STABLE MOTIFS OF OLONKHO: TRANSFORMATION IN TIME

Abstract

The Yakut heroic epic develops on the general plot-forming background, it basically has a single canon of the plot, images, motifs, language formulas, typical places. However, the epic changes in time, it may have a set of differences, which is associated with the peculiarities of the material and spiritual needs of each generation. Today in Yakutia, representatives of the new generation of olonkhosuts are engaged in storytelling, who, unlike olonkhosuts of the early period, are educated, have the opportunity to learn the art of storytelling on publications, audio, video recordings, they produce self-recordings of their olonkho texts and publish them. A comparative study of the “textual matter” of classical and modern epic works, the identification of signs of static and transformation in time, leads to the conclusion that the solution of these questions has not yet found a proper place in today's epic studies. In order to closing the gap, this article highlights the results of a comparative analysis of plot motifs in the texts of the Yakut olonkho narrators belonging to different generations. The traditionally stable archaic motifs of the epic time, the creation of the world, the homeland of the hero, the settlement of the Middle World by the Uraangay Sakha tribes were studied; the motifs of the appearance of the warrior-defender, the abduction by the monster of the girl of the aiyy tribe, the battles between the warriors of aiyy and abaasy, the victories of the warrior of aiyy after divers adventures, the release of the captive woman; motifs for the marriage of the warrior aiyy and the establishment of peace in the Middle World. The author comes to the conclusion that the epic tradition changes over time, experiences its various influences and absorbs something new, as a result, the text of the olonkho undergoes transformations. In the texts of modern olonkho, simplification or omission of some motives and a tendency to reduce the volume of texts are observed. However, such changes do not affect the traditional plot and compositional structure of the olonkho.

The results obtained in the study can be used in the scientific study of one of the underdeveloped themes of Yakut folkloristics – the transformation in time of the stable motifs of the traditional olonkho.

Acknowledgments: The study was carried out with the financial support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research in the framework of the scientific project No. 16-06-00505 (a).

References

1. Okladnikov A. P. Jakutskij epos (olonho) i ego svyaz' s yugom[Yakut epic (olonkho) and its connection with the South]. In: Istorija Jakutskoj ASSR. T. 1. Jakutiya do prisoedineniya k Russkomu gosudarstvu [History of the Yakut ASSR. Vol. 1. Yakutia before accession to the Russian state]. Moscow, Leningrad, Nauka, 1955, pp. 276-277.
2. Pukhov I. V. Olonho – drevnij epos jakutov [Olonkho is an ancient epic of the Yakuts]. Yakutsk, Sajdam, 2013, 48 p.
3. Nikiforov V. M. Stadii epicheskih kollizij v olonho: Formy fol'klornoj i knizhnoj transformatsii [Stages of epic collisions in olonkho. Forms of folklore and book transformations]. Novosibirsk, Nauka, 2002, 208 p.
4. Borisov Yu. P. Osnovnye cherty parallelizma v jakutskom olonho i v altajskom epose [The main features of parallelism in the Yakut olonkho and in the Altai epic]. In: Filologicheskie nauki. Voprosy teorii i praktiki [Philological sciences. Theory and practice]. Tambov, 2013, No. 11 (29). Part 2, pp. 44-49.
5. Borisov Yu. P. Parallelizmy v jakutskom olonho “Sylgy uola Dyyraj buhatyyr” i v buryatskom uligere “Alamzhi Mergen”[Parallelisms in the Yakut olonkho “Son of the Horse Dyyray Bogatyr” and Buryat uliger “Alamzhi Mergen”]. In: Vestnik Severo-Vostochnogo federal'nogo universiteta imeni M. K. Ammosova [Vestnik of Notrh-Eastern Federal university]. Yakutsk, 2014, vol. 11, No. 3, pp. 83-89.
6. Illarionov V. V. Jepicheskoe nasledie naroda saha [Epic heritage of Sakha people]. Novosibirsk, Nauka, 2016, 344 p.
7. Illarionova T. V. Tekstologija olonho “Moguchij Er Sogotoh”: sravnitel'nyj analiz raznovremennyh zapisej [Textology of the olonkho “Mighty Er Sogotokh”: comparative analysis of multi-time recordings]. Novosibirsk, Nauka, 2008, 96 p.

1. Kuz'mina A. A. Olonho Vilyujskogo regiona: bytovanie, syuzhetno-kompozitsionnaya struktura, obrazy [Olonkho of Vilyui region: existence, plot and composition structure, images]. Novosibirsk, Nauka, 2014, 160 p.
2. Borisov Yu. P. Ustojchivye konstruktsii v olonho “Eris hallaan uola Er Sogotoh” [Stable constructions in the olonkho “Son of the Eris Hallaan Er Sogotokh”]. In: Vestnik Severo-Vostochnogo federal'nogo universiteta imeni M. K. Ammosova: Serija Eposovedenie [Vestnik of Notrh-Eastern Federal university: Series Epic studies]. 2016, No. 4 (4), pp. 52-62. doi: 10.25587/SVFU.2016.4.10856.
3. Orosin K. G. Nyurgun Bootur Stremitel'nyj: olonho [Nyurgun Bootur the Swift: olonkho]. Red. teksta, per. i komment. G. U. Ergisa. Yakutsk, Yakut. kn. izd-vo, 1947, 410 p.
4. Karataev V. O. D'ergelgen sjuurjuk attaah D'iribine Bootur: olonho [Djiribine Bootur: olonkho]. D'okuuskaj, Alaas, 2017, 344 p. (In Yakut lang.)
5. Danilov V. D. Batyja Bert buhatyyr: olonho [Batyja Bert bogatyr: olonkho]. Yakutsk, Media-Holding Yakutiya, 2018, 168 p. (In Yakut lang.)

1. Ivanov V. I. Kjun Kjubeed'e buhatyyr: olonho [Kyun Kubaeje bogatyr: olonkho]. N'urba, 2008, 87 p. (In Yakut lang.)
2. Emel'yanov N. V. Syuzhety jakutskih olonho [Plots of the Yakut olonkho]. Moscow, Nauka, 1980, 374 p.
3. Pukhov I. V. Jakutskij geroicheskij epos olonho. Osnovnye obrazy [Yakut heroic epic olonkho. Main images]. Moscow, Izd-vo AN SSSR, 1962, 256 p.