Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences 7 (2018 11) 1113-1126 ~ ~ ~ УДК 398(=512.127); 398(=161.1) The Image of Bogatyrs in Yakut and Russian Folklore Texts Elena V. Naumova* M.K. Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University 58 Belinsky Str., Yakutsk, 677000, Russia Received 19.02.2018, received in revised form 13.04.2018, accepted 26.04.2018 Nearly all the developed world cultures have their own written or oral works of art which were created by the people, representatives of a certain nation. These records may or may not have been publicly acknowledged for various individual reasons. However, in some cases, these oral works of art reached us due to the fact that they were reproduced and recorded in a written form. This way, anyone who wishes to learn about the folklore of a certain national group can do so, especially nowadays when many of these fine works of art had been translated from the source language to various target languages. The present article focuses on a literary analysis of the profound characters of Russian and Yakut folklore to see if and in what aspects do the notions they imply coincide linguistically, semantically and ideologically. Keywords: folklore, Russian bylinas, Yakut olonkho, bogatyrs, traditions, antagonists, protagonists. DOI: 10.17516/1997-1370-0295. Research area: linguistics, culturology. Introduction and valuable source of knowledge in the age of World culture has been developing globalization, when specific world cultures are throughout the centuries. While there may be losing their traditional features in the world of different cultural representations of various today. It is equally important not only to sustain phenomena in everyday life, there are undoubtedly this knowledge but also to pass it on to other similar features that can be found in seemingly generations. different cultural realia. This can be a result of diverse events and characteristics, such as Folklore: its origin, genres geographical position, military contacts, etc. The and representations present study provides a theoretical overview on Folklore as a variety of cultural representation the notion of folklore, the history and features of is represented by a number of genres of oral and bylinas and olonkho, and most importantly, how written works of art. The term folklore was first these features are reflected in the images of the introduced by W.J. Thoms, an English scholar, protagonist and antagonist characters portrayed who defined it as “the knowledge or wisdom of in the plot. Such topics serve as an important the people” (Anikin, 2004). Regardless the form © Siberian Federal University. All rights reserved * Corresponding author E-mail address: [email protected] – 1113 – Elena V. Naumova. The Image of Bogatyrs in Yakut and Russian Folklore Texts of representation (oral or written), folklore serves semi-fictional story of how the East Slavic tribes to express ideas which are native to the people settled in that area. Another historical chronicle that they describe. Folklore is commonly used gave an explanation as to how the modern-day to describe the following concepts: a) the origin, Kiev was founded by three brothers – Kiy, Shek, nature and functioning of the Universe and all Horiv who were helped by their sister – Lybed its creations; b) the world of the supernatural (Anikin, 2004: 25). These chronicles reflect the forces, deities, and their interaction with human customs, traditions, and way of life of the Slavic beings; c) the notion of wisdom of the natural and tribes at the earliest stage of their settlement. supernatural forces; d) the notion of heroism (or An important feature of Russian folklore, in might), beauty and moral values in the society general, and for the present study in particular, and antagonism with its villains and negative is the establishment of mythology in the times qualities, including sense of humor, grotesque, of Ancient Rus’1. Written records of that time pure evil, and the social non-acceptance (Putilov, contain sufficient evidence of paganism among 1994: 15). It presents a series of fictional or the people of that time-period. People believed in semi-fictional characters and events which most and cherished the power of the natural elements commonly unfold in an imaginary place or a and phenomena (fire, water, wind, earth) along place that exists in the real world. with the wildlife. From their perspective, “the Anikin (2004) gives the following definition world was inhabited by imaginary supernatural of folklore: “a compilation of oral works of creatures – domovoi2, leshii3, vodyanoy4, and art, traditional in their form and content, with mermaids” (Anikin, 2004: 27). intended or non-intended literary features, which Even after the acceptance of Christianity, reflect the people’s everyday life, created and the early folklore writers of the Ancient Rus’ recreated throughout generations”. The scholar period retained their traditional world outlook (Anikin, 2004) also notes that the first written and mentioned the names of deities that were records of Russian folklore were created in the praised by the Slavic people in their folklore 17-18th centuries, but it is only in the 19th century texts. Thus, there was a certain dual belief among that people began to compile them into systematic the people of that time in both – the supernatural collections. forces and in the existence of deities. This aspect Regardless the terminological variations in of Russian folklore traditions affected the content its definition, folklore is a product of culture and of its subgenres and it will be closely analyzed the latter occurred as a result of human evolution, in the subsection of the present article devoted to be more precise, as soon as the human beings to the images of Russian bogatyrs. Such was the began using their imagination to explain various initial stage of folklore developing as a genre in phenomena and events taking place in the world the Slavic cultural tradition. surroundings which they could not yet interpret The second stage of folklore development from an empirical point of view in the early included works of art and subgenres which were stages of evolution and social development. not very closely linked to the religious or any The earliest record of Slavic folklore dates kind of rituals or traditional customs (Anikin, back to the times of the East Slavic peoples’ 2004: 39). The following forms of folklore were settlement along the borderline of modern-day developing in that time-period: proverbs and Ukraine and the southern part of modern-day sayings, superstitious beliefs, and tales. At this Russia. It was a chronicle which represents a stage of its development, Slavic folklore retained – 1114 – Elena V. Naumova. The Image of Bogatyrs in Yakut and Russian Folklore Texts its duality in terms of the characters introduced a warrior) goes through a series of battles and in the plots and the general philosophical and struggles his way through to reach a certain goal. religious beliefs of the people. These were the Most commonly, a mission is completed for the written forms of folklore and they reflected the greater good of the native land and the people general world view of the Slavic people. The other (Propp, 1974). However, the most important group of folklore subgenres of that time-period feature of bylinas is that they are not just simple comprised of oral forms of art, specifically the narratives. They are usually presented in the following: legends, urban legends, short bylinas, form of poetry. Moreover, they are also meant to and myths. be performed in the form of a heroic song, though The main focus of study in the present it is not sung but chanted. The musical structure article are the Russian bylinas (or heroic epic of bylinas is what makes it stand out among poems(songs)) as a special subgenre of Russian other Russian literary genres and it is precisely folklore, on the one hand, and Yakut heroic what makes it heroic poetry. Epic poetry also epic olonkho, on the other hand. Both of these expresses ideal heroes living in an ideal reality subgenres portray the images of bogatyrs, which (Propp, 1974). Not all bylinas exist in the form serve as the main focus of the present literary of songs. Some of them are presented as prose overview and analysis. or as fairytales with fictional characters such as bogatyrs (or warriors). These literary works A brief history of Russian bylinas date back to the 17th century. Another important and their features feature of bylinas is that they were initially told Before giving a description of the features, it by the people and told and passed on from person is necessary to take a closer look at what various to person, from generation to generation. scholars understood by the notion under study. Anikin (2004) states that “there is no The term bylina was introduced by I.P. Sakharov specific time period from which bylinas originate, in the first half of the 19th century; this definition however, many scholars share the opinion that was chosen owing to the fact that this notion they may have occurred sometime around the appeared in The Tale of the Armament of Igor5, 10-11th centuries… By the 13th century, bylinas which dates back to 1195, as part of an expression attained their typical and specific genre features”. “the bylinas (events) of that time”(Anikin, 2004: According to the scholar, the peak of bylinas’ 301) similar to the English expression“once upon existence and flourishing as a genre was marked a time”. in the 16-17th centuries; the genre seized to As Vladimir Propp (1974) mentions in his develop by the middle of the 20th century. Theory and History of Folklore, “Epic poetry He also states that “heroic bylinas represent is not defined by any one feature that at once several cultural aspects at once – the traces of determines its nature..