Transformation of the bull image in the Vilyui epic olonkho tradition

Abstract

The relevance of the article lies in the fact that the transformation of the image of the bull in the Yakut epic has not become the object of special study, and research in this direction makes it possible to identify not only changes in poetics, but also local features of olonkho. The novelty of the study lies in the fact that for the first time the changes in the traditional image of the bull in the oral tradition of the Yakuts, in particular the olonkho, are studied, more widely covering folklore and ethnographic material. The purpose of the study is to investigate the transformation of the image of the bull in the Yakut heroic epic, in particular the olonkho of the Vilyui epic tradition. To achieve the goal, the following tasks were set: determining the semantics of the traditional image of the bull in mythological and epic texts, including the author’s texts of olonkho; identification of features in the image of the bull – the son of a hero in the Karataev’s olonkho The Bogatyr Tong Saar. The work uses methods of comparative study, structural-semantic, functional analysis. Thus, the traditional semantics of the image of the bull in Yakut folklore, including the heroic epic, expresses mainly negative connotations related to abaahy – hostile creatures for a human tribe. However, over time, some changes began to appear, transformations in the image of the bull, associated with local features, the extinction of the epic tradition, the strong influence of shamanism, increased improvisation among individual storytellers, etc. As we have considered, this process occurred gradually, starting with the fact that in some epic texts, the bull acts as a mount for the bogatyr from the Aiyy Aimaga tribe, the main character turns into a bull, and, finally, the bogatyr is born in the form of a bull. It was revealed that zoo/ornithomorphic heroes from the Aiyy Aimaga tribe, conceived and born in unusual conditions, are in the intermediate layer of images and are deprived of many privileges available to the main characters. It was determined that in some author’s works based on olonkho, the traditional folklore semantics of the bull completely changes, yielding to a rational, everyday vision of the world. In the further study of the semantics of other zoo/ornithomorphic characters of the olonkho with the involvement of a wider material, the prospect of this study is seen.

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