Denotation of the real referent of the myth: the case of the image of the Aal Luuk Mas world tree

Abstract

This work is devoted to the problem of integrating scientific knowledge with the use of systematic methodology in research. The relevance of addressing the problem is due to the insufficient implementation of post-non-classical approaches in modern folklore studies. The level of knowledge of human culture today is increasingly demanding the synthesis of knowledge from different disciplines to expand the boundaries of worldview. The purpose of the study is to update the conceptual foundations of systematic research of mythological texts, and then to identify the real core of the myth of the Aal Luuk Mas world tree in the light of natural science theory. The materials for the analysis are extracted from the epic texts of Olonkho, where the mythological views of the Sakha ancestors are most fully preserved. Scientific novelty is seen in the very formulation of the problem of integrating knowledge and methods in the study of images of the mythological canvas of olonkho texts. The principle of integrity serves as the leading principle in the study, and a systematic approach is implemented. Structural and semantic analysis, the method of mutual interpretation of myth and science, methods of demetaphorization, dehyperbolization of the mythological image are applied. The author clarified that the approach is based on a number of concepts of the scientific paradigm “nature-man-thinking-creation”. It is proposed to introduce into folklore research the consideration of the problems of humanitarianism and myth, and science in the context of the integral field of human culture, which is possible to provide a multidimensional result of research. As a result of the analysis, the content of the ancient image of Aal Luuk Mas appears in a new light, in the form of the most important cosmic process – the spiral dynamics of systems of celestial bodies. It is emphasized that the main cosmic function of the mythological image of the Aal Luuk Mas tree as a driving principle is to ensure the dynamics, integrity and unity of the Universe at all levels of matter (microcosm, macrocosm, and megaworld). The author concludes that the results obtained contribute to the revision and possible adoption of the scientific image of the phenomenon of “spiral motion” in the form of a projection of the “psychological universal and archetype” (S. Yu. Neklyudov) mythological representations of ancient people.

Acknowledgements: The study was carried out as part of the NEFU research project “Epic monument of the Yakut intangible culture: textological, typological, cognitive and historical-comparative aspects”.

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