The motif of loneliness in the early cycles of the Jangar epic

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of a complex of epic motifs that go back to the image of the mythological hero-first ancestor and the identification of the archaic basis of the Kalmyk epic Jangar. The purpose of this article is to identify the nuclear motif of the archaic epic – the motif of the loneliness of the epic hero and to give its semantic description. The novelty of the work lies in the fact that for the first time the whole complex of motifs that go back to the image of the hero-ancestor is considered. The material for the research is the early cycles of the Kalmyk epic Jangar – Bagatsokhurovsky (1853-1862) and Maloderbetovsky (1862). The analysis applied structural-semantic, structural-typological and comparative methods. A comparative typological analysis of the loneliness motif of the epic hero presented in the narrative of the early cycles of the Kalmyk heroic epic Jangar with the epic systems of the Turkic-Mongol peoples of Siberia is carried out. The analysis confirms that the early cycles were formed on the nuclear motifs of the archaic epic of the preceding traditions. Identified typological parallels with the earliest type of epic hero, the Yakut Er Sogotokh. The epic narratives of the early Jangar cycles indicate that the image of Jangar as a warrior hero goes back to the image of the ancestor hero. Common nuclear formations have been established, such as the loneliness of the hero, the mythological background of the early cycles of Jangar, his marriage collisions and weapons, as the primary subject – talking about the undoubted archaism of the image of the hero Jangar. We revealed both semantic and structural links. Revealing the semantic invariant of the motif and the whole complex of the archaic nuclear fund of motifs of the early cycles of the epic Jangar will provide an opportunity for further comparative typological study of the Turkic-Mongolian epic layer. Systematization and description of the motif fund of the early cycles of the epic Jangar will allow it to be included in the international system of indicators of motifs. Prospects for studying the archaic motif fund of the Kalmyk epic Jangar are that it will allow tracing the development of the epic genre. The evolution of ancient legends about Jangar as a hero-ancestor, which fell at the time of nomadic cattle-breeding life, military conflicts, led to the transition from the original image to the hero-warrior of the cyclized heroic epic.

Acknowledgment: The paper was prepared within the research work of the Kalmyk Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences “Oral and written heritage of the Mongolian peoples of Russia, Mongolia and China: transboundary traditions and interactionsˮ (State registration number AAAA-A19-119011490036-1).

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