The folklore character of Grandmother's Grandson: Khanty savior

Abstract

The article describes a character of Khanty folklore featured in tradition in a set of plots and recognizable by his temperament, but acting under different names. The most common name of a character of this type is Grandmother's Grandson (Imi Hiλy). The article aims at considering similar fairy-tale and myth characters in the Khanty folklore, revealing their specific and at describing common plots in which this character acts. Using structural analysis developed by V. Ya. Propp we revealed 6 types of plots in 22 texts in Kazym, Synya, Sherkaler, Surgut, Vakh, Middle-Ob, Shuryshkar, Priural, and Nizyam dialects of the Khanty language: about interaction with a giant (the most widespread type which is represented by several varieties: fight with antagonist, salvation of antagonist, magical gifts, about getting a bride); about hunting for a moose; about confrontation with a father; about a step-son; about revenge for a father; about a Heavenly Rider in the Subterranean World; anecdotal stories. The article describes the most significant motifs found in these plot types: a miraculous birth, violation of a prohibition, elimination of a shortfall. The identification of fairy tale and mythological characters is a trait of Khanty folklore. All the mentioned characters of Khanty folklore are dispensed to the different folklore genres: fairy tales and myths, which in this case represent two interconnected parallel genre system different in the degree of metaphorization of the ideas presented and also, probably, oriented at different categories of listeners, children and initiated adults. In conclusion, the generalized portrait and mythological story about the Grandmother's Grandson are reconstructed, whose main function is to be a defender of the suffering and a force capable to restore justice. The relevance of this study lies in the use of folklore data for the reconstruction of the history of non-literate peoples to which the Khanty belong, for whom folklore is one of the most important ways of transmitting cultural and historical information.

References

1. Propp V. Ya. Morphology of the folktale. Moscow, Labirint Publ., 1998, 512 p. (In Rus.)
2. Berezkin Yu. E. Siberian folklore and its neighbors. Tomsk State University Journal of History. 2020, no. 68, pp. 89–97. (In Rus.)
3. Urmanchieva A. Yu. Parallel development of Khanty and Selkup in the “Ostyak” area. Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2019, no. 2 (24), pp. 85–101. (In Rus.)
4. Helimsky E. A. Essays on the history of Samoyedic peoples. In: Comparativism, Uralistics. Lectures and articles. Moscow, Yazyki russkoi kultury Publ., 2000, pp. 26–40. (In Rus.)
5. Perevalova E. V. Northern Khanty: ethnic history. Ekaterinburg, Ural Branch of RAS Publ., 2004, 414 p. (In Rus.)
6. Chernetsov V. N. The Rock art images of the Urals. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1971, 120 p. (Collection of archeological sources; iss. V4-12(2)). (In Rus.)
7. Bogoraz V. G. Chukchi. Vol. 2. Leningrad, Glavsevmorputi Publ., 1939, 194 p. (In Rus.)
8. Krasheninnikov S. Description of the land of Kamchatka. Vol. 2. Saint Petersburg, Imperial Academy of Sciences Publ., 1755, 319 p. (In Rus.)
9. Tales and myths of Chukotka and Kamchatka. Compilation, foreword and notes by G. A. Menovshchikov. Moscow, Main editorial office of Oriental literature Publ. House “Nauka”, 1974, 646 p. (In Rus.)
10. Myths, legends, tales of the Khanty (manuscript of the volume of the series “Monuments of folklore of the peoples of Siberia and the Far East”), edited by M. A. Lapina. In: Archive of the Folklore Sector of Peoples of Siberia, IFL SB RAS. (In Rus.)
11. Myths, legends, tales of Khanty and Mansi. Compilation, foreword and notes by N. V. Lukina. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1990, 568 p. (In Rus.)
12. Napolskikh V. V. The most ancient Finno-Ugric myths of the Earth origin. In: Worldview of Finno-Ugric peoples. Executive editor N. Gemuev. Novosibirsk, Nauka Publ., 1990, pp. 5–21. (In Rus.)
13. Berezkin Yu. E. Myth about a diver behind the earth in the Eurasian steppes?. In: Ancient and medieval cultures of Central Asia (formation, development and interaction of urbanized and pastoral societies): proceedings of the International conference devoted to the 100^th anniversary of Dr. A. M. Mandelstam and the 90^th anniversary of Dr. I. N. Khlopin. Saint Petersburg, Institute of history of material culture RAS Publ., 2020, pp. 49–52. (In Rus.)
14. Tuchkova N. A. Ethnic history and folklore of Selkups: the problem of data correlation. In: Proceedings of the Society of archaeology, history and ethnography at Kazan University. 2020, vol. 40, no. 1–2, pp. 5–414. (In Rus.)
15. Steinitz W. Ostjakologische Arbeiten. Ostjakische Volksdichtung und Erzählungen aus zwei Dialekten. Texte. No. 5b. B. I. Berlin, 1975, 468 p. (In German)
16. Khanty bear ceremony (manuscript of the volume from the series “Monuments of folklore of the peoples of Siberia and the Far East”), prepared by T. A. Moldanov. In: Archives of the Folklore Sector of the Siberian Peoples of the IFL SB RAS. 908 p. (In Rus.)
17. Tuchkova N. A. “Epic about Itte” at the Southern Selkups. In: Mikola-konferencia. Edited by B. Wagner-Nagy. Szeged, SzTE Department of Finnougristics , 2004, pp. 95–113. (In Rus.)
18. Tuchkova N. A. “The boy who defeated the ogre”: basic stories with the hero Itta in Selkup folklore. Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2016, no. 4 (14), pp. 135–158. (In Rus.)
19. Tuchkova N. A. The hero of Selkup folklore Itya marries: texts with the active role of the bride-woman. Tomsk State Pedagogical University Bulletin. 2015, no. 9 (162), pp. 255–261. (In Rus.)
20. Tuchkova N. A. Index of stories with the hero Itya: the experience of classification. Siberian Philological Journal. 2018, no. 1, pp. 57–76. (In Rus.)
21. Tuchkova N. A. Folklore texts with the hero Itya in the collection of A. I. Kuzmina. Tomsk State Pedagogical University Bulletin. 2013, no. 2 (130), pp. 205–208. (In Rus.)
22. Tuchkova N. A., Wagner-Nagy B. “The seven gods with the wisdom of Ittya”. Texts with the hero Itte in Selkup folklore. Part Ittya-texts. Tomsk, Publ. House of Tomsk State University, 2015, 336 p. (In German and Selkup)
23. Baidak A. V., Tuchkova N. A. Episodes of the “Epic about Itte” in the Chumylkup dialectal area. In: Indigenous peoples of Siberia: problems of historiography, history, ethnography, linguistics: materials of a regional scientific and practical conference (November 15, 2022). Edited by L. L. Selivanova. Tomsk, Publ. House of TSAGU, 2004, pp. 51–64. (In Rus.)
24. Prokofieva E. D. To a question on social organization of Selkups (clan and fraternity). In: Siberian ethnographic digest. Moscow, Leningrad, USSR Academy of Sciences Publ., 1952, vol. 1, pp. 88–107. (In Rus.)