This contribution aims at presenting an overview of the sources for the study of Turkic epics published in the West. This serves the double aim of offering to the colleagues’ bibliographical data on publications that are often difficult accessible, while at the same time opening up an access to the field to students who as yet lack sufficient knowledge of the source language and of Russian needed for deeper study. Topics addressed are: the difficulties with the definition of the genre, review the academic works written by turkologists and generalists, the role of performance in the reception of the epic, possible connections of the content with historiographically tangible happenings in the past, translations and the global place of Turkic epics, as well as relationship between oral and written epics. One of the conclusions emerging from this survey is that in the West most studies are executed not by turkologists, but by medievalists, students of the general theory of epics, or even by anthropologists. As texts the epics are clearly of great importance for turkology. Editions together with translations are important tools for us to get students acquainted with and interested in the fascinating world of epics.          

SYNTAGMATIC AND PRAGMATIC STRUCTURES OF JANGGAR THE EPIC: RELEVANT PHILOSOPHICAL INTERPRETATIONS 

Abstract. In this article, we have aimed to define the syntagmatic and paradigmatic structures of Janggar the epic, and propose some relevant philosophical interpretations.

Defining the structures rely primarily upon the methodology described in Morphology of the Folktale by Vladimir Propp, and The Structural Study of Myth by Levi-Strauss. Janggar the epic compiled by T. Dugersuren comes to be main material for the article.

With regard to syntagmatic structure, all functions excluding branding, unfounded claims, difficult task, solution, recognition, and exposure are noticed in Janggar. As regards paradigmatic structure, the first column of the matrix covers episodes such as stealing of horses, attempting to seize the queen or heroes, or harming someone's body, and it is observed that the characteristics of these episodes are connected with difficulties or villainy. The events grouped in the second column deals with releasing, reviving, healing, interceding, assisting in fleeing, protecting, supporting, helping to defeat the enemies, and becoming a child for someone else. These all have common in alleviating difficulties and in indicating the good activities. The third column has something to do with exacting revenge, pursuing, encroaching, and spatial transference whereas the common feature of last one refers to the events like winning, capturing, killing, or beating down.

Legitimating how one responds, and how the ultimate outcomes would be when the accepted relationship or treatment within paradigmatic structure underlying the epic are violated, it exhibits what should be done or preferable in cases of invading or being invaded as exemplary social behaviors, norms and models of living. Moreover, enumerating the belongings or property of main hero in detail in very beginning of epics as usual would express the awareness of liberty, and the value on property for the Mongols. An important feature for epics could be inferred from here. Apart from providing norms or standards and satisfying the criteria of competence, epics produce desires in the society in which they exit. Therefore, coming to be memory or reminder of experienced lives, the epics may seem to belong to the past, but there are always contemporaneous with act of being told again and again in the society in which they are, and produce future hope, aspiration, and desire through the image of heroes carrying the human spirit forward.

The main purpose of this paper is the socio-philosophical, artistic understanding of unexplored Kyrgyz epics Aк Maktym(“Beauty Maktym”), Zhalajyr jalgyz (“Lonely Zhalajyr”) and Culmurza and Aksatkin (“Culmurza and Aksatkin”) from the point of view of anthropological values.

The relevance of the topic is due to the fact that until today the Kyrgyz epics have been poorly studied in the philosophical aspect. In our opinion, the research tradition misses one of the finest elements of the epic culture of the Kyrgyz as a tragic anthropocentrism of heroes. As practice shows, epic scholars pay more attention to the traditional, national, Patriotic, emotional aspects of Kyrgyz legends, without revealing the meanings of “existential”, “essential” drama and tragedy of epic characters. Whereas from our point of view, it is the tragic anthropocentrism of the heroes that is the Central problem of the Kyrgyz epic, which is expressed in the irreversible, hopeless, almost existential (according to Kierkegaard) loneliness of one human destiny, doomed either to deprivation of one's own “I” or to imminent death.

The work is presented on the basis of traditional research methods, including plot-compositional, descriptive-textual, logical-analytical techniques that contribute to the harmonious combination of “liveliness” of the epic with its ideological and mental resources and expressive-emotional capabilities.

An analysis of the rational and empirical in Kyrgyz poems “Aк Maktym”, “Lonely Zhalajyr”, “Culmurza and Aksatkin” gives us the following results of the study. The origins of the tragic loneliness of the human being are: moral and physical enslavement of women from foreign ethnic group (“Ak Maktym”); and existential orphanhood as a social problem, which exists independently of the desires and will of man (“Lonely Zhalajyr”); social inequality and the sacrifice of love as the product of clan prejudices (“Culmurza and Aksatkin”). All poems touch upon the tragic fate of the lone hero, equipped mainly with empirical (partly reasonable) knowledge, implemented in epistemological and axiological dilemmas: “man-society”, “man-nature” and “man-man”. The hero (heroine) has different forms of manifestation of rational and sensual against circumstances, force, power and prejudice. It is an active struggle (Aк Maktym), passive humility (Zhalajyr) and suicidality (Aksatkin).

The article aims to identify commonalities and differences in the motif fund of the Kyrgyz and Yakut epics, telling of warrior maidens (epic “Manas” and olonkho “Kyys Debiliye”) on the basis of comparative and comparative and structural analysis, with the establishment of genetic relationships between phenomena.

The study touched upon the problem of the stage development of the epos, which made it possible to reveal the archetypical images of warriors maidens, taking into account the transformational shifts that had touched the epos “Manas”. The role of the traditional tale and transmission of the epos, which determined the preservation of archaic motifs, is determined.

The study revealed the multiplicity of the image of the bogatyr Saykal, which is due to the wide prevalence and popularity of this character among the people. The inclusion of an independent tale of Saykal in the Manas epos became a natural phenomenon in the involvement of the so-called small epos in the orbit of the national epos.

The work made conclusions about the loss in the Manas epic of the Tengrian understanding of the three-part world order, which led to the fact that some of his images, beyond the awareness of dividing the world into Upper, Middle and Under levels, lose their adequate perception. And, on the contrary, the epic “Kyys Debiliye” preserves in its plot development the traditional ideas about the universal world order, which facilitates the perception of its heroes. The study prompts to pay attention to the fallacy of determining the heroines of the epics on the basis of positive-negativity, which is characteristic of the written culture and its interpretations of the characters and unnatural for oral literature and epic thinking.

The study turned to the analysis of the phenomenon of Amazon celibacy, leading to the loss of their magical power on the example of the heroines Kyys Debiliye and Saykal. It is concluded that this provision is also subject to certain transformational shifts, but, in general, continues to retain its significance.

The presented work has prospects for further research, with the involvement of a broader coverage of the motive fund for a comparative analysis of the epics of the Yakut and Kyrgyz people to identify their community.

Concepts of the “philosophy of the name” developed primarily in Russian philosophy at the beginning of the XX century are considered. The main problem here was whether the name belongs to being and how it relates to the spiritual essence of man. A. F. Losev identified the name and its essence, S. N. Bulgakov believed that the name is a link between the cosmos and the word; however, it can be realized only through man. As a research methodology, the core of the A. F. Losev approach was used.

Of the sixty-seven levels of the study of the name in the myth, folklore and epic by A. F. Losev has seven main ones. “Phoneme” is a name, first of all, a sound. “Semema” is the sphere of “words with the character of meaning”. “Etymological” – the moment of the “root” of the word. “The syntagma of the word”, emphasizing that the word in the text is always associated with other words. “Poema of the word” characterizes the variability of the meaning of the words “depending on the way they are located in the sentence, on the poetic size (and its types), rhyme and other external devices used for expressiveness purposes”. “Meon” is a “different” position, a “different” meaning, a necessary irrational moment in the very rationality of the being. “The energy of the name is the essence of “such and such or certain or essence in the mode of definite comprehension, in the mode of the manifest, expressed essence”.

Studies of the philosophy of the name in olonkho suggest that the name has a deep ontological meaning; it is closely connected with the essence of the hero, character and their being. So the full name of the hero or his horse contains fairly complete their essential characteristics. Vivid examples of the names of the deities of the upper world, the ancestors of the Middle World and their defenders-spirits are connected into a single system. These series and name’s systems form stable olonkho invariants, providing its fundamental identification.

In general, the set of olonkho names provides an idea of being of a certain epoch, its social and humanitarian characteristics.

The article is dedicated to the analysis of Karakalpak native epic. It analyzes the epic motifs that are indicative of ancient forms of exogamous marriage. Motifs connected with exogamous marriage are the main direction of Karakalpak epic lore. On the basis of folklore material, the conception of norms in exogamic marital relationship, stages of formation and its historical-social characteristics were studied.

The study of marriage relationship and connected rituals broadens possibilities for ethno-genetic research, allowing to identify ancient forms of marriage and shed light on the specifics of their evolution.

In the present work, with the help of ethno-folklore materials, the author illustrates that the content of Karakalpak folklore reflects the most archaic forms of exogamous marriage, completely different from contemporary notions. The exogamous marriage in Karakalpak folklore epic is realized by means of initiation trials, such as baigi – horseracing, and contest in archery. Whenever a hero goes to a foreign land in search for a bride, he is subjected to trials. Especially widespread example is described as a wrestling match – kurash, which takes place between contestants competing for the bride’s hand, attesting to exogamous character of marriage.

In the Karakalpak folklore, the motif of creating a family for a hero begins with the quest after a bride, who is located beyond the territory where the hero resides. This motif is very common in epic stories. According to rules of exogamous marriage, the hero is obliged to marry the daughter of another kin.

In author’s view, an ancient type of exogamy represents specifically characteristic of marital relationship in Karakalpak culture and preserved its traces as the main feature of in the form of ethnographic evidence in the plot narratives of Karakalpak heroic epics.

Additionally, in the article the author interprets analyses of characters, connected with the motif of exogamous marriage in such Karakalpak historical epics as Kyrk Kyz, Maspatsha, Alpamys, and Koblan.

The subject of this article is the structural-semantic organization of the constructions of epic formulas in the olonkho of the northern – Essey Yakuts. The purpose of the article is to reveal the description on the material of two variants of the same olonkho of Essey Yakuts structural and semantic features of the structures of the discussed epic formulas. As a result of the analysis of two variants of olonkho Essey Yakuts, it was found that in the reviewed texts as a whole, the main system of formulas used in the olonkho of other local traditions is used (with the exception of the epic time formula). The formulas under discussion have a shorter structure and are represented by a slightly different character of the lexical and grammatical content of the composition of the sentences in which they are implemented. The formulas in the variants of the analyzed olonkho are represented on the whole by typologically similar constructions (for example, constructions decorated with the name in -laah, participles, verbs, etc.). Moreover, the formulas of the second variant are characterized by a shorter structure. In addition, there is an excessive use of evidential means – a combination of an auxiliary verb (buoltara) with particles (ebite uhu). The latter in the modern Yakut language are nuclear representatives of the category of evidentiality. In the lexical composition of parallelisms and phrases there are dialect words (for example, tahaat instead of chyohgochyok ‘stump’, mangii ‘long-time’, hildie ‘storm’, miinnerinstead of miiner menge ‘plow cattle’ etc.) characteristic of this speaking Yakut language. In addition, there are also Russianisms (kinees ‘prince’, tarsyyna ‘foreman’, polpuuda (instead boppuda) ‘half of pud’, nestileek ‘nasleg’, etc.); which act as components of both members of certain parallelisms and phrases. In the text of the discussed olonkho many dialect phonetic correspondences: c~һ, ҕ~g, k~x, m~b, x~l, e~i, etc. The study of epic formulas on the material of the olonkho northern Essey Yakuts compared to the olonkho of others local traditions can shed light on the solution of the problem of the functioning of similar formulas in the olonkho of different local traditions.

Acknowledgments: The study was prepared within the framework of the RFFR, project No. 18-412-140013 p_a “The Epic Heritage of the Arctic (Northern) Yakuts in the Context of Ethnic History (the Problem of Interaction and Mutual Influence)”.

The article discusses a number of issues that concern the Yakut heroic epic olonkho and require their further research, reflection and clarification. In his study, the author relied on the works of leading folklorists, epic specialists of our republic, as well as on the works of researchers from Buryatia, Bashkortostan and Khakassia. Thus, a comparative analysis was made of the solution of these issues in the works of researchers of the Yakut Olonkho and the epics of other nations. For comparison, the studies of epic scholars of such epic works as Kyrgyz “Manas”, Bashkir “Ural Batyr”, Khakass alyptyg nymakh, Buryat ulygher, Evenki heroic epic nimngakan “Irkismondya Bogatyr”, Dolgan yrylaakh olonkho“Myoryodyan Mergen the Bogatyr”. The general and various sides of the Yakut heroic epic olonkho and epics of other nations are noted. The work considered such issues as are related to the determination of the size of olonkho, the introduction of the new term “multi-life olonkho”, the legitimacy of using the concepts of “foot (satyy) olonkho” and “horse (attaskh or yryalaakh) olonkho”, the time of olonkho performance. The concepts of “multi-generation olonkho” and “multi-life olonkho” are clarified. It is shown that the Dolgan yryalaakh olonkho “Myoryodyan Mergen the Bogatyr” are not a six-generation epic work, as was previously thought, but a three-generation and six-life epic, since in this epic work it is about the exploits of three generations of heroes and about life, heroic feats of six different warriors, including four warriors of the same generation, grandchildren Myoryodyan Mergen. The question of why the Yakut olonkho is not viewed as a deeply sacred text containing secret knowledge, transmitted only by the elect and the worthy, still remains open and requires serious and in-depth reflection and research. Some peoples in the performance of epic works, there are certain strict rules and prohibitions. So, for example, the Bashkir epic “Ural-Batyr”, Khakass alyptyg nymakh, Buryat ulighers were not performed for any audience. It is interesting to note that the epic works of many nations were performed only in the evening and at night.

Acknowledgments: The study was prepared within the framework of the RFFR, project No. 18-412-140013 p_a “The Epic Heritage of the Arctic (Northern) Yakuts in the Context of Ethnic History (the Problem of Interaction and Mutual Influence)”.

The article examines musical notes of the Yakut heroic epic olonkho chants, produced by M. N. Zhirkov during the Viluy expedition in 1943. They are kept in the funds of M. N. Zhirkov in the National Library of RS (Y). It is revealed that the musical notes of the chants of the Yakut legends of M. N. Zhirkov are among the first notation of the olonkho chants. Before him, the musical notes of the Yakut traditional chants were produced by A. F. Middendorf and A. L. Maslov. For the first time, V. L. Seroshevsky recorded the notes of an Olonkho girl’s song. There are no musical notes of olonkho chants in musical compilations published before M. N. Zhirkov. It was only during the 1943 Viluy expedition that M. N. Zhirkov first recorded the chants of Yakut legends on notes. In the M. N. Zhirkov’s records of the Viluy expedition, there are 11 songs from olonkho. At the same time, there are no indications of belonging to the olonkho chants. Nevertheless, these chants belong to characters common in olonkho. In the analysis, an attempt was made to reconstruct the belonging of the olonkho chants to one or another Yakut epic, common in the Viluy group of districts. All chants belong to the Viluy style of singing eten yllyyr. At the same time, two other traditions of olonkho performance are found in them: Verkhnevilyuysk and Nyurba, which differ from each other in the intonation and metrrhythmically. The M. N. Zhirkov’s methods of collecting Yakut musical folklore were also studied in terms of fragmentary fixation of chants and their recording from elderly folklore bearers. The musical notes of M. N. Zhirkov are characterized by brevity, schematism, and often the lack of words. When the key is marked, the alteration signs indicate that the chant belongs to this or that key, which is typical of the initial stage of studying the Yakut traditional song, when the harmonic regularities of the Yakut folk song had not yet been studied. It is stamped in musical notations and size, which indicates that the chants belong to the Yakut traditional singing degereng yrya style. Thus, the musical notes of M. N. Zhirkov’s olonkho chants, made by him during the 1943 Viluy expedition, are the first musical records of song fragments of Yakut heroic legends during the period of active existence of the Sakha folklore.

This article addresses the problem of regional traditions in the Yakut olonkho. The Abyisky epic tradition, which is included in the northern branch of the Yakut storytelling, is considered. A brief history of the study of folklore, especially olonkho, in Abyisky District is given. Consistent collection of materials of folklore was carried out by the Institute of Language and Culture in 1940s. Employees of the Institute A. A. Savvin and G. M. Vasiliev preserved full texts and plots of olonkho. Employees of the Research Institute of Olonkho, M. K. Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University, were able to record the texts of olonkho of modern authors; they also managed to record information about the Olonkho-tellers of Abyisky District, legends and much more. The study was conducted on the basis of collected materials of a folklore expedition in Abyisky District in 2018. The aim of the article is to study the characteristics of the Abyi epic tradition. The task is to investigate the images and plots of the olonkho of this tradition. The source base served two texts of G. F. Nikulin’s olonkho “Eris Khallaan uola Er Sogotokh” and N. V. Sleptsov’s “Ereydeeh-Buruydaah Er Sogotokh”. The images of the main characters of the olonkho of the Abya are considered. The main characters in the two texts of the olonkho of the tradition under study are the lonely heroes of Er Sogotokh. Analyzed own and studied the portrait characteristics of the characters. In the second part of the article, there is a study of similarities between Ereydeeh-Buruydaah Er Sogotokh and Erbakhchin Mergen tradition. Following the comparison of the plots of two olonkho, the authors came to the following conclusions: these olonkho texts are variations of one olonkho. Olonkho “Er Sogotokh” can be considered an earlier performing version of olonkho. Olonkho “Erbahchin Mergen” is more developed because it has a complete plot-compositional structure, the main and secondary heroes are their own, their characters and features are more elaborated, etc. The authors conclude that of the Abyi epic tradition have archaic traditions features of the epic.

Acknowledgements: The research is financially supported by the RFFR, project No. 16-06-00505 а.