the narrator, knowledge of the traditions and skilled use of the constant formulas created original and unique epic text.

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