E-mail: jingnh@mail.ru
Tel.: +7 (495) 690‑50‑30
25a, Povarskaya str., Moscow, 121069, Russian Federation
Postgraduate, Folklore Department, Institute of World Literature named after A.M. Gor’kiy,
Russian Academy of Sciences
This study is dedicated to the folklore rendition of Mazan-batyr, historical figure from the 17th century, famous Kalmyk ruler (holding dignity of “taishi”) and military commander, whose life and deeds formed subject of a substantial body of folklore items. Genre affiliation of studied texts varies from the legends and historical folk songs to text items belonging to the area of rituals and magic; all of them are viewed as a single cycle.
The focus of this paper lies on identification of various common points between the cycle of Mazan-batyr and epic tradition in general, including comparison with Kalmyk Jangar and different Mongolian epics. Main points of analysis are: “hero’s childhood”, power struggles over a herd of special horses, attempts to see reflexes of historical conflicts in the folklore. Additionally, consideration is given to persistent qualities of hero’s folklore image, such as his usual way of action, weapons and supernatural abilities.
Basing on features revealed, it’s concluded that the qualities pertaining epic poetry are abundant in the cycle of Mazan-batyr, and that his portrayal is rather consistent across the various texts. This hints existence of “common core” of folk beliefs, which manifests in all genres in one way or another.
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