Матримониальные коллизии в калмыцком эпосе «Джангар» и сказаниях тюрко-монгольских народов Сибири

Abstract

Introduction. The Jangar epic is an essentially heroic composition represented by five cycles and one separate song. Goals. The paper aims to consider songs of the early Baγa Tsokhor Cycle of the Jangar based on archaic epic patterns nuclear elements to which being those dealing with the hero’s matchmaking. Methods. The revealed nuclear motifs of matrimonial collisions – within a comparative and typological analysis involving matchmaking-related legends of the Altaians, Buryats and Tuvans – allows defining somewhat invariant motifs of the archaic epos that trace their origins back to mythology and previous epic traditions. Results. The research reveals the role of the father-in-law who acts as a master of waters and whose image goes back to ‘hunting’ epic patterns. The description of the father-in-law’s invariant role became possible due to the use of epic compositions of Siberian Turko-Mongols since the Kalmyk epic tradition contains only rudimentary elements of this image. The paper also shows that in the legends examined– texts of the Baγa Tsokhor Cycle being no exception – it is a representative of the water world who acts as the hero’s betrothed, the hero here being rivaled by creatures of heavenly origin. Motifs of search of the betrothed in the other world, Khan Jangar’s travels through alien worlds also attest to archaic nature of the cycle. Conclusions. Songs of the Baγa Tsokhor Cycle are based on the invariant nuclear motif cluster of the archaic epos, as well as epics of Siberian Turko-Mongols, and it is comparison with the latter that sheds light on numerous ancient motifs or their rudiments that cannot be described or explained in any way. A possible development of the cycle gets clearer when viewed through the prism of the ‘initial nucleus’ theory. So, the Baγa Tsokhor Cycle formed as a result of growth and ‘volume swell’ of nuclear topics and motifs of the archaic epos. The Jangar’s archaic songs developed into a classical heroic epic in accordance with general epic development patterns.