THE ROLE OF MEMORISATION AND IMPROVISATION IN THE TRANSMISSION AND PERFORMANCE OF THE ALTAI EPICS

Abstract

The author of this paper will examine the role of both improvisation and memorisation in the oral performances of the Altai epics. In order to do this, initially the author will describe for the reader the Altai epics, their plots, the values that they reinforce, the singer and his instrument. Then, based on a discussion about the context in which the epic is performed and the poetic features of the epics, this paper will explore the theory that the epic teller is not repeating an exact text but is improvising and composing throughout the performance of the epic, producing a different version each time. The author bases her research in particular on several personal interviews with oral epic singers in the Altai Republic. One of these interviews was with Anatoly Turlunov from the Kosh-Agach district, who is a famous performer of the epic in the Altai Republic and now teaches throat singing. The second was with Nikolai Sergetkishov, a young epic singer living in Gorno-Altaisk, who is trying to revive the tradition of epic storytelling. The final interviews were with Aydin Kurmanov, also a famous epic singer in the Altai Republic, who received many awards for his performances, and Yuri Chendeev, a musician who created his own Altai musical ensemble, and currently teaches music.

Literature

1. Yagmur K., Kroon S. Objective and subjective data on Altai and Kazakh ethnolinguistic vitality in the Russian Federation Republic of Altai. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. 2006, no. 27:3, pp. 241–258.
2. Niles J. D. Introduction to the Special Issue: Living Epics of China and Inner Asia. Journal of American Folklore. 2016, no. 129, pp. 253–269.
3. Reichl K. The Oral Epic: From Performance to Interpretation. New York, London, Routledge Publ., 2021, 282 p.
4. Finnegan R. How Oral is Oral Literature? Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. 1974, no. 37 (1), pp. 52–64.
5. Pegg C. Re-sounding the Spirits of Altaian Oral Epic Performance: Kai throat-singing and its repercussions. In: Language Documentation and Description. Vol 8: Special Issue on Oral Literature and Language Endangerment. Ed. Imogen Gunn & Mark Turin. London, SOAS Publ., 2010, pp. 125–139.
6. Harvilahti L. Altai Oral Epic. Oral Tradition. 2000, no. 15 (2), pp. 215–229.
7. Plueckhahn R. S. Musical Sociality: The Significant of Musical Engagement among the Mongolian Altai Urianghai. Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The Australian National University. 2013. URL: https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/handle/1885/155976 (accessed September 21, 2021).
8. Wood G. Wisdom of the Altai in Epic Poetry. Master’s thesis (no date). 214 p.
9. Harvilahti L. Epos and National Identity: Transformations and Incarnations. Oral Tradition. 1996, no. 11 (1), pp. 37–49.
10. Gejin C. Mongolian Oral Epic Poetry: An Overview. Oral Tradition. 1997, no. 12 (2), pp. 322–336.
11. Shulgin B. M. About the Altai epic-kai. In: Maaday-Kara. Altai heroic epic. Ed. S. S. Surazakov. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1973, 474 p. (In Russ.)
12. Reichl K. The Singing of Tales: The Role of Music in the Performance of Oral Epics in Turkey and Central Asia. Classics. 2016, vol. 14. URL: https://classics-at.chs.harvard.edu/classics14-reichl/ (accessed September 21, 2021).
13. Bunn S. Time as told: Telling the past in Kyrgyzstan. History and Anthropology. 2018, no. 29 (5), pp. 563–583.
14. Reichl K. Singing the past: Turkic and Medieval Heroic Poetry (Myth and Poetics). New York, Cornell University Press, 2000, 221 p.
15. Pegg C. Re-sounding the Spirits of Altai-Sayan Oral Epic Performance. 2009. Video lecture: World Oral Literature Project Workshop. URL: https://sms.cam.ac.uk/media/756551 (accessed September 21, 2021).
16. Schubert E. Research about the Altayn Magtaal (Ode to the Altay Mountains). Mongolia, Hovd University, 2007, 9 p. (manuscript of a research paper).
17. Harrison D. K. A Tuvan Hero Tale, with Commentary, Morphemic Analysis, and Translation. Journal of the American Oriental Society. 2005, vol. 125, no. 1, pp. 1–30.
18. Reichl K. Routledge Revivals: Turkic Oral Epic Poetry: Traditions, Forms, Poetic Structure. New York, London, Routledge Publ., 1992, 412 p.
19. Parry M. The Making of Homeric Verse: The Collected Papers of Milman Perry. Ed. Adam Perry. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1971, 541 p.
20. Lord A. B. The Singer of Tales. 3rd ed. Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1960, 309 p.
21. Ong W. J. Orality and literacy: the technologizing of the word. London, New York, Methuen Publ., 1982, 201 p.