Baikal in the introductions of Evenki epic: to the question of the historical ancestral home of the Tungus

Abstract

The article is dedicated to the problem of the epic historicism, the theoretical basics of which were developed in the 20^th century by Russian researchers A. N. Veselovsky, V. Ya. Propp, B. N. Putilov etc. On the example of Evenki folklore, the measure of epic historicism is being researched in the epic traditions of ethnos.

The introductions of Evenki heroic legends are considered in the research in order to determine geographical information on historical ancestral home of Tungus. Based on the hypothesis of G. M. Vasilevich, the author analyzes the texts of legends’ intonations, attracting the information from related disciplines such as linguistics, ethnography, archeology, paleoecology and genetics.

As a result of folklore texts’ analysis the author makes an assumption about Baikal as an ancient ancestral home of the Tungus-Manchu people in the Late Neolithic. In the description of the epic hero’s homeland, distinctive geographical characteristics of Baikal and neighboring territories appear. The intonations of Evenki heroic legends tell about evolution of Siberian landscapes in the Holocene era, when the gradual change of the mountain tundra to the mountain taiga occurred under the influence of tectonic and climatic processes. According to the hypothesis of Baikal origin of the Tungus, prototungus culture arose on the basis of Serov and Glazkov cultures of Neolithic in the Baikalia-Transbaikalia. The results of archeological, ethnographic, genetic research suggest the representatives of Serov and Glazkov cultures as the ancestors of the Tungus-Manchu people. Localization of these cultures correlated with geographic information of Evenki nimngakans.

Also, the researcher expresses the opinion on the promise of using the multidisciplinary approach to doing research into folklore traditions for solving the relevant problems of Siberia and Far East people’s ethnogenesis and history. The research is of interest to the specialists of a wide range disciplines, especially for folklorists, the interests of which are connected with the future works in the historicism area of folklore. Moreover, the results of research can be useful for ethnographers and specialists of Siberia’s history and the Tungus-Manchu people’s history.

References

1. Jetnicheskaja genomika jakutov (naroda saha): geneticheskie osobennosti i populjacionnaja istorija [Ethnic genomics of the Yakuts (Sakha people): genetic characteristics and population history]. L. A. Tarskaja, A. I. Gogolev, G. I. El'chinova i dr. Moscow, Nauka, 2009, 271 p.
2. Propp V. Ja. Fol'klor i dejstvitel'nost'. Izbrannye stat'i [Folklore and reality. Selected articles]. Moscow, Nauka, 1976, 326 p.
3. Gacak V. M. Pojetika jepicheskogo istorizma vo vremeni [The poetics of epic historicism in time]. In: Tipologija i vzaimosvjazi fol'klora narodov SSSR [Typology and the relationship of folklore of the peoples of the USSR]. Moscow, Nauka, 1980, pp. 8-47.
4. Varlamov A. N. Specifika istorizma v fol'klore jevenkov [The specificity of historicism in the Evenki folklore]. Saint Petersburg, Lan', 2018, 308 p.
5. Vasilevich G. M. Istoriko-jetnograficheskie ocherki (XVIII - nachalo XX v.) [Evenki. Historical and ethnographic essays (XVIII-early XX century)]. Leningrad, Nauka, 1969, 304 p.
6. Jevenkijskie geroicheskie skazanija [Evenki Heroic Tales]. Sost. A. N. Myreeva. Novosibirsk, Nauka, 1990, 392 p. (Pamjatniki fol'klora narodov Sibiri i Dal'nego Vostoka [Folklore monuments of the peoples of Siberia and the Far East]). (In Evenki and Russ. lang.)
7. Sravnitel'nyj slovar' tunguso-man'chzhurskih jazykov [Comparative dictionary of the Tungus-Manchu languages]. Otv. red. V. I. Cincius. Vol. 1. Leningrad, Nauka, 1975, 672 p.
8. Fol'klor jevenkov Jakutii [Folklore Evenki of Yakutia]. Sost. A. V. Romanova, A. N. Myreeva. Leningrad, Nauka, 1971, 330 p.
9. Proh L. Z. Slovar' vetrov [Dictionary of the winds]. Leningrad, Gidrometeoizdat, 1983, 199 p.
10. Mel'heev M. N. Geograficheskie nazvanija Vostochnoj Sibiri. Irkutskaja i Chitinskaja oblasti [Geographicl names of Eastern Siberia. Irkutsk and Chita regions]. Irkutsk, Vostochno-Sibirskoe kn. izd-vo, 1969, 185 p.
11. Sundueva E. V. Toponimija Ol'hona i Priol'hon'ja (semantika onimicheskih osnov) [Toponyms of Olkhon and Priolkhonye (semantics of onymic foundations)]. Ulan-Ude, Izd-vo BNC SO RAN, 2010, 128 p.
12. Sravnitel'nyj slovar' tunguso-man'chzhurskih jazykov [Comparative dictionary of the Tungus-Manchu languages]. Otv. red. V. I. Cincius. Vol. 2. Leningrad, Nauka, 1977, 992 p.
13. Dement'eva E. D. Ocenka rekreacionno-klimaticheskogo potenciala ostrova Ol'hon [Assessment of the recreational and climatic potential of Olkhon Island]. In: Jekologija i prirodopol'zovanie: prikladnye aspekty: materialy VII Mezhdunarodnoj nauchno-prakticheskoj konferencii (Ufa, 3-7 aprelja 2017 g.) [Ecology and Nature Management: Applied Aspects. VII International Scientific and Practical Conference (Ufa, April 3-7, 2017)]. Ufa, Ajeterna, 2017, pp. 82-85.
14. Dulin Buga Torgandunin – Torgandun srednego mira [Dulin Buga Torgandunin – Torgandun the Middle World]. Sost. A. N. Myreeva. Novosibirsk, Nauka, 2013, 856 p. (In Evenki and Russ. lang.)
15. Istoricheskij fol'klor jevenkov. Skazanija i predanija [Historical folklore of the Evenkis. Tales and Traditions]. Sost. G. M. Vasilevich. Leningrad, Nauka, 1966, 400 p.
16. Krivonogov S. K. Stratigrafija i paleogeografija Nizhnego Priirtysh'ja v jepohu poslednego oledenenija [Stratigraphy and paleogeography of the Lower Irtysh region during the last glaciation]. Novosibirsk, Nauka, 1988, 230 p.
17. Derevjanko A. P. Paleolit Dal'nego Vostoka i Korei [Paleolithic of the Far East and Korea]. Novosibirsk, Nauka, 1983, 216 p.
18. Kind N. V. Geohronologija pozdnego antropogena po izotopnym dannym [Geochronology of the late anthropogen according to isotopic data]. Moscow, Nauka, 1974, 255 p.
19. Popova A. I. Sporovo-pyl'cevye spektry otlozhenij levogo berega reki Aldan u poselka Bel'kachi [Spore-pollen spectra of sediments of the left bank of the Aldan River near the village of Belkachi]. In: Mochanov Ju. A. Mnogoslojnaja stojanka Bel'kachi I i periodizacija kamennogo veka Jakutii [Multilayer site of Belkachi i and the periodization of the Stone Age of Yakutia]. Moscow, Nauka, 1969, pp. 201-202.
20. Vasilevich G. M. Jevenki (k probleme jetnogeneza tungusov i jetnicheskih processov u jevenkov) [Evenki (to the problem of ethnogenesis of the Tungus and ethnic processes among Evenks)]. Dokl. na soisk. uch. step. dokt. ist. nauk. Leningrad, 1968, 67 p.
21. Vasilevich G. M. Tungusskaja kolybel' (v svjazi s problemoj jetnogeneza tunguso-man'chzhurov) [Tungus cradle (in connection with the problem of ethnogenesis of the Tungus-Manchus)]. In: Muzeja Antropologii i jetnografii. Vyp. 19. [Collection of Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography. Iss. 19]. 1960, pp. 5-28.
22. Vasilevich G. M. Tungusskij kaftan (k istorii ego razvitija i rasprotranenija) [Tungus kaftan (On history of its development and distribution)]. In: Muzeja Antropologii i jetnografii. Vyp. 18. [Collection of Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography. Iss. 18]. 1958, pp. 122-178.
23. Istorija Sibiri s drevnejshih vremen do nashih dnej. T. 1. Drevnjaja Sibir' [The history of Siberia from ancient times to the present day. Vol. 1. Ancient Siberia]. Pod red. A. P. Okladnikova. Leningrad, Nauka, 1968, 454 p.
24. Rychkov S. Ju. Polimorfizm mitohondrial'noj DNK v naselenii Pribajkal'ja jepohi neolita [Polymorphism of mitochondrial DNA in the population of the Baikal region of the Neolithic era]. Diss. … k. biol. n. Moscow, 2004, 128 p.
25. Kichigin D. E., Emel'janova Ju. A., Korostelev A. M. Parnoe pogrebenie rannego bronzovogo veka mogil'nika Mys Juga [Pair burial of the Early Bronze Age burial site Cape South]. In: Izvestija Laboratorii drevnih tehnologij [Proceedings of Laboratory of Ancient Technologies]. Vol. 15, No. 2. Irkutsk, 2019, pp. 29-46.